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{{Short description|Relationship between secularism and Islam}}
{{Islam and other religions}}
[[Secularism]]—that is, the separation of religion from civic affairs and the state—has been a controversial concept in Islamic political thought, owing in part to historical factors and in part to the ambiguity of the concept itself.<ref name=PEIPT>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Henri Lauzière|title=Secularism|editor=Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone|encyclopedia=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2013}}</ref> In the [[Muslim world]], the notion has acquired strong negative [[connotation]]s due to its association with removal of Islamic influences from the [[Law|legal]] and [[Politics|political]] spheres under foreign [[Colonialism|colonial]] domination, as well as attempts to restrict public religious expression by some secularist [[nation state]]s.<ref name=odi>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Secularism|editor=John L. Esposito|encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=Association of Religion Data Archives|title=Rethinking Islam and Secularism|author=John L. Esposito|url=http://www.thearda.com/rrh/papers/guidingpapers/esposito.pdf|access-date=April 20, 2019|page=3|archive-date=March 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329150639/http://www.thearda.com/rrh/papers/guidingpapers/esposito.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Thus, secularism has often been perceived as a foreign [[ideology]] imposed by invaders and perpetuated by post-colonial [[Ruling class|ruling elites]],<ref name=OEIW>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Nader Hashemi|title= Secularism|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|editor=John L. Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2009|isbn= 978-0-19-530513-5|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0714}}{{subscription required}}</ref> and is frequently understood to be equivalent to [[irreligion]] or [[anti-religion]].<ref name=saeed>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Secularism, State Neutrality, and Islam  |author=Abdullah Saeed|encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Secularism|editor1= Phil Zuckerman |editor2=John R. Shook|url=http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/abstract/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199988457-e-12|year=2017|page=188|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.013.12|isbn=978-0-19-998845-7|url-access=subscription}}{{subscription required}}</ref>

Especially in the late 19th to mid-20th century, some Muslim thinkers advocated secularism as a way to strengthen the Islamic world in the face of Russian, British and French colonialism. Some have advocated secularism in the sense of political order that does not impose any single interpretation of [[sharia]] ([[Ali Abdel Raziq]], [[Mohamed Arkoun]], and [[Mahmoud Mohammed Taha]]);<ref name=arda-13>{{cite web|website=Association of Religion Data Archives|title=Rethinking Islam and Secularism|author=John L. Esposito|url=http://www.thearda.com/rrh/papers/guidingpapers/esposito.pdf|access-date=April 20, 2019|pages=13–15|archive-date=March 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329150639/http://www.thearda.com/rrh/papers/guidingpapers/esposito.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> argued that such a political order would not/does not violate Islam (Abdullah Saeed);<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Secularism, State Neutrality, and Islam  |author=Abdullah Saeed|encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Secularism|editor1= Phil Zuckerman |editor2=John R. Shook|url=http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/abstract/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199988457-e-12|year=2017|pages=195–196|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.013.12|isbn=978-0-19-998845-7|url-access=subscription}}{{subscription required}}</ref> and that combined with constitutionalism and human rights, is more consistent with [[History of Islam|Islamic history]] than modern visions of an [[Islamic state]] ([[Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im]]).<ref name=arda-13/> Orthodox Islamic scholars and proponents of [[Islamism]] ([[political Islam]]) strongly oppose limiting Islam to matters of [[Faith|personal belief]], and also strongly advocate for an Islam that encompasses law, politics, economics, culture and every other aspect of the lives of its citizens.<ref name=odi/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bale|first=Jeffrey M. |date=2009-06-01|title=Islamism and Totalitarianism |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14690760903371313|journal=Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions |volume=10|issue=2 |pages=73–96 |doi=10.1080/14690760903371313 |s2cid=14540501 |issn=1469-0764|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Islamist pioneer [[Abul A'la Maududi]] claimed that the goal of secularists was not to ameliorate tensions and divisions in multi-religious societies, but to avoid the "restraints of morality and divine guidance",<ref name="adams-114-sec">{{cite book|author1=Adams, Charles J.|editor1-last=Esposito|editor1-first=John L.|title=Voices of Resurgent Islam|url=https://archive.org/details/voicesofresurgen00hcen|url-access=registration|date=1983|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/voicesofresurgen00hcen/page/113 113–4]|chapter=Maududi and the Islamic State|quote=[Maududi believed that] when religion is relegated to the personal realm, men inevitably give way to their bestial impulses and perpetrate evil upon one another. In fact it is precisely because they wish to escape the restraints of morality and the divine guidance that men espouse secularism.}}</ref>
and thus eliminate "all morality, ethics, or human decency from the controlling mechanisms of society".<ref name="Adams-113">Adams, Charles J., "Mawdudi and the Islamic State," in John L. Esposito, ed., ''Voices of Resurgent Islam'', (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), p. 113</ref>

A number of pre-modern polities in the Islamic world demonstrated some level of [[Separation of church and state|separation between religious and political authority]], the loss of power of the [[caliphate]] being a major reason for that, even if they did not adhere to the modern concept of a state with no official religion or religion-based laws.<ref>Ira M. Lapidus (October 1975). "The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society", ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' '''6''' (4), pp. 363-385</ref> Today, some [[Muslim world|Muslim-majority countries]] define themselves as or are regarded as [[Secularity|secular]]. Many of them have a dual legal system in which Muslims can bring familial and financial disputes to ''sharia'' courts whose jurisdiction varies from country to country but usually includes [[marriage]], [[divorce]], [[inheritance]], and [[Legal guardian|guardianship]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Islam: Governing Under Sharia|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/islam-governing-under-sharia|access-date=2021-09-10|website=Council on Foreign Relations|language=en}}</ref>

