Secularism and Islam

International Journal of Social Science Research
eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022

http://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijssr
International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4 No. 1 [March 2022]
Journal website: http://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijssr
ISLAM AND SECULARISM: COMPATIBLE OR

INCOMPATIBLE
Tijani Ahmad Ashimi1*

1
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, Department of Fundamental and Inter-
Disciplinary Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia, Gombak, MALAYSIA
*Corresponding author: ashimi@iium.edu.my
Abstract: When we search for religion that preaches

Article Information: peace and submission to the will of God, undoubtedly,
Article history: that will be the religion of Islam, which is also a religion
of comprehensive way of life. It deals with all human
Received date : 22 December 2021 aspects from cradle to death. It does not separate the
Revised date : 15 February 2022 world of transitory from the world of permanent
Accepted date : 2 March 2022
Published date : 7 March 2022 (hereafter), nor disintegrating belief system and human
routine activities. As a matter of fact, Islam always
To cite this document: concerns about integration of soul and body,
combination of material and immaterial life and
Ashimi, T. A. (2022). ISLAM AND
SECULARISM: COMPATIBLE OR
consideration of finite existence and infinite world.
INCOMPATIBLE. International Conversely, secularism in other hand is an ideology that
Journal of Social Science Research, advocates complete division and separation of this world
4(1), 46-57. and the world to come; it invites people to disintegrate
religion and politics. Worst still, it indirectly eliminates
metaphysical realities from human daily activities, on
raison d’etre, that metaphysical world or religious
affairs can create obstacles and barriers to human
development and progress. As such, the physical world
and its fascination should be the first priority and main
target of rational being. Based on this fact, this paper
will apply comparative study to examine Islam and
secularism; it will further explore the view of some
contemporary Muslim scholars concerning the subject.
Lastly, the paper will evaluate the ideology of secularism
whether is compatible or incompatible with the teaching
of Islam and that will be followed by brief conclusion
and some suggestions.
Keywords: Secularism, Islam, compatibility,

incompatibility, Muslim Scholars.
46
Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
1. Brief Introduction
Secularism is an ideology that rejects religion, or the belief that religion should not be part of
the affairs of the state or part of public education. The principle of separation of church and
state, and the idea of keeping religion out of the public school system is examples of secularism.
Down the centuries, secularism often associated with the age of enlightenment in Europe which
was also coincided with la renaissance and which played a major role in Western society. The
principles, but not necessarily practices of separation of church and state in the United States
and Laicite in France draw heavily on secularism. For instance, Laicite is a French secularity,
which is the absence of religious involvement in government affairs, especially the prohibition
of religious influence in the determination of state policies and its routine activities. Hence, the
policy decision pertaining to topics like abortion, contraception, sex education and etc, must
purely be secularized. Based on this fact, this article aims to investigate secularism as an
ideology that tends to separate the worldly affairs from metaphysical world. Yet, in order to
achieve the objectives of this paper, we will apply analytical and comparative methods, by
analyzing the meaning of secularism, its kinds and characteristics, then, comparing secularism
with the Islamic worldview. Lastly, comprehensive concluding remarks of secularism will be
provided.
2. Definition
There’s no doubt that definition is the fundamental aspect in studying ideologies. Because,
through definitions this ideology (secularism) can be well understood by academicians and
researchers. So, what is secularism?
According to American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000: Houghton Miffin),
secularism is defined as religious skepticism or indifference or the view that religious
considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or from public education. Meanwhile,
Jacob Holyoake (1871) stated that “Secularism is an ethical system founded on the principle
of natural morality and independent from any revealed religions or supernaturalism, but derived
solely from human intellects and experiences”. In another book A Confession of belief (1896);
he defined secularism as a form of opinion which only concerns on questions and issues that
only can be experienced and sensed by the humans’ senses themselves. That means secularism
is a system that fully adhered to ethics and morality and does not have any relations with any
religion or metaphysical world, but emerges from human logical rezoning based on what the
human sensed and experienced.
However, Jacob’s definition needs some analysis, on the ground that if secularism is fully
adhered to ethics and morality, the ideology should not oppose any religion nor object any
revelation, because religion and revelation are the sources of ethics and moralities. as such,
there’s no ethics without religion and no morality without revelation of God.
As a matter of fact, Secularism can be classified under agnosticism. Because both ideologies
only believe in existence based on five senses only, and other metaphysical aspects or
ghaibiyyat (such as God angels, paradise, hell etc.) are all considered as deviated, because
metaphysical matters can not be sensed by human senses. In short secularism is dealing with
worldly affairs and excludes religious affairs or any invisible world from daily life.
47

