Interesting book which takes Talal Asads critique of the secular and advance it further. Questioning Secularism looks at the evolving relationship between Islam, the State and Secularity with Egypt as a case study. The debates surrounding the so-called polarisation between religion and state in the Arab spring countries has been going back and forth, but much of it has been a result of an ill-informed discourse on secularity, a kind of one mode fits all. The trouble with secularism is that it has little meaning, both historically and concurrently, outside of Europe and North America. It doesnt solve the problems of the region, it just adds to them. To be clear, secularism isnt simply a description of the separation of temporal state powers from the authority of the Church, but a mode of looking and shaping state, society and culture- its a way of looking at the world and analysing it. In short, secularism is an ideology, but its an ideology that can exist within any system regardless of how democratic or totalitarian that system is. Like a lot of ideologies, its ideologues make a lot of claims about its value, however these claims are often difficult to falsify as what constitutes secularism is a matter of interpretation. The ideologue will often selectively pick an understanding of a good example and make generalised claims based on it. They will inevitably ignore its bad side and the inherent contradictions and problematic nature of it.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 09:24:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015