== Definition ==
{{Main|Secularism}}

Secularism is an ambiguous concept that can be understood to refer to a number of policies and ideas—[[anticlericalism]], [[atheism]], state neutrality toward religion, the separation of religion from state, banishment of religious symbols from the public sphere, or [[disestablishment]] (separation of church and state,<ref name=OEIW/> although Islam has no institution corresponding to this sense of "church").<ref name=PEIPT/>  Secularism has been categorized into two types, "hard" or "assertive" and "soft" or "passive"<ref name=kosmin-2011/><ref name="Jakir Al Faruki 2017-20">{{cite journal |last1=Al Faruki |first1=Jakir |last2= Siddiky|first2=Md. Roknuzzaman |title=Secularism and the Muslim World: An Overview July 2017 Authors |journal=Journal of Social Science, Rajshahi College |date=July 2017 |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=20 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330320431 |access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref>—"hard" being irreligious, considering religion illegitimate and seeking to discourage and weaken religious faith as much as possible<ref name=kosmin-2011/> (an example being found under Communist governments);<ref name="Davies-risky">{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Lynn |title=Religion is risky; secularism safeguards |url=https://www.ucl-ioe-press.com/2014/01/21/religion-is-risky-secularism-safeguards/ |website=ucl-ioe-press.com |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> "soft" secularism emphasizes tolerance,<ref name=kosmin-2011>{{citation |url=http://www.trincoll.edu/NR/rdonlyres/9614BC42-9E4C-42BF-A7F4-0B5EE1009462/0/Kosmin_paper.pdf |title=Kosmin, Barry A. "Hard and soft secularists and hard and soft secularism: An intellectual and research challenge." |access-date=2011-03-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327023704/http://www.trincoll.edu/NR/rdonlyres/9614BC42-9E4C-42BF-A7F4-0B5EE1009462/0/Kosmin_paper.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2009}}</ref> and neutrality and seeking to exclude "the state from any involvement in doctrine", and exclude "upholders of any doctrine from using the coercive powers of the state.<ref name=BLIatW-181>{{cite book |title=Islam and the West |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=181}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|While neither [[Bernard Lewis]] nor [[Mansoor Alam]]  use the terms "hard" and "soft" to describe types of secularism, both refer to the religious policies of Communism as distinct from the separation-of-church-and-state secularism of western countries. 
*Lewis describes two kinds of secularism: 
** Marxist-Leninist secularism: "There is a kind of secularism which flourished especially in eastern Europe, though it has its supporters elsewhere ... Its adherents are atheists, but not godless. ... They have no religion, but they certainly have a church, complete with scriptures and dogmas, prelates and heirarchs, orthodoxies, heresies, and an inquisition to detect and extirpate them ..." 
**non-irreligious secularism: "The secularism that emerged in western Europe in the seventeenth century and was established by the American and in another way, the French revolutions in the eighteenth century was of quite a different kind Its purpose was not to establish and enforce irreligion as a new state doctrine but, rather to preclude the state from any involvement in doctrine and to prevent the upholders of any doctrine from using the coercive powers of the state".<ref name=BLIatW-180-1>{{cite book |title=Islam and the West |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=180–1}}</ref>
*[[Mansoor Alam]] doesn't even include Communism/Marxism-Leninism as a type of secularism, only as something ill-informed Muslim scholars confuse with actual (i.e. soft) secularism.  In reality "... [an] attitude of non-discrimination between various religions and their sects is the essence and core of secularism.  Nevertheless, [[ulema]] in general and Pakistani [[ulema]], in particular, feel such antipathy for this concept that they threaten to come out in the street and use violence at the very mention of this word in the context of Pakistan. The fact is that they confuse secularism with communism."<ref name=alam-2013-38>{{cite journal| url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/24711502 |last1=Alam |first1=Mansoor |title= Islam and Secularism |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=66 |issue=3 |date=July 2013|pages=37–49 (pages 38)|publisher=Pakistan Institute of International Affairs |jstor=24711502 }}</ref>
*Jakir Al Faruki and Md. Roknuzzaman Siddiky ''do'' talk about hard and soft secularism, but mainly they use different terms for the "two perspectives on secularism" in the Muslim world: "(i) radical or extremist" and  "(ii) moderate or liberal". The radical or extremist sort is not communism, which they ignore, but [[Kemal Atatürk]]'s [[Secularism in Turkey#Reforms of Republic|Turkish secularism]]. 
**Radicals believe "religion is the foremost obstacle for the modernization, development and  democracy" and should kept under the control of the state and only allowed in the private lives of individuals. This approach was embraced by [[Kemal Atatürk]], but also by  [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] (1918-1970) of Egypt, [[Saddam Hussein]] (1937-2006) of Iraq, [[Reza Shah Pahlavi]] (1878-1944) of Iran and [[Hafez al-Assad|Ḥafiz al-Assad]] (1930-2000) of Syria, [[Islam Karimov]] of Azerbaijan (1938-2016). 
**moderate or liberal secularism is based on pluralism, tolerance of religious difference, and neutrality to  all religions.<ref name="Jakir Al Faruki 2017-21-2">{{cite journal |last1=Al Faruki |first1=Jakir |last2= Siddiky|first2=Md. Roknuzzaman |title=Secularism and the Muslim World: An Overview July 2017 Authors |journal=Journal of Social Science, Rajshahi College |date=July 2017 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=21–2 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330320431 |access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref> Supporters argue that Islam is compatible with separation of religion and state, and that this separation has been practiced through Islamic history.<ref name="Jakir Al Faruki 2017-23-4">{{cite journal |last1=Al Faruki |first1=Jakir |last2= Siddiky|first2=Md. Roknuzzaman |title=Secularism and the Muslim World: An Overview July 2017 Authors |journal=Journal of Social Science, Rajshahi College |date=July 2017 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=23–4 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330320431 |access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref>
|group=note}}