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
This is in line with the view of H.M Rasjidi, (1997) who argued that secularism is an ethical
system together with philosophy that tries to interpret and give meanings to the humans’ life
without believes in God scriptures and the life of hereafter. From his definition we can conclude
that secularism is non-religious worldview, it is also an atheistic ideology that only concerns
with physical world.
Meanwhile, Harvey Cox (1985) defines Secularism as: “The liberation of Man from religious
and metaphysical tutelage (guidance), the turning of his attention away from other worlds and
towards this one,” that is the worldly one.
This means, Cox has no belief in another world other than this physical world and natural
phenomenon. This will raise another question and query of who is the originator of this physical
world? Or who is the sole creator of this transitory existence? Surely, the answer to this
question and query is God the only Originator of this physical world and the sole Creator of
everything from nothing. So, if God is metaphysical, it does not mean He does not exist.
In brief, the English word secular derives from the Latin word speculum which is referred to a
generation or an age. "Secular" came to mean "belonging to this age, or worldly aspect of life.
In general terms, secularism involves an affirmation of immanent, this-worldly realities, along
with a denial or exclusion of transcendent and other-worldly realities. It is a worldview and life
style oriented to the profane rather than the sacred, the natural rather than the supernatural.
Secularism is a nonreligious approach to individual and social life. Secularism is inspired by
secular philosophy, devoid of certainty, subject to constant review and change
Its worldview formulation is not upon revealed knowledge and religious belief but rather upon
cultural tradition, speculations to secular life centered upon man as physical entity
3. Characteristics of Secularism
To categorize a society or a person as a secularist, we must look at the characteristics of
secularism. In this paper, we are going to discuss three main features of it; neutrality regarding
religion, encouraging rational thinking, and separation of religion from other matters.
Firstly, secularists claim that they are neutral regarding religion. They maintain a naturalistic
worldview, in which they do not deny nor accept religious beliefs. Most of them see that all
religions are equal. As a result, secularists are strongly attached to a human's mind and
perspectives before anything. There are a few countries that officially stated that they are
secular states, such as France, the United States of America and Turkey. This means the
governments of these states cannot advise their subjects on what constitutes the proper religion.
They remain neutral about religious perspectives and lead the country by following their own
ways and rules.
Next, secularists encourage rational thinking. They firmly believe that everything is dependent
on logical thinking and there are no rules superior to that. Humans can make their own rules
and live the life they want without any restrictions and religious obligations. They also believe
that men can modify any sort of religious laws according to their selfish desires. For instance,
they believe that religious rules are outdated and need to be changed according to the current
era, following the latest rational thinking and ideologies. However, it is mentioned in the Holy
Quran, in Surah Al- ‘Isra’ verse 88, which means "If mankind and the jinn gathered to produce
48

