THE FUTURE OF SECULARISM IN THE POST 911 WORLD
The post 9/11 world brought to fore many realities that hitherto remained hidden in the common conscious of civil society. While terrorism and its offshoot – religious fundamentalism was a phenomenon that was well established in the Indian psyche, to the world the events of September 11th 2001 brought this reality centre stage. Along with it came postulations like that of Samuel Huntington that talked about the clash of civilizations where religions and not countries would face-off against each other after the end of the Cold War. What it also brought to global notice was the ideals of secularism and the hardening of religious beliefs in many parts of the world. But in this increasingly divided world on the fault lines of religion and religious beliefs, what is the future of secularism – a pillar of undeniable strength for any democracy or diverse population.
The six years after the events of September 11th have unleashed two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – the former enjoying global acceptance while the latter dividing the world even further on religious lines. It is in that sort of a global environment that more and more countries are questioning the importance of religion and if so what role religion should play in this new era that will be dominated by religious extremism. The classical questions of the separation of religion from State are best highlighted by the events of the past few months in Turkey. A country that was founded on solid secular credentials by the father of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, the country finds itself divided on whether to elect a candidate for president whose wife is a practicing Muslim and an overtly visible Muslim at that with the use of the veil. Questions have also been raised about whether Abdullah Gul, as president of Turkey, will move the country towards a more Islamic character. The history of Turkey is riddled with the intervention of the army to take out governments that have moved it towards a more Islamic character. This time though, the secular army finds itself in a quandary. Living up to the country’s democratic norms the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for elections after having failed to install Gul as a consensus candidate. The popular notion was that Erdogan and Gul’s AKP party would lose the elections and that this loss would prove Turkey’s secular credentials. Opposition party’s raised the prospect of the country’s drift towards Islam if the AKP were to come back to power. The AKP party won the elections with an even better showing than in the previous elections and to secularists proved the changing nature religion is playing in the country. It is for Gul to prove otherwise whether he will take his country towards Islam in social and cultural policies but the Turkish elections have brought to the fore the importance religion is playing in politics in most democratic countries of the world. The world is indeed moving from a secular mindset to one that respects the religion that enjoys majority in their respective country.
The example of the United States is one that may not be sighted often for the role religion, and in the US’ case Christianity, plays in the country’s politics. One look at the gathering presidential elections proves the case in point. Every candidate in the fray is asked questions on faith and what stance each of them takes on social issues. Whether a candidate is a Mormon, pro-life, anti-abortion, practicing catholic or pro-gay marriages is a subject of intense debate. In fact, at times the political debate in the campaigning focuses more on religion and social standings than on economy, healthcare and geo-politics. The candidates of the Democratic Party recently held a debate on “gay” issues, a debate that focused entirely on the stand each of the candidates took on the issue. One has not heard the same focused approach on say healthcare in a country where 70 million people do not have health insurance. The debate on the Republican side is even more focused on religious beliefs and practices with the straw poll in Iowa recently had huge tents built my candidates where religious (Christian) sermons were carried out all day. Then again, the raging debate between scientists and preachers over the veracity of the theory of evolution versus intelligent design is a subject of much deliberation. So much so that Christian groups have advocated a change in school textbooks where children must be taught that evolution is only “a” theory and not the expected norm. The President of the United States (in)famously told an audience that it was God that asked him to invade Iraq. These examples are a mere reflection of the role religion is playing the world’s oldest democracy, a country which is secular and with a diverse religious makeup.
Europe is also not far behind in the debate over the relevance, importance and meaning of secularism in its society and culture. The Chirac regime in France saw the ban on display of religious symbols, a move that was hailed by secularists but condemned by religious organizations. Then again, in Britain the country has witnessed an unprecedented surge in the number of people going to temples, churches, mosques and synagogues after 9/11. There is also an increase ghettoisation of religious communities in Britain and religion based hate crimes have overtaken race crimes. This in a country that is considered the melting pot of the world with every possible religion having a representation in civil society. Similar increase in religious practices have been seen in every country in Europe so much so that there are groups and political parties across Europe that have called for an end to immigration, a comfortable byword to maintain the Christian nature of Europe. The near paranoia displayed by many EU nations to the question of allowing Turkey, a Muslim country, in to the EU belies the hypocrisy that secular Europe adopts when faced with accepting religions other than Christianity.