There is no word in [[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], or [[Turkish language|Turkish]] corresponding exactly to the English term "secularism".  According to [[Mansoor Alam]], the "common and prevalent" translation of secularism in the four main languages of Muslims—[[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Urdu]] —is ''ladeenia'' or ''ghair-mazhabee'' and '' mulhideen'' which means "without religion" or "non religious".<ref name=alam-2013>{{cite journal| url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/24711502 |title= Islam and Secularism |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=66 |issue=3 |date=July 2013|pages=37–49 (page 1–2)|publisher=Pakistan Institute of International Affairs |jstor= 24711502 |last1= Alam |first1= Mansoor }}</ref>  Alam protests that contrary to these translations, definitions of secularism found in "western languages" all indicate that secularism "does not mean anti-religious or anti-God", but has come to mean freedom of religion and non-interference by the state in religion and vice versa.<ref name=alam-2013/>
Nader Hashemi writing in ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World'', gives two more words commonly used as translations in Arabic : ''ʿilmānīyah'' (from the Arabic [[Ilm (Arabic)|word for science]])<ref name=OEIW/> and ''ʿalmanīyah'' (apparently derived from the Arabic word for "world").<ref name=PEIPT/><ref name=OEIW/> (The latter term, first appeared at the end of the nineteenth century in the dictionary ''Muhit al-Muhit'' written by the Christian Lebanese scholar Butrus al-Bustani.)<ref>Keane, John. "The Limits of Secularism." In ''Islam and Secularism in the Middle East'', edited by Espasito, Jon L. and Tamimi, Azzam. New York: New York University Press, 2000. p. 35.</ref><ref>Bustānī, Buṭrus ibn Būlus. Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ:qāmūs muṭawwal al-lughah al-ʻArabīyah/taʼlīf Buṭrus al-Bustānī. Beirut:Maktabat Lubnān, 1977.</ref>  In Persian, one finds the loan word ''sekūlarîzm'', while in Turkish both ''[[Laicism|laiklik]]'' (borrowed from the French ''[[Secularism in France|laïcité]])'' and ''sekülerizm'' are used to define the term; although both can differ in definitions within Turkish literature, due to the confusion caused by the uncertain and incorrect usage of these two words, the meanings differ depending on context and the source''.''<ref name=OEIW/><ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2021-02-28 |title=Laiklik ve Sekülerizm Kavramları Arasındaki Farklar » tarihibilgi.org |trans-title=The differences between the terms "Sekülerizm" & "Laiklik" |url=https://tarihibilgi.org/laiklik-ve-sekulerizm/ |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=tarihibilgi.org |language=tr}}</ref>

==Scriptural basis==
According to Mansoor Alam (who dismisses "hard secularism" from consideration as a policy for Muslim governments), Quranic verses that "clearly and unambiguously" support freedom of religion by assigning to the Prophet the job of "conveying the message of Allah" to humanity rather than imposing Islam on them; and that give each person personal responsibility "for his/her own acts and deeds" are:<ref name=alam-2013-39>{{cite journal| url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/24711502 |last1=Alam |first1=Mansoor |title= Islam and Secularism |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=66 |issue=3 |date=July 2013|pages=37-49 (pages 39-40)|publisher=Pakistan Institute of International Affairs |jstor=24711502 }}</ref>

* Who respond to their Lord, establish prayer, conduct their affairs by mutual consultation, and donate from what We have provided for them; and who enforce justice when wronged. (42:38-39)
* Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians and Sabians, (star worshippers), whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord. On them will be no fear nor shall they grieve. (2:62)<ref name=alam-2013-39/>
* Say (O Muslims) we believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, and the tribes, (his 12 sons) and that which has been given to Musa and Isa and that which has been given to (all) the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. (2:136)<ref name=alam-2013-39/>
* ''La Ikraha fid Din''; there is no compulsion in Religion. (2:256)<ref name=alam-2013-39/>
* Say (O! Prophet) to these disbelievers; I worship not that  which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship, and I shall not worship that which you are worshipping, nor will you worship that which I worship, To you be your religion and to me my religion. (109)<ref name=alam-2013-39/>
* Verily proofs have come unto you from your Lord, so whosoever sees, will do so for (the good of) his own self, and whosoever blinds himself will do so to his own harm, and I (Muhammad) am not a watcher over you. (6:104)<ref name=alam-2013-39/>
* And as for those who take as guardians others besides  Him, Allah is watcher over them, and you (O Muhammad) are not a guardian over them. (42:6)
* Had Allah willed, they would not have taken others besides Him in worship. And We have not made you a watcher over them nor are you a trustee over them. (6:107)<ref name=alam-2013-39/>
* To each among you we have prescribed a law and a clear way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you one nation. (5:48)<ref name=alam-2013-39/>