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other
assistants." This verse firmly stated that, even though any man tries to work together and make
new rules, trying to change the Islamic laws according to their will, they will never succeed in
producing such a wonderful guideline as Al-Quran.
Lastly, secularists separate religion from other matters. As we know, secularists believe that no
religion is superior to another. Thus, secularists ensure to lead and live their life separate from
any religious regulations. For example, they separate religions from education, affairs of states
and also from society. Some also believe that the rules in religion are like a rope, which will
restrict their action and decision, opposing their belief in freedom and happiness. But, their
claims contradict with what Allah S.W.T has promised in Surah An-Naml, verse 1 and 2 which
means, “Ṭâ-Sĩn. These are the verses of the Quran; the clear Book. It is˺ a guide and good news
for the believers”. This verse clearly mentions that those who follow the rules of Allah will
receive good news and will be successful in the future.
There are other characteristics of secularism aside from the ones stated above, but for the sake
of this paper, it is worth mentioning that these three characteristics are the main features that
we need to look at to identify a secularist.
4. Types of Secularism
Based on above definitions and characteristics of secularism, the ideology of secularism may
be classified into two categories which are hard and soft. In addition, there are two types of
secularism namely; radical and moderate. It is crucial to note that moderate secularism may be
seen as soft, liberal or passive secularism. While radical secularism may be related to hard,
extremist or assertive secularism. A person who practices moderate secularism can tolerate
other religious people, multiculturalism and liberalism. These people also have neutral views
on all religions as well as coexisting peacefully. Indeed, there are few famous names that can
be categorized under this type such as John Locke, Adam Smith, and Thomas Jefferson, and
Gandhi. On the other hand, hard secularists have different perspectives on religions. They view
religions as an illusion and hurdle in facilitating modernization and seeking knowledge. These
kinds of secularists call for complete elimination of religion from the routine affairs.
Meanwhile, there are three main components of secularism which are (1) disenchantment of
nature (2) de-sacralization of politics (3) ‘de- consecration of values’.
4.1 Disenchantment of Nature

According to Al- Attas (1996), disenchantment of nature means freeing of nature from its
religious overtones. Nature is not a divine entity. This is also in line with ideology of
naturalism.
According to Oxford English Dictionary (2016), naturalism is defined as a philosophy which

believes that all living things and events in the universe are natural and exist by itself. In other
words, nobody causes the existence of nature. Naturalism actually derives from the word
nature, which means self-sufficient or self-explanatory. Self-sufficiency can be defined as the
ability to stand on one's own without the assistance of others, and self-explanatory implies that
there is no need for explanation and there is nothing else to consider or ponder. From the
definition itself, we can say that naturalism is non-religious and not a good worldview. This is
49

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
because the term "self-sufficient" can only be assigned to God not others, as He is the only one
who can stand on His own.
Likewise, adopting scientific method, this ideology claims that anything detectable by senses
it exists, whereas, things that cannot be detected by senses or any phenomenon that can not be
proven scientifically do not exist. Consequently, this ideology negates the existence of God
and other metaphysics.
Furthermore, naturalism adopts an atheistic theory where it neglected the existence of God.
Nature exists and emerges by itself. (2011)1There is no creator of nature. Naturalists denied
not only Allah but all the existence of supernatural beings and metaphysics. Naturalism is
parallel to scientism and secularism; in the sense that it promotes denial to things that cannot
be seen, heard or touched by humans such as angels, Jannah and Hellfire. When the thing is in
physical form, they will believe it, but beyond that, they will neglect it. At the same time, the
secularists that adapt this ideology, do not respect the nature either, they tend to destroy it,
eliminate the nature as they believe they can easily conquer and control the nature.
This provides an absolute condition for the development of natural science, and highly
developed the culture of observation, experiment, experience, hypothesis and scientific
methods. Hence; secularism believes that no real scientific breakthrough is possible until man
can face the natural world unafraid. It means, secularism holds that nature does not have any
relationship or connection with God. Therefore, people can freely use or do anything to nature
according to their desires and needs.
Based on this fact, there’s no doubt that this component (disenchantment of nature) is totally
against universal ethics and it also opposes the Islamic worldview. According to the Islamic
worldview, nature is one of creation of Allah for the service of mankind and for his betterment.
As such, this nature deserves a strong care and deep respect by human being. This is known as
Taskhir (subservience) in Quranic worldview. Taskhir originated from the Arabic word
"sakhkhara,"2 which means putting something into service, pressuring something to be of
service to something else, and to make something subservient and obedient. In the dictionary
of Mukhtar al-Sihah, "sakhkharahu taskhiran" is explained as "kallafahu 'amalan bi la ujrah,"
that means "to charge someone else with duty without remuneration and compensation". In the
Qur'an, Taskhir refers to the easily observable fact that existence, in both its cosmic and
biospheric aspects, has been constrained by Allah to provide service and profit to mankind.
Allah compelling the heavens and the earth to serve mankind so that they can consciously
acknowledge His many blessings upon them, and therefore grateful to Him as has stated in
Surah Al- Jathiyah:
“He has also subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and anything is on earth and all by
His grace. There are signs in this for the people who reflect”. Qur’an, 45:13
In modern cosmological terms, the taskhir refers to the high degree of fine-tuning of the
universe's design parameters to sustain life on earth, and eventually, conscious and intelligent
human life. In other words, the taskhir is Sunahtullah (God’s customary law in the universe)
1
Reece, J. B., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V., and Jackson, R. B. (2011). Figure
1.18. Natural selection. In Campbell biology (10th ed., p. 14). San Francisco, CA: Pearson.
2
Qamus Al- Muhit (1986) Daarul Fikr, Beirut
50