India presents a much more complex picture than any other country sighted above. India was founded on solid republican, secular credentials. In the sixty years since independence the country has seen many a clash of religions but none that have torn the country into fragments. The Babri Masjid demolition, the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the Mumbai riots in 1992 and countless terror attacks by Islamic fundamentalists have bent but not broken India. But in this romanticism, it is undeniable that the events mentioned above coupled with the events of 9/11 and the years since then have divided the country on religious lines. Our political parties have been only to happy in highlighting this divide. Be it the Congress party with its pseudo-secular approach to religion where criticizing the minority community in the face of bloody insurgencies and terror strikes is a big no-no at the altar of secularism. Or the BJP which has used the Hindu pulpit to target the minority community on the premise that the country’s majority religion must be “respected” by the minority – be it by choice or by force of a rioting mob. Countless, regional parties and religious organizations have helped accentuate this Hindu-Muslim, Hindu-Sikh divide to gain politically while decimating the secular strength of the country.
In such a complex triad of religion, politics and secularism, where is secularism heading? And what is the role of religion or what role should religion play in civil society and in governance. The debate may throw up many aspects but the fact remains that in the increasingly globalized world and diffuse religious make-up of populations the world over, secularism is the only way forward. Secularism, in the true sense of the word, an outlook that respects all religions while not making religion a hindrance in the political, social and economic growth of practitioners of any and every religion is the required by all means. All religions are equal yet no religion should play a role in the matters of the State is the crying need in this increasingly divided world. Lastly, there is also a need in the post 9/11 world that an increased display of religion or the practice of one’s religion should not be necessarily taken as a move towards extremism. Sometimes, in the face of terror atrocities and the limited success of governments the world over to wipe terror from the face of the earth, religion maybe the only refuge for many. While politicians must respect that and religious members of society must also acknowledge that if one were to have a more just society secularism is the only way forward. Amen to that.
The six years after the events of September 11th have unleashed two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – the former enjoying global acceptance while the latter dividing the world even further on religious lines. It is in that sort of a global environment that more and more countries are questioning the importance of religion and if so what role religion should play in this new era that will be dominated by religious extremism. The classical questions of the separation of religion from State are best highlighted by the events of the past few months in Turkey. A country that was founded on solid secular credentials by the father of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, the country finds itself divided on whether to elect a candidate for president whose wife is a practicing Muslim and an overtly visible Muslim at that with the use of the veil. Questions have also been raised about whether Abdullah Gul, as president of Turkey, will move the country towards a more Islamic character. The history of Turkey is riddled with the intervention of the army to take out governments that have moved it towards a more Islamic character. This time though, the secular army finds itself in a quandary. Living up to the country’s democratic norms the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for elections after having failed to install Gul as a consensus candidate. The popular notion was that Erdogan and Gul’s AKP party would lose the elections and that this loss would prove Turkey’s secular credentials. Opposition party’s raised the prospect of the country’s drift towards Islam if the AKP were to come back to power. The AKP party won the elections with an even better showing than in the previous elections and to secularists proved the changing nature religion is playing in the country. It is for Gul to prove otherwise whether he will take his country towards Islam in social and cultural policies but the Turkish elections have brought to the fore the importance religion is playing in politics in most democratic countries of the world. The world is indeed moving from a secular mindset to one that respects the religion that enjoys majority in their respective country.