Jakir Al Faruki and Md. Roknuzzaman Siddiky describe the Medina Covenant of Muhammad  (also known as [[Constitution of Medina]]), as a "secular constitution".<ref name="Ali, 2000">Ali, Ashgar E., (2000). Islam and Secularism. Secular Perspective.</ref><ref name="Jakir Al Faruki 2017-23">{{cite journal |last1=Al Faruki |first1=Jakir |last2= Siddiky|first2=Md. Roknuzzaman |title=Secularism and the Muslim World: An Overview July 2017 Authors |journal=Journal of Social Science, Rajshahi College |date=July 2017 |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=23 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330320431 |access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref>

== History and overview ==
=== Early history ===
Scholar [[Bernard Lewis]] points out that during its "first formative centuries", Christianity was separate from and often oppressed by the state, while "from the lifetime of its founder Islam ''was'' the state ... Islam was thus associated with the exercise of power from the very beginning".<ref name=BLIatW-135>{{cite book |title=Islam and the West |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=135}}</ref>

====Evidence of separation of religion and state====
{{See also|Constitution of Medina}}
A number of scholars have argued that a separation of religion and political power is not inconsistent with early Islamic history. The Sudanese-born Islamic scholar [[Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im]] has argued that a secular state built on constitutionalism, human rights and full citizenship is more consistent with [[History of Islam|Islamic history]] than modern visions of an [[Islamic state]].<ref name=arda-13/> [[Ira M. Lapidus]] notes that religious and political power was united while the Prophet Muhammad was leading the [[ummah]], resulting in a non-secular state. But Lapidus states that by the 10th century, some governments in the [[Muslim world]] had developed an effective separation of religion and politics, due to political control passing "into the hands of generals, administrators, governors, and local provincial lords; the Caliphs had lost all effective political power". These governments were still officially Islamic and committed to the religion, but religious authorities had developed their own hierarchies and bases of power separate from the political institutions governing them:

{{blockquote|In the same period, religious communities developed independently of the states or empires that ruled them. The ''ulama'' regulated local communal and religious life by serving as judges, administrators, teachers, and religious advisers to Muslims. The religious elites were organized according to religious affiliation into Sunni schools of law, Shi'ite sects, or Sufi ''tariqas''. [...] In the wide range of matters arising from the Shari'a - the Muslim law - the 'ulama' of the schools formed a local administrative and social elite whose authority was based upon religion.<ref>Ira M. Lapidus (October 1975). "The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society", ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' '''6''' (4), pp. 363-385 [364-5]</ref>}}

Lapidus argues that the religious and political aspects of Muslim communal life came to be separated by Arab rebellions against the Caliphate, the emergence of religious activity independent of the actual authority of the Caliphs, and the emergence of the [[Hanbali]] school of law.<ref>Ira M. Lapidus. "The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society", International Journal of Middle East Studies 6 (4) (October 1975): 363-385. 366-370</ref>
According to Jakir Al Faruki, secularism was found "for centuries" under the "tolerant and liberal" reign of most of the Mughal rulers<ref name="Ali, 2015">Ali, Musa. (2015). Secularism in India: concepts, historical perspective and challenges. Asia   Pacific   Journal of Research. I (XXIV), 119-124.</ref> "in particular,  Akbar's regime (1556-1605)"<ref name="Jakir Al Faruki 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Al Faruki |first1=Jakir |last2= Siddiky|first2=Md. Roknuzzaman |title=Secularism and the Muslim World: An Overview July 2017 Authors |journal=Journal of Social Science, Rajshahi College |date=July 2017 |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=16 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330320431 |access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref>

Researcher [[Olivier Roy (professor)|Olivier Roy]] argues that "a defacto separation between political power" of sultans and emirs and religious power of the caliph was "created and institutionalized ... as early as the end of the first century of [[Islamic calendar|the hegira]]". Nonetheless, what has been lacking in the Muslim world was and is "political thought regarding the autonomy of this space." No positive law was developed outside of sharia. The sovereign's religious function was to defend the Islamic community against its enemies, institute the [[sharia]], ensure the public good (''maslaha''). The state was an instrument to enable Muslims to live as good Muslims and Muslims were to obey the [[sultan]] if he did so. The legitimacy of the ruler was "symbolized by the right to coin money and to have the Friday prayer (''[[Jumu'ah]] [[khutba]]'') said in his name."<ref>Roy, Olivier, ''The Failure of Political Islam'' by Olivier Roy, translated by Carol Volk, Harvard University Press, 1994, p.14-15</ref>

The [[Umayyad caliphate]] was seen as a secular state by many Muslims at the time, some of whom disapproved of the lack of integration of politics and religion. This perception was offset by a steady stream of wars that aimed to expand Muslim rule past the caliphate's borders.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Umayyad-dynasty-Islamic-history|title=Umayyad dynasty {{!}} Islamic history|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-03-26|language=en}}</ref>

In [[early Islamic philosophy]], [[Averroes]] presented an argument in ''The Decisive Treatise'' providing a justification for the emancipation of science and philosophy from official [[Ash'ari]] theology. Because of this, some consider [[Averroism]] a precursor to modern secularism.<ref>Fauzi M. Najjar (Spring, 1996). [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_n2_v18/ai_18627295/pg_13 The debate on Islam and secularism in Egypt] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120629113116/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_n2_v18/ai_18627295/pg_13 |date=2012-06-29 }}, ''Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ)''.</ref>