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
in any form, and without it, the universe will be over. Therefore, Man is well-equipped to
interact with the universe in a way that actualizes the duties of being Khalifah (vicegerence)
on earth and he is responsible for creating harmony and taking into consideration the overall
benefit of the ecosystem today and in the future.
4.2 De-Sacralisation of Politics

The second component of secularism is no one rules by divine right. This is what Attas called
De-sacralization of politics (Attas:1996). This means that secularism is calling for the denial
of political power based on religious law. It means any state should avoid a theocratic system,
because significant political and social change is almost impossible in societies in which the
ruling regime is directly legitimated by religious symbols. Element shows that every culture
and system including religion and worldview will always change. Therefore, they believe the
future is open for changes and humans are free to make a change and become part of the
evolutionary process therefore, nowadays, we can see the shape of this ideology in the political
field, knowledge and also in terms of religious understanding.
According to the secular nation, the modern country is when there is a separation of religion
and state affairs. Thus, political secularization is a process where the structure in politics or
government will undergo radical changes and result in the separation of religion and state.
Besides, western thinkers are trying to increase the distance between knowledge and religion,
and they resist anything that is related to spiritual nature. This attitude in turn calls for the
separation of knowledge or science from religion and stand that the ideal way for the basis of
knowledge is based on the human mind that relies on senses that humans possess. Other than
that, starting from the time where the power of religion (Christian) had faded, people claim that
religion is the reason for the lack of development in science or knowledge. Due to that, the
separation between human activities and religion becomes significant. The battle between the
church and science in 17th century was such an example.
4.3 De- Consecration of Values

De- consecration of values means the disappearance of securely grounded values. It also
indicates that there is no longer the direct expression of the Divine Will. (Attas:1996)
Indeed, de-consecration (relativization) of values implies making any and every value system
temporary or impermanent and relative, including faith and world views that have ultimate and
definite importance for one’s existence. Man’s future in this sense is open to change and
evolution. In other words, man is free which the clear manifestation of the divine will is no
longer present to make the transformation and immerse himself in the so- called evolutionary
process, For example, nowadays, some Western marriage institution, don’t allow the same
gender to be married, whereas, some countries that have been practiced and allowed the same
gender to be married; simply because value is being de-consecrated which changes from time
to time.
Similarly, de- consecration of values also means human freedom to change his attitude,
behavior and personality without making any reference to revelation or considering the
importance of religion and ethical values. As such, de- consecration of values is leading to total
destruction of human values; because human being without ethical values and religion is like
a body without soul.
51

