Muslim Women, Gandhi and Secularism
Muslim Women, Gandhi and Secularism
Secularism is a difficult word to define. It is often used simply as the opposition of religion; it is a view of life, as the Webster’s New World Dictionary puts it, “based on the premise that religion and religious considerations, as of God and a future life, should be ignored or excluded” (Agnes 580). Harvey Cox a Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard uses the word: “Secularism…is the name for an ideology, a new closed world-view which functions very much like a new religion” (20). Using the definitions suggested here, it is difficult to illustrate a resemblance between religion and secularism. Throughout my research I have found that most of the time catastrophic situations that portray the influence of ethnicity and religion involve substantial international force. There is additional proof that religion plays a vital role in exclusion, racism, group hatred and even territorial changes. Furthermore, “religious persecution and conflicts between believers and nonbelievers; between different churches in multi- religious societies; between domination, protected, or preferred religions and religious minorities; and concerning newly established religions, are all a common phenomenon” (Lerner 906-907). Although this indeed is an exceedingly broad topic, my main focus will be on the dilemmas that exist among women in Islamic societies, what positive aspects were attributed in defending women by Gandhi and how opinions of secularity seems irresistible when comparing this society with anything else in human history.
The confluence of religion, nationalism, ethnicity and tribalism in global politics has both threatened the existence and stability of nations, states and governments, leading some to warn of the clash of civilizations. Religious nationalisms demonstrate the variety of ways in which religion has been used to reinforce national identities, to mobilize popular support and even to justify actions that have led to
Secularism is a difficult word to define. It is often used simply as the opposition of religion; it is a view of life, as the Webster’s New World Dictionary puts it, “based on the premise that religion and religious considerations, as of God and a future life, should be ignored or excluded” (Agnes 580). Harvey Cox a Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard uses the word: “Secularism…is the name for an ideology, a new closed world-view which functions very much like a new religion” (20). Using the definitions suggested here, it is difficult to illustrate a resemblance between religion and secularism. Throughout my research I have found that most of the time catastrophic situations that portray the influence of ethnicity and religion involve substantial international force. There is additional proof that religion plays a vital role in exclusion, racism, group hatred and even territorial changes. Furthermore, “religious persecution and conflicts between believers and nonbelievers; between different churches in multi- religious societies; between domination, protected, or preferred religions and religious minorities; and concerning newly established religions, are all a common phenomenon” (Lerner 906-907). Although this indeed is an exceedingly broad topic, my main focus will be on the dilemmas that exist among women in Islamic societies, what positive aspects were attributed in defending women by Gandhi and how opinions of secularity seems irresistible when comparing this society with anything else in human history.
The confluence of religion, nationalism, ethnicity and tribalism in global politics has both threatened the existence and stability of nations, states and governments, leading some to warn of the clash of civilizations. Religious nationalisms demonstrate the variety of ways in which religion has been used to reinforce national identities, to mobilize popular support and even to justify actions that have led to
Cited: Agnes, Michael. Webster 's New World Dictionary. 4th ed. New York: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2003. 1-753. Print. Anidjar, Gil Arkoun, Mohammed. "Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 588. (2003): 18-39. Print. Mahatma, Gandhi, and Richard Attenborough Dallmayr, F. (1999). Rethinking Secularism (with Raimon Panikkar). The Review of Politics, 61(4), 715. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.db16.linccweb.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA59579069&v=2.1&u=lincclin_mdcc&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w Engineer, Irfan Freeman, Michael. "The Problem of Secularism in Human Rights Theory." Human Rights Quarterly. 2004: 375-400. Print. Ganguly-Scrase, Ruchira Madan, T.N. "The Journal of Asian Studies." Journal of Asian Studies. 46.4 (1987): 747-759. Print. Makdisi, U Taylor, Charles. "A Secular Age." Living in a Secular Age?. N.p., 1999. Web. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. Yinger, Milton