===Colonial and post colonial era===
==== Muslim modernists and secularism====
The concept of secularism was imported along with many of the ideas of post-Enlightenment modernity from Europe into the Muslim world, namely the Middle East and North Africa. Among Muslim intellectuals, the early debate on secularism centered mainly on the relationship between religion and state, and how this relationship was related to European successes in science, technology and governance.<ref name="Tamimi, Azzam 2000">Tamimi, Azzam. "The Origins of Arab Secularism." In Islam and Secularism in the Middle East, edited by Esposito, Jon L. and Tamimi, Azzam. 13-28. New York: New York University Press, 2000. 17.</ref> In the debate on the relationship between religion and state, (in)separability of religious and political authorities in the Islamic world or status of the [[Caliph]], was one of the biggest issues.<ref>Ardic, Nurullah. Islam and the Politics of Secularism: The Caliphate and Middle Eastern modernization in the early 20th century. New York: Routledge, 2012. 8</ref>  Many [[Islam and modernity|Islamic modernist thinkers]] (especially from the late 19th century to the 1970s) argued against the inseparability of religious and political authorities in the Islamic world and described the system of separation between religion and state (along with concepts like freedom, nationalism, and democracy) within their ideal Islamic world.
(The search for harmony in a multi-confessional population by [[Baath Party|Baathist]]s, other nationalists, including non-Muslim [[Arabs]], was also part of support for secularism.<ref>such as Faris Nimr and Ya'qub Sarruf, intellectuals and journalists from Lebanon who relocated to Egypt in the 1880s and Salama Musa, who is a Coptic Christian Egyptian and founder of the Egyptian Socialist Party in 1920 - Fauzi Najjar: ''the debate on islam and secularism'', ''Arab Studies Quarterly''; 1996, Vol.18 Issue2</ref>)

[[Muhammad Abduh|Muhammad ʿAbduh]] (1849–1905), a prominent Muslim modernist thinker, claimed in his book ''Al-Idtihad fi Al-Nasraniyya wa Al-Islam'' (Persecution in Christianity and in Islam)<ref>ʿAbduh, Muhammad. "al-Idtihad fi al-Nasraniyya wa al-Islam." In al-A'mal al-Kamila li al-Imam Muhammad ʿAbduh. edited by Muhammad ʿAmara. Cairo: Dar al-Shuruk, 1993. 257-368.</ref> that no one had exclusive religious authority in the Islamic world. He argued that even the [[Caliph]] did not have religious authority over common Muslims because the caliph was neither infallible nor the person to whom divine revelation had been given. ʿAbduh argued that the Caliph should have the respect of the umma but not rule it; the unity of the umma is a moral unity that does not prevent its division into national states.<ref>Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. 156.</ref>

[[Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi]] (c. 1854–c.1902), in his book ''Taba'i' Al-Istibdad'' (The Characteristics of Tyranny), discussed the relationship between religion and despotism,<ref>Tamimi, Azzam. "The Origins of Arab Secularism." In Islam and Secularism in the Middle East, edited by Espasito, Jon L. and Tamimi, Azzam. 13-28. New York: New York University Press, 2000.</ref> arguing that "while most religions tried to enslave the people to the holders of religious office who exploited them, the original Islam was built on foundations of political freedom standing between democracy and aristocracy."<ref name=":0">Tauber, Eliezer. "Three Approaches, One Idea: Religion and State in the Thought of 'Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, Najib 'Azuri and Rashid Rida." In British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol.21. 192.</ref> Al-Kawakibi suggested that people can achieve a non-religious national unity, saying: "Let us take care of our lives in this world and let the religions rule in the next world."<ref name=":0" /> Moreover, in his second book ''Umm Al-Qura'' (The Mother of Villages) his most explicit statement with regard to the question of religion and state appeared in an appendix to the book, where he presented a dialogue between the Muslim scholar from India and an amir. The amir expressed his opinion that "religion is one thing and the government is another ... The administration of religion and the administration of the government were never united in Islam."

The thoughts of [[Rashid Rida]] (1865–1935) about the separation of religion and state had some similarities with ʿAbduh and Al-Kawakibi. According to the scholar, Eliezer Tauber:
{{blockquote|He was of the opinion that according to Islam 'the rule over the nation is in its own hands ... and its government is a sort of a republic. The caliph has no superiority in law over the lowest of the congregation; he only executes the religious law and the will of the nation.' And he added: 'For the Muslims, the caliph is not infallible (ma'sum) and not the source of revelation.' And therefore, 'the nation has the right to depose the imam-caliph, if it finds a reason for doing so.'<ref>Tauber, Eliezer. "Three Approaches, One Idea: Religion and State in the Thought of 'Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, Najib 'Azuri and Rashid Rida." In British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol.21. 196.</ref>}}
 
Rida provided details of his ideas about the future Arab empire in a document titled the "General Organic Law of the Arab Empire". Rida argued that the general administrative policy of the future empire should be managed by a president, a council of deputies to be elected from the entire empire, and a council of ministers to be chosen by the president from among the deputies. There, the caliph must recognize the 'General Organic Law' and abide by it. He would manage all the religious matters of the empire. Rida's ideal Islamic empire would be administered in practice by a president, while the caliph would administer only religious affairs and would be obliged to recognize the organic law of the empire and abide by it.<ref>Tauber, Eliezer. "Three Approaches, One Idea: Religion and State in the Thought of 'Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, Najib 'Azuri and Rashid Rida." In British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol.21. 190-198.</ref>

As seen above, these arguments about the separability of religious and political authorities in the Islamic world were greatly connected with the presence of the [[Caliphate]]. Therefore, the abolishment of the Caliphate by the Turkish government in 1924 had considerable influence on such arguments among Muslim intellectuals.