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
5. Causes of Secularism
According to Active Study Dictionary (1986), secularism is defined as a complete separation
of religion and daily activities such as politics, economy and education.
Therefore, there are many causes that lead to secularism. Among the causes , the following
deserves mention is the agitation that took place in the church which was one of the most
important big factors that led to the rise and birth of secularism in the Western World.
Historically speaking and before the sixteenth century, the church was a religious institution
highly respected among the Christian community and the peasants were considered the most
noble group within the society. This situation has changed completely when the attitude of the
group of the church has changed and the irregularities have become so rampant that lead to
degrading the dignity of the church class among the Christian community. The Christian
Pastors began to put aside the purity of Christianity in terms of spiritually in order to achieve
and obtain wealth. On top of that, they are more likely to be open and encourage the
development of magnificent monuments of Christian theology and development of new
knowledge which lead to the rise of secularism.
Second cause of secularism is because of modern education. Modern education leads and
encourages scientific thinking to human problems while also separating religion from
education. Secular education glorifies material needs and rejects spiritual values. It also
promotes the scientific value of rationality, objectivity and open-mindness. When one is having
problems in terms of marriage , occupation or other human activities , modern education of
secularism leads them to think in a way scientifically rather than thinking spiritually. For
example, the educated youth tried to find out scientific explanations to the numerous traditional
beliefs which only lead to much confusion.
The third cause is due to technological developments, especially construction and process
technologies. Community development has grown rapidly and exponentially which then gives
a very big impact which is the birth of secularism among the Christian community in the
Western world at that time. Western society at that time had begun to compete in terms of
wealth and at the same time they had slowly forgotten the values of Christianity slowly. This
issue affects not only the general public, but the church as well which also influences them
until they forget their religious responsibilities. Other than that, they also focus on architecture
and the art of drama that also developed at that time. They enjoy the emerging aesthetic value
without taking into consideration the point of religious views on the arts which in the end they
finally have forgotten their responsibility to religion.
6. Effects of Secularism
Based on the definition of secularism by Harvey Cox (1983) who defines Secularism as: “The
liberation of Man from religious and metaphysical tutelage (guidance), the turning of his
attention away from other worlds and towards this one,” that is the worldly one. Hence, it is
generally known that understanding of this ideology certainly has both positive and negative
effects, but from observations the negative effects outweigh the positive effects. It can be seen
in terms of different aspects such as social, political, economic, and educational. From the
social point of view, secularism has strongly caused the appearance of gaps in the life of today's
society. The most obvious effect of secular thinking is a change in individual character in
relation to aspects of thought, action, and lifestyle. The isolation from religious life leads to
emptiness in the soul and it can cause unbalanced social development. This change in character
52

