The Emergence of the Secularised Muslim

by Abdul Halim Abdul Karim We readily admit that we live in a secular world. But are we really aware of the nature of secularism and the secularizing process? Do we know how these adversely affect our beliefs and the way we view life as Muslims? In fact, secularisation has caused Muslims to be more confused than ever before. For instance, extolling the perceived virtue of the separation between "Church and State", some ill-informed Muslims think that secularism is to be sought after and defended. They are not aware that their very use of the term "Church and State" belies their lack of understanding of both the worldviews of Islam and of the modern West on top of their ignorance about the nature of secularism itself. For indeed, Islam neither has "church" no matter how metaphorically used the word is, nor is there a separation between Religion and Politics in Islam as envisioned in Secularism. The oft cited Biblical phrase, "Render unto Caesar things which are Caesar's, and unto God things which are God's" was unfortunately misinterpreted by some early Western intellectuals to lend credence to their secularisation project. Apparently, some Muslims have become agents of secularisation too. While the secularisation of the Western world is all but complete, the secularisation of the Muslim World facilitated by colonialisation and the decapitation of true Muslim leadership has come to a critical juncture. In the context of the so-called war on terror coupled with the widespread use and reach of the new media, we now see the emergence of those who proclaim themselves as Secularised Muslims. These Secularised Muslims unashamedly collaborate with liberals of all kinds, ultra-feminists, secular modernists, secular humanists, ex-Muslims and atheists to assert and propagate secular values among Muslims taking aim at undermining everything that Islam stands for. It is hardly surprising that we find so-called Muslims proudly revealing [...]

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