A work even more controversial than those mentioned above is a 1925 tract, ''Al-Islam Wa Usul Al-Hukm'' (Islam and the Foundations of Governance)<ref>ʻAbd al-Rāziq, ʻAlī. al-Islām wa-uṣūl al-ḥukm : baḥth fī al-khilāfah wa-al-ḥukūmah fī al-Islām. Sūsah:Dār al-Maʻārif lil-Ṭibāʻah wa-al-Nashr, 1999?.</ref> by [[Ali Abdel Raziq|Ali Abd al-Raziq]] (1888–1966), an Islamic Scholar and [[Shari'a]] judge. He argued that there was no clear evidence in the [[Quran]] and the [[hadith]], which would justify a common assumption—that to accept the authority of the caliph is a religious obligation. Furthermore, he claimed that it was not even necessary that the [[ummah]] should be politically united and that religion has nothing to do with one form of government rather than another. He argued that nothing in Islam forbids Muslims from destroying their old political system and building a new one on the basis of the newest conceptions of the human spirit and the experience of nations.<ref>Hourani, Albert. ''Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. 183-188.</ref> This publication caused a fierce debate especially as he recommended that religion can be separated from government and politics; and he was later removed from his position. [[Franz Rosenthal]] argued that in Abd al-Raziq "we meet for the first time a consistent, unequivocal theoretical assertion of the purely and exclusively religious character of Islam".<ref>Black, A, "The history of Islamic Political Thought", Edinburgh University Press, 2001, pp. 316-319</ref>

[[Taha Hussein]] (1889–1973), an Egyptian writer, was also an advocate for the separation of religion and politics from a viewpoint of [[Egyptian nationalism]]. Hussein believed that Egypt always had been part of [[Western culture|Western civilization]] and that Egypt had its renaissance in the nineteenth century and had re-Europeanized itself. For him, the distinguishing mark of the modern world is that it has brought about a virtual separation of religion and civilization, each in its own sphere. It is therefore quite possible to take the bases of civilization from Europe without its religion, Christianity. Moreover, he believed that it is easier for Muslims than for Christians, since Islam has no priesthood, and so in his view, there was no vested interest in the control of religion over society.<ref>Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. 330-332.</ref>

==== 21st century Muslims and secularism====
Writing {{circa|2013}}, [[Mansoor Alam]] argues that the "plunge into bloodshed" between Shias, Sunnis and other sects in Pakistan since the mid-1980s have "made mosques, imambargahs and even cemeteries unsafe places to visit". The "only antidote" the polarization of sects is the one Christians learnt after "a few hundred years of internecine bloodshed", i.e. secularism.<ref name=alam-2013-48>{{cite journal| url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/24711502 |last1=Alam |first1=Mansoor |title= Islam and Secularism |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=66 |issue=3 |date=July 2013|pages=37–49 (page 48)|publisher=Pakistan Institute of International Affairs |jstor=24711502 }}</ref>

Faisal Al Yafai, a columnist for ''[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]'', wrote in 2012 that secularism in the Arab World had declined and that "There is no major political party in the Arab world that would today be understood as secular."<ref>{{cite web|last=Al Yafai|first=Faisal|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/the-death-of-arab-secularism-1.589937|title=The death of Arab secularism|newspaper=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]|date=2012-11-03|access-date=2022-05-23}}</ref>

====Establishment of secularism====

{{Islamism sidebar|Fundamentals}}
[[John Esposito|John L. Esposito]], a professor of international affairs and Islamic studies, points out: <blockquote>the post-independent period witnessed the emergence of modern Muslim states whose pattern of development was heavily influenced by and indebted to Western secular paradigms or models. Saudi Arabia and Turkey reflected the two polar positions. [...] The majority of Muslim states chose a middle ground in nation building, borrowing heavily from the West and relying on foreign advisers and Western-educated elites.<ref>Esposito, John L. "Islam and Secularism in the Twenty-First Century." In Islam and Secularism in the Middle East, edited by Esposito, Jon L. and Tamimi, Azzam. 1-12. New York: New York University Press, 2000.2.</ref></blockquote>

Esposito also argues that in many modern Muslim countries, the role of Islam in state and society as a source of legitimization for rulers, state, and government institutions was greatly decreased, though the separation of religion and politics was not total. However, while most Muslim governments replaced Islamic law with legal systems inspired by western secular codes, Muslim family law (marriage, divorce, and inheritance) remained in force.<ref>Esposito, John L. "Islam and Secularism in the Twenty-First Century." In Islam and Secularism in the Middle East, edited by Esposito, Jon L. and Tamimi, Azzam. 1-12. New York: New York University Press, 2000. 2.</ref>