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
means that a person is no longer interested in religious life but rather having a life according to
their lust only. This will lead to the collapse of morals and ethics, especially of adolescents in
society. On the other hand, it will also lead to the spread of negative things and various forms
of moral crisis, for example, extramarital pregnancy, vandalism, and drug addiction. This
matter demonstrates very clearly the gravity of the moral crisis that is hitting teenagers in
society. At the same time, the practice of free sex has also become common in countries that
have been exposed to secularism, as they no longer adhere to their religion, making secularism
a new ideology in life.
From the perspective of economics, secularism contributes to the formation of three economic
systems, which are capitalist, socialist and communist that aim only at wealth and material
goods regardless of halal, haram, justice, social services and social protection. Capitalism refers
to the fighting for the right to an economy of unrestricted freedom. As a result, there are the
rich who get richer and the poor continue to be poor. This belief is rejected because it damages
human civilization and destroys moral values. Socialism, on the other hand, refers to the
struggle for the rights and equality of subordinates and for the fate of workers. Although that
sounds good and fair, the fact is, it has violated nature because workers who work a lot get the
same pay as workers who work little. Supposedly, it should not happen, because every
employee has the right to a salary or wages commensurate with the amount of work done. Next,
communism refers to the struggle for the values of power in order to build a system of equality.
It is unfair because it denies the right to find property for those who can afford it. Instead, his
property is distributed to the public without any effort on the part of the beneficiary of the
property.
Secularism influences politics by restricting the role of religion in life. Western political
ideologies are clearly different with Islam, such as communism, socialism and liberal
democracy, which contain strong secular elements. All of these forms of ideology clearly
permeate the thinking of the Muslim community as most Islamic countries practice it. As an
example, Rationalism is an important part of secularism and is a form of thought that attempts
to understand the state of reality by referring only to the human mind. The main goal of politics
based on secularism is only to gain wealth and even glory from the universal human being.
This can be seen when the existence of capitalism stems from the spread of secularism, where
capitalism aims to gain as much wealth as possible on this earth. This contrasts sharply with
the politics organized by Islam, where the main aim of politics is to safeguard human well-
being and Islam regards the leadership position as a very heavy trust and responsibility to be
fulfilled in managing the administration of the country.
Meanwhile, the educational focus of secularism forms a system of dualism, where a theory
based on two different principles, related to the separation between religious knowledge and
modern education. They consider nationalism, patriotism and capitalist democracy as true ways
of thinking rather than Islamic perspectives. In fact, some people think that going back to Islam
means going back to a backward past. There are also those who see Islam as an incomplete
thought that needs to be adjusted or changed if necessary, to keep up with geopolitical and
socio-economic developments in the world. This is the reality of the thinking of some Muslims
today as a result of the application of the ideology of secularism which corrupts their thinking.
Likewise, a person with a secular education tends to think scientifically, quantitatively, and
logically. As a result, today's society is very concerned with fate and position in the world and
measures success in terms of positions and possessions.
53

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
7. Islam and Secularism

Conversely, in Islamic worldview, there’s no way to separate the state from religion, because
religion is part of Muslim life and the holy Qur’an the seal of revelation is the holy scripture
of Islam that deals with human affairs from cradle to death, and it includes political affairs,
economy and education in its some chapters. For instance, in terms of politics, Islam is religion
and state, in another word, the state and religion are inseparable in Islamic worldview, and the
political affairs or political theory should be based on Mutual consultation (Shura) . This fact
is clearly stated in the holy Qur’an when Allah says:
“Those who hearken To their Lord, and establish Regular prayer; who (conduct) Their affairs
by mutual Consultation; Who spend out of what We bestow on them For Sustenance”
(Alshura: 42:38)
In terms of economy, Islam regulates the economic affairs of mankind, as such;

Revelation provides guidance to attain and maintain justice, and Islam sets some norms and
principles along with some restrictions to ensure the observance of those norms and principles
such as ;prohibition of riba, uncertain contracts, legalizing a lawful buying and selling and
forbidding unlawful earning and businesses etc According to the holy Qur’an
“Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the Evil One by his touch
hath driven to madness. That is because they say: “Trade is like usury but God hath permitted
trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord desist shall be
pardoned for the past; their case is for God (to judge); but those who repeat (the offence) are
companions of the fire: they will abide therein forever”. (Al Baqarah: 2:275)
Furthermore, in Islam Zakat (giving alms or charity) is imposed to secure the minimum
economic and social justice, therefore, rich people are exhorted to spend and promised to be
rewarded for that.social welfare
Lastly, educationally speaking, Islam strongly encourages seeking knowledge and makes it as
an act of Ibadah, in fact, according to authentic hadith, seeking knowledge is an obligation
upon each Muslim, especially education about religious matters which Islam considered as
individual responsibility (fard ‘Ain) upon each and every Muslim. Therefore, in Islam, we can
not eliminate revealed knowledge for the sake of human acquired knowledge, but we can
integrate the two knowledge together. In the most serious note, in Islam religious education is
the source of ethical values and moral virtues. Therefore, in Islamic worldview, elimination
of religious education is total elimination of ethical values and moralities
Thus, Islam is a comprehensive way of life. Therefore, In Islamic worldview, Islam totally
rejects the ideology of secularism or anything related to it. And there’s no success in finding
the similarity point between Islam and secularism even though scholars have struggled for it.
Al-Quran has asserted that Islam is the way of life and it is perfect for human, this is true
because we can see that there is no dependence on evolutionary theory in Islam and no room
for continuous conflict between religion and the state. In fact, history has proven that
Christianity initially opposed secularization; however, they lost throughout the fight against
secularization and its forts.
54

