Islam and Secularism in the Middle East

Azzam Tamimi, John L. Esposito

NYU Press, 2000 - History - 214 pages

Western civilization tends to view secularism as a positive achievement. From this perspective, benefits of secularizing trends include the separation of church and state, the rule of law, and freedom from organized religion.
In the Arab Middle East, however, Islamist intellectuals increasingly cite Western-inspired secularism as the source of the region's social dislocation and political instability. While secularism in the West led to the spread of democratic values, in the Muslim world it has been associated with dictatorship, the violation of human rights, and the abrogation of civil liberties.
Islam and Secularism in the Middle East examines the origins and growth of the movement to abolish the secularizing reforms of the past century by creating a political order guided by Shariah law. Contributors explain the Islamic rejection of secularism as a failed Western Christian ideal and also discuss how secularization was pioneered by those who thought Muslims could only advance politically by emulating Western practices, including the renunciation of religion.

Contents

• The Origins of Arab Secularism Azzam Tamimi: 13
• The Limits of Secularism John Keane: 29
• Secularism in Retreat Peter L Berger: 38
• Secularism Immanence and Deconstruction: 52
• Desacralising Secularism S Parvez Manzoor: 81
• Secularism in the Arab Maghreb Rachid AlGhannouchi: 97
• The Withering Away: 124
• Secularism and the ArabMuslim Condition Munir Shafiq: 139
• Democratisation: 151
• Index: 209

About the author

AZZAM TAMIMI is Director of the London-based Institute of Islamic Political Thought and is a writer on Islam and Middle East Issues. JOHN L. ESPOSITO is Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, where he is also Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. His publications include The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality, Islam and Politics, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World and The Oxford History of Islam.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Islam and Secularism in the Middle East
• Editors: Azzam Tamimi, John L. Esposito
• Publisher: NYU Press, 2000
• ISBN: 0814782612, 9780814782613
• Length: 214 pages
• Subjects: History / Middle East / General; Political Science / Comparative Politics; Political Science / History & Theory; Political Science / International Relations / General; Political Science / Political Process / General; Political Science / World / Middle Eastern; Religion / Islam / General; Religion / Religion, Politics & State; Religion / Theology; Social Science / Islamic Studies; Social Science / Social Classes & Economic Disparity