The example of the United States is one that may not be sighted often for the role religion, and in the US’ case Christianity, plays in the country’s politics. One look at the gathering presidential elections proves the case in point. Every candidate in the fray is asked questions on faith and what stance each of them takes on social issues. Whether a candidate is a Mormon, pro-life, anti-abortion, practicing catholic or pro-gay marriages is a subject of intense debate. In fact, at times the political debate in the campaigning focuses more on religion and social standings than on economy, healthcare and geo-politics. The candidates of the Democratic Party recently held a debate on “gay” issues, a debate that focused entirely on the stand each of the candidates took on the issue. One has not heard the same focused approach on say healthcare in a country where 70 million people do not have health insurance. The debate on the Republican side is even more focused on religious beliefs and practices with the straw poll in Iowa recently had huge tents built my candidates where religious (Christian) sermons were carried out all day. Then again, the raging debate between scientists and preachers over the veracity of the theory of evolution versus intelligent design is a subject of much deliberation. So much so that Christian groups have advocated a change in school textbooks where children must be taught that evolution is only “a” theory and not the expected norm. The President of the United States (in)famously told an audience that it was God that asked him to invade Iraq. These examples are a mere reflection of the role religion is playing the world’s oldest democracy, a country which is secular and with a diverse religious makeup.
Europe is also not far behind in the debate over the relevance, importance and meaning of secularism in its society and culture. The Chirac regime in France saw the ban on display of religious symbols, a move that was hailed by secularists but condemned by religious organizations. Then again, in Britain the country has witnessed an unprecedented surge in the number of people going to temples, churches, mosques and synagogues after 9/11. There is also an increase ghettoisation of religious communities in Britain and religion based hate crimes have overtaken race crimes. This in a country that is considered the melting pot of the world with every possible religion having a representation in civil society. Similar increase in religious practices have been seen in every country in Europe so much so that there are groups and political parties across Europe that have called for an end to immigration, a comfortable byword to maintain the Christian nature of Europe. The near paranoia displayed by many EU nations to the question of allowing Turkey, a Muslim country, in to the EU belies the hypocrisy that secular Europe adopts when faced with accepting religions other than Christianity.
India presents a much more complex picture than any other country sighted above. India was founded on solid republican, secular credentials. In the sixty years since independence the country has seen many a clash of religions but none that have torn the country into fragments. The Babri Masjid demolition, the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the Mumbai riots in 1992 and countless terror attacks by Islamic fundamentalists have bent but not broken India. But in this romanticism, it is undeniable that the events mentioned above coupled with the events of 9/11 and the years since then have divided the country on religious lines. Our political parties have been only to happy in highlighting this divide. Be it the Congress party with its pseudo-secular approach to religion where criticizing the minority community in the face of bloody insurgencies and terror strikes is a big no-no at the altar of secularism. Or the BJP which has used the Hindu pulpit to target the minority community on the premise that the country’s majority religion must be “respected” by the minority – be it by choice or by force of a rioting mob. Countless, regional parties and religious organizations have helped accentuate this Hindu-Muslim, Hindu-Sikh divide to gain politically while decimating the secular strength of the country.
In such a complex triad of religion, politics and secularism, where is secularism heading? And what is the role of religion or what role should religion play in civil society and in governance. The debate may throw up many aspects but the fact remains that in the increasingly globalized world and diffuse religious make-up of populations the world over, secularism is the only way forward. Secularism, in the true sense of the word, an outlook that respects all religions while not making religion a hindrance in the political, social and economic growth of practitioners of any and every religion is the required by all means. All religions are equal yet no religion should play a role in the matters of the State is the crying need in this increasingly divided world. Lastly, there is also a need in the post 9/11 world that an increased display of religion or the practice of one’s religion should not be necessarily taken as a move towards extremism. Sometimes, in the face of terror atrocities and the limited success of governments the world over to wipe terror from the face of the earth, religion maybe the only refuge for many. While politicians must respect that and religious members of society must also acknowledge that if one were to have a more just society secularism is the only way forward. Amen to that.
posted by Karan Thakur @ 2:39 AM
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