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
8. Concluding Remarks
As have been discussed earlier, secularism involves an affirmation of immanent, this-worldly
realities, along with a denial or exclusion of transcendent and other-worldly realities. It is a
worldview and life style oriented to the profane rather than the sacred, the natural rather than
the supernatural; it is in fact a nonreligious approach to individual and social life. Furthermore,
as far as separation of religions and daily affairs is concerned, secularism and secularists in no
way can fit for Muslim life; this is because in Islam, spiritual affairs cannot be separated from
worldly affairs.
Next, it is undeniable fact that secularism attempts to bring the downfall of the religious
institution so that can lead the secularists to attain happiness and success in worldly life only.
Meanwhile, Secularism can give negative impact on some aspects of man’s life, including
social, cultural, educational, political, and moral aspects.
Firstly, the effect of secularism on social and cultural aspects can be seen from the role of mass
media such as television and social media which become the central attention in this
contemporary living, and these media are controlled by those who are not sensitive to religion,
they introduced various values such as Western fashions and life-styles, immoral values which
are completely wrong to the teachings of Islam and Christianity. Indeed, with the mindset of
separating religion from worldly life, secularism gives a negative impact on the morality of
humans and turns them to the state of ignorance. For instance, programs shown on television
contain a lot of violence and unethical entertainments which clearly affect the minds of
youngsters to ignore spiritual aspects of life. This will also promote the idea to engage in
immoral activities, such as adultery, homosexuality and others. Undeniably, immoral acts keep
growing day by day under the influence of secularism since it excludes God’s guidance almost
completely in the daily chores.
Similarly, in terms of culture, secularism with its ideology can dangerously affect some
traditional cultures; on the ground that, some quarters that have been acclimatized with
secularism in certain culture will feel that their cultural value is old fashioned and outdated.
Consequently, they are more prone to forget their own values, norms, and their cultures so that
they can simply attain the standard of the so-called ‘modern community’.
Secondly, based on this research, it is obvious that secularism with its profane ideology has
also affected the educational dimension; because it attempts to separate religion from
education. But as a matter of fact, in Islamic worldview, education is one of the most crucial
foundations in society and from the Islamic perspective, seeking knowledge is an act of ‘ibadah
(worship) and it is an obligation for all the Muslims. It should be done for the sake of obtaining
blessings from Allah and used for a better life in this world as well as in the hereafter. In Islam,
knowledge has been classified into two categories, which are acquired knowledge and revealed
knowledge. Acquired knowledge focuses on all natural and social sciences, whereas, revealed
knowledge includes divine injunctions, knowledge about belief and others. However,
education in the secular system only focuses on acquired knowledge. It only concentrates on
this world. As a result, people no longer concern themselves with what is the purpose of our
existence, who is God and the list goes on. Hence, secularism produces professionals who lack
religious foundation, and the impact of secularism on educational systems becomes very
55