====Questions of suitability====

Opinion polls indicate a majority of Muslims believe that Islam does not separate religion from the state, unlike Christianity, and many Muslims around the world welcome a significant role for Islam in their countries' political life.<ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/12/hamas-hezbollah-islam-sharia-public-opinion-muslim-countries.html/ "MUSLIM WORLD: Poll shows majority want Islam in politics; feelings mixed on Hamas, Hezbollah"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523033054/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/12/hamas-hezbollah-islam-sharia-public-opinion-muslim-countries.html |date=2011-05-23 }}" LA Times", December 5, 2010.</ref>
Historian [[Bernard Lewis]] argues secularism developed in Europe as a reaction to bitter and devastating religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth century—a malady Islam did not suffer from.<ref name=BLIatW-179>{{cite book |title=Islam and the West |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=179}}</ref> Islamic history has had "regional, tribal, and dynastic wars with ... a religious coloration", "great power rivalries" such as between [[Ottoman–Persian Wars|Sunni Ottoman Empire and Shia Persian one]], but not religious wars;<ref name=BLIatW-178>{{cite book |title=Islam and the West |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=178}}</ref> religious discrimination but not persecution, prosecution of disloyal apostates but not campaigns against heresy and the burning of heretics;<ref name=BLIatW-178/> and no scripture such as [[Render unto Caesar|Matthew 22:21]] "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's".<ref name=BLIatW-179/> (Lewis ends by noting that in the late 20th century the problem of religion and state interfering in each other's affairs may have spread to the Islamic world and that "Jews and Muslims may perhaps have caught a Christian disease and might therefore consider a Christian remedy."<ref name=BLIatW-186>{{cite book |title=Islam and the West |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=186}}</ref>

====Opposition====
;from Islamic revivalists

[[Islamic revival#Contemporary revivalism|The resurgence of Islam/Islamic revival]], beginning with the Iranian revolution of 1978–9, defied the illusions of advocates of secularization theory. The resurgence of Islam in politics in the most modernizing of Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Algeria and Turkey, betrayed expectations of those who believed religion should be at the margins not the center of public life. Furthermore, in most cases, it was not a rural but an urban phenomenon, and its leaders and supporters were educated professionals.<ref>Esposito, John L. "Islam and Secularism in the Twenty-First Century." In Islam and Secularism in the Middle East, edited by Esposito, Jon L. and Tamimi, Azzam. 1-12. New York: New York University Press, 2000. 3.</ref> A striking example of the power of the religious revival to reverse secularism was in Iraq where in 1990-1991 the leader of the putatively secular [[Arab nationalism|Arab nationalist]] [[Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)|Ba'ath Party]] ([[Saddam Hussein]]), "finding himself at war, inscribed ''[[Takbir|Allahu Akbar]]'' on his banner and, after seeing the Prophet in a dream, proclaimed [[jihad]] against the infidels."<ref name=BLIatW-184>{{cite book |title=Islam and the West |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=184}}</ref>

Scholars like [[Vali Nasr]] argue that the secular elites in the Muslim world were imposed by colonial powers to maintain hegemony.<ref>Esposito, J, "The Oxford History of Islam", Oxford University Press, 1999</ref>
[[Islamists]] believe that Islam fuses religion and politics, with normative political values determined by the divine texts.<ref>Bonney, R, "Jihad: From Qur'an to Bin Laden", Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, 2004, p. 149</ref> It is argued that this has historically been the case and the secularist/modernist efforts at secularizing politics are little more than ''[[jahiliyyah]]'' (pre-Islamic ignorance), ''[[kafir]]'' (unbelief/infidelity), ''[[irtidad]]'' (apostasy) and [[atheism]].<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>Nabhani, T, "The Islamic State", al-Khilafah Publications</ref> Mawlana Mawdudi, founder of Jamaat e-Islami, proclaimed in 1948 that those who participated in secular politics were raising the flag of revolt against God and his messenger.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asghar Ali Engineer |editor1-last=Ibrahim Abu-Rabi' |title=The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought |date=2006 |publisher=Wiley |page=338 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sf6HxVjOLPsC&dq=%22Those+who+participated+in+secular+politics+were+raising+the+flag+of+revolt+against+Allah+and+his+messenger.%22+mawdudi&pg=PA338 |access-date=19 November 2021 |chapter=19. Islam and Secularism|isbn=9781405178488 }}</ref>

;from Conservative Muslims
Saudi scholars denounce secularism as un-Islamic. Prior to the reign of Crown Prince [[Mohammed bin Salman]], the Saudi Arabian Directorate of Ifta', Preaching and Guidance, issued a directive decreeing that whoever believes that there is a guidance (''huda'') more perfect than that of the Prophet (as spelled out in hadith and other literature), or that someone else's rule is better than that of the Prophet's, is a ''kafir''.<ref>Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, ''Contemporary Islamic Thought'', p 338</ref>

It lists a number of specific tenets which would be regarded as a serious departure from the precepts of Islam, punishable according to [[Sharia]]/Islamic law. For example:

* The belief that human-made laws and constitutions are superior to [[Sharia]]/Islamic law.
* The opinion that Islam is limited to one's relation with God, and has nothing to do with the daily affairs of life.
* To disapprove of the application of the ''[[hudud]]'' (legal punishments of [[Sharia]]/Islamic law) that they are incompatible in the modern age.
* And whoever allows what God has prohibited is a ''[[kafir]]'' (unbeliever).<ref>Mohammad Ibrahim Mabruk, al-'almaniyyun (Cairo, 1990), p. 149.</ref>

In the view of [[Tariq al-Bishri]], "secularism and Islam cannot agree except by means of talfiq [falsification, i.e. combining the doctrines of more than one school of Islam], or by each turning away from its true meaning."<ref>Al-Ahram, 12 December 1989</ref>

