Extremism is often associated with religion, Islam in particular, but this is far from the truth because extremism may come in all forms, including in one’s adherence to a secular ideology. In the secular West today, religion is no longer enjoying the respect and prestige it used to have in the Middle Ages because many people believe that religion is no longer relevant for a modern society. Furthermore, religion is believed to have been the motive behind countless wars, brutality, torture, intolerance and persecutions that took place in human history leading to so many death and sufferings. Consequently, the West began to distance itself from religion and gradually became secular. And today, even though religion is still not totally obliterated, its role is strictly confined only to personal sphere.
In some countries, however, the suspicion and resentment towards religion runs very deep. In France, for example, secularism is not only an ideology of the state, but it has become like a new religion, so, while claiming to protect freedom and human rights the secularists often trample on the right and freedom of others to practice their faith, like what to wear or to eat. The proposed ban on abaya and hijab under the pretext of protecting secularism is no different from prosecution in the name of religion, with Islam and Muslims as the real targets. But why? Is Islam a threat to secularism or a secular way of life?
Secularism has been portrayed by the West as the answer to religious bigotry and intolerance, and secularisation is believed to be a part and parcel of human evolution towards perfection, hence it is considered ‘natural’ for the society to become less and less religious over time. But the opposite happens to the Muslim community, where religion is not only on the rise but Islam has become the fastest growing religion in the world, including in the unexpected regions like Japan, Korea, Latin America and Mexico. It seems that Islam is immune to secularisation, and is still able to draw new converts to its fold.
In a recent interview, Sam Harris, a celebrated atheist, expressed his dismay at the fact that Islam is now the fastest growing religion in the West especially after the 9/11. Apparently the secular West is now turning to Islam for guidance and answer to the questions of life, and Harris acknowledges the fact that Islam has been winning the hearts of new converts because the new religion gives them a sense of direction and purpose. So, despite all the negative propaganda against Islam in the media, Islam continues to grow stronger by the day in Europe and elsewhere, and hence put the validity of secularisation theory into question.
As a matter of fact secularisation is irrelevant to Islam and the Muslims life experience because the worldview projected by Islam is not based on a dichotomous dualism of this world and the next. On the contrary, the afterlife, which secularism denies, is the ultimate goal every Muslim seeks to achieve and the present life is the place to work for it. So Islam is not antithetical to secular life; instead, it gives to it meaning and purpose. In other words, Islam adds value to one’s life. Nonetheless, this is not what the great majority hold because Islam has been depicted as evil, backward and dangerous, therefore, the rise of Islamophobia and hate crimes against Muslims especially in the West is to be expected. The general hostility towards Islam and the Muslims is, however, also what motivates many people to read and learn about the religion, and with the spread of knowledge gradually all the misconceptions begin to disappear. And since the aim of Islamophobia is to keep the public away from Islam, it will succeed only when ignorance and misinformation is prevalent.
Islam, on the other hand, thrives with knowledge. The strength of Islam is in its purity and authenticity owing to its ability to resist changes and corruption, so the message of Islam remains the same forever unaffected by history. Since truth matters and is unchangeable a true religion must also not suffer change, otherwise how can it be trusted to guide or give meaning and purpose to our life. So a ‘religion’ that keeps on changing with time cannot even claim to be a religion, let alone a true one. Such a religion is in fact a social construct, which is, of course, subject to changes.
The emphasis on changes and thus worldly life while denying or doubting permanent and absolute realities is the main feature of secular mentality. But the ever changing world must also come to an end, and every living being cannot avoid death at the end whereas this life itself is full of uncertainties. This is the brutal fact of life which everybody has to face. For the secular man, he has to accept with ‘courage’ the fact’ that life is a tragedy because it is, as far as he is concerned, is meaningless. So secularism is also related to meaninglessness, which is what the West gets with its rejection of religion.
Today a secular person is often associated with rationality while the religious one with the lack of it. But what we are seeing now is people are abandoning secularism and coming unto Islam in droves. It does not mean that they are getting more and more irrational, on the contrary, they have now realised that secularism is a bankrupt ideology based upon an irrational conception of existence. Islam, in this regard, has special appeal to mankind because it projects itself as the middle ground between this world and the afterlife while rejecting excessiveness either towards the worldly life or the afterlife. So Islam enriches human life with meaning and purpose, and with that comes hope and self-confidence.