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
obvious, serious and dangerous. It eliminates God almost completely from education except
for strictly private concern.
Thirdly, secularism has also touched on politics. It separates religion from state. This ideology
promotes the idea that religion should not be integrated into public affairs of a society. It gives
detrimental effects in political aspects as laws based on scripture from Allah is replaced by
civil law. This attitude in turn reduces the ties between a government and a state religion.
Consequently, all the decisions making will be solely based on secular reasons. Secularism
also promotes some secular slogans to deceive the society. For example, ‘religion is for God
and the state is for the people’, ‘no religion in politics and no politics in religion’, ‘personal
freedom’, and many others to portray particularly the rigidity of Islam. As a result, a part of
society will view Islam as a religion that needs to be practiced in a ritual worship only and deny
it as way of life.
Finally, Secularism advocates that religion should have no control over human behavior. As a
result of the removal of divine guidance, people will always be in a state of hesitation and an
unstable system of morality. According to the Islamic point of view, man has limitations and
weaknesses, especially in terms of knowledge and experience. Hence, he needs the code of
conduct which is provided by Allah Who knows the best for all mankind.
Suggestions and Recommendations

1. As far as secularism is concerned, it is obvious that it tends to separate between worldly
affairs and life to come, divides spiritual life and material life. As such, it is unethical
worldview.
2. Based on above fact, secularism and its components is anti-religions worldview. It sees
religion and metaphysics as big hindrance to human progress and development.
3. Secularism and its worldview are no way compatible with the teaching of Islam,
because in Islam there is no separation between politics and religion, and no separation
between economy and religion. In fact, the transitory life and permanent life can be
integrated in Islamic worldview. Likewise, in Islamic worldview, the ethical values and
daily activities should be derived from religion and the holy Qur’an.
4. There’s no doubt that, the separation of mosque, and politics, the separation of Makkah
and New York, the separation of Paris and Vatican, the segregation of revelation and
human reason, and the denial of metaphysical reality will lead to human destruction.
References
Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1998)., The Qur'an: Text, Translation & Commentary, Tahrike Tarsile
Qur'an; Reissue edition
Cliteur, Paul (2010). The Secular Outlook: In Defense of Moral and Political Secularism.
London Press
Harvey Cox (1973). The Seduction of the Spirit: The Use and Misuse of People's Religion.
New York: Touchstone
Harvey Cox (1985) Religion in the Secular City: Toward a Postmodern Theology Simon &
Schuster Press.
Luke W. Galen. (2016), Understanding Secular People and Societies. Oxford University Press,
p. 22-23
Nader Hashemi (2009). "Secularism". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of
the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
56

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022
Nweke, C. C. (2015). Secularism, Secular State and Religious Freedom. Journal of Religion
and Social Science, Rajshahi College, 1(1). July 2017.
Stephen Bullivant; Lois Lee, eds. (2016). "Secularism". A Dictionary of Atheism. Oxford
University Press.
Syed Muhammad Naquib Al- Attas Islam and Secularism (1978) (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim
Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM); reprint, Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of
Islamic Thought and Civilisation (IS TAC), 1993).
Taylor, Charles (2007). A Secular Age. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University
Press.
William Stanley Jevons, The Principles of Science (London: Macmillan, 1874), vol. 2, 61
57

Secularism and Islam

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Secularism and Islam

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

International Journal of Social Science Research

eISSN: 2710-6276 | Vol. 4, No. 1, 46-57, 2022

International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

ISLAM AND SECULARISM: COMPATIBLE OR

Tijani Ahmad Ashimi1*

*Corresponding author: ashimi@iium.edu.my

Abstract: When we search for religion that preaches

Keywords: Secularism, Islam, compatibility,

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

4.1 Disenchantment of Nature

According to Oxford English Dictionary (2016), naturalism is defined as a philosophy which

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

4.2 De-Sacralisation of Politics

4.3 De- Consecration of Values

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

7. Islam and Secularism

In terms of economy, Islam regulates the economic affairs of mankind, as such;

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Suggestions and Recommendations

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 ACADEMIA INDUSTRY NETWORKS. All rights reserved.

You might also like