Mansoor Alam argues that the because the Ottoman and the Mughal empires were disintegrating at the same time as Britain, France and Russia were colonizing areas of the Muslim world, this "created a perception among the Muslims that secularism and democracy together with modern scientific revolution were responsible not only for the demise of the formal role of the church in state affairs but also for the decline of Muslim power. ... Muslim orthodoxy developed an antipathy for western politics, economics, science and technology. It is well known that the Saudi conservatives had bitterly opposed the introduction of the telephone and television in Saudi Arabia."<ref name=alam-2013-44>{{cite journal| url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/24711502 |last1=Alam |first1=Mansoor |title= Islam and Secularism |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=66 |issue=3 |date=July 2013|pages=37–49 (pages 44)|publisher=Pakistan Institute of International Affairs |jstor=24711502 }}</ref>

==== Questions of connection with authoritarianism ====

A number of scholars have argued that secular governments in Muslim countries at the end of the 20th century, have become more repressive and authoritarian to protect their rule (and their secularism) and from the spread of [[Islamism]],<ref name="Zakaria, F 2007"/> or used the threat of Islamism as an excuse to become more authoritarian.  Some (Fareed Zakaria) have argued that when government repression increases discontent, hostility to the secularism the government is allegedly trying to protect—and the popularity of its pious Islamist enemies—also grows.<ref name="Zakaria, F 2007">Zakaria, F.	2007, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. W Norton & Co Inc, New York.</ref>

After Islamists won elections in the secularist, nationalist states of [[Turkey]] and [[Algeria]], the elections were overturned by the militaries in order to "protect secularism".<ref name="Norton, A. R. 1996">Norton, A. R. (ed), 1996. Civil Society in the Middle East, 2nd volume. Brill, Leiden</ref>  In Algeria, a military coup followed the sweeping 1991 victory of the [[Islamic Salvation Front]] (FIS). The FIS supporters rose up and a bloody [[Algerian Civil War|civil war]] followed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.binghamton.edu/cdp/era/elections/alg91par.html|title=Algeria 1991 Legislative Election|website=www.binghamton.edu|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195033/http://www.binghamton.edu/cdp/era/elections/alg91par.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Norton, A. R. 1996"/>
In Turkey, the [[Welfare Party]] was victorious in 1995 elections,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.konrad.org.tr/secim/ayrinti.php?yil_id=12|title=Türkiye Seçimleri|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816061600/http://www.konrad.org.tr/secim/ayrinti.php?yil_id=12|url-status=dead}}</ref> but was forced to resign from the office by the Turkish military in February 1997 with a military intervention which is known as "post-modern coup".<ref>Yavuz, M. H. (2006) The Emergence of a New Turkey: Democracy and the Ak Parti. Utah: Utah University Press</ref>  No civil war followed that intervention but a later version of the Welfare party, (the AKP), went on to win power in 2001 and has become known for both its authoritarianism and its elimination of secularists from positions of power. (see below)

In some countries, the fear of [[Islamism|Islamist]] takeover via democratic processes has led to [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] measures against Islamist political parties.<ref>Garon2003</ref> 
"The Syrian regime was able to capitalize on the fear of Islamists coming to power to justify the massive clampdown on the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood."<ref>Nicola Pratt, ''Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Arab World'', p. 137</ref> When American diplomats asked [[Hosni Mubarak]] to give more rights to the press and stop arresting intellectuals, Mubarak declined and said, "If I do what you ask, the fundamentalists will take over the government in Egypt. Do you want that?" When President Bill Clinton asked [[Yasser Arafat]] to establish [[democracy]] in [[Palestine]] in 2001, Yasser Arafat replied similarly, claiming that with "a democratic system Islamist [[Hamas]] will surely take control of the government".<ref name="Zakaria, F 2007"/>

Fareed Zakaria (writing in 2003) argues less authoritarianism might weaken the Islamist enemies of secularism, pointed out that (before its [[2011 Egyptian revolution|2011 revolution]]) Egypt banned Islamic fundamentalists from running for election for parliament, even though that parliament was "utterly powerless". Had they (and other authoritarian Muslim countries) not done so, the fundamentalists might "stop being seen as distant heroes" by the Muslim masses and "be viewed instead as local politicians."<ref>Future of Liberty  by Fareed Zakaria, Norton 2003, p.149</ref>
Fred Halliday and others have pointed out that increasing authoritarianism has also left the mosque the only safe place in much of the Muslim world to voice political opposition.<ref>Fred Halliday, ''Two Hours That Shook the World''.</ref>

==== Secular feminism ====
[[Azza Karam]] described secular feminists in 1988 as follows: "Secular feminists firmly believe in grounding their discourse outside the realm of any religion, whether Muslim or Christian, and placing it instead within the international human rights discourse. They do not 'waste their time' attempting to harmonize religious discourses with the concept and declarations pertinent to human rights. To them, religion is respected as a private matter for each individual, but it is totally rejected as a basis from which to formulate any agenda on women's emancipation. By so doing, they avoid being caught up in interminable debates on the position of women with religion."<ref>Nadje Al-Ali, ''Secularism Gender and the State'', p140</ref> Generally, secular feminist activists call for total equality between the sexes, attempt to ground their ideas on women's rights outside religious frameworks, perceive Islamism as an obstacle to their equality and a linkage to patriarchal values. They argue that secularism was important for protecting civil rights.<ref>http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2006_spr/jb_religion.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915172940/http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2006_spr/jb_religion.htm |date=2015-09-15 }}: March 2, 2006 Conflicting Ideas of Secularism Cloud "Ideal" of Secular Democracy in Middle