Secular and Religious: Challenges for Islamic Theology

To discuss the theme ‘secular and religious’ from a theological perspective is certainly not an easy undertaking. This is due, on the one hand, to the fact that the theme is a very complex one and, on the other, to the fact that the concepts ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ are often used in opposition to each other. The issue becomes even more explosive when it is discussed in the context of Islam. Moreover, some additional challenges become apparent that are conditioned partly historically but also partly by the contemporary debates on Islam. In particular, the metatheme of the compatibility of Islam with Western values plays a crucial role and has determined the direction of public debates for years. Even if the discussions – with some exceptions – are conducted too emotionally, unreflectively, and one-dimensionally, current developments in Europe leave no doubt about the urgency of a substantial debate on this theme. To be able to approach this thematic complex better, we will first discuss a few central aspects. It seems appropriate, first, to point out that the Islamic theological approach to secularism is embedded in a wide historical framework and can only be understood against that background. The encounter of Muslims with secularism cannot and should not be viewed in an isolated way. Rather, it is part of a series of events that Muslims have been confronted with in the wake of the decline in power of the ‘Islamic empire’. The relation of the ‘Muslim world’ to secularism was stamped in a lasting and decisive way by the circumstances of this encounter, which did not happen everywhere at the same time. And subsequent developments – like the colonisation of Muslim areas, attempts at institutional and social reform in line with the Western model, abolishing the caliphate and the installation of authoritarian regimes controlled from abroad, secularism interpreted and implemented in its most repressive forms – reinforced this. Obviously, this also influenced Islamic theology. This other history or experience of Islam with secularism, which is different from the European experience, must always be kept in mind when discussing the Islamic approach to this theme. The second aspect, which should be discussed briefly at the outset, concerns the different variations of the concept of ‘secularism’. This ambiguity often leads to misunderstanding and confusion, which – apart from any analysis of the content – can end in a sweeping rejection of secularism. That is why I should point out here that this essay focuses more on constitutional secularism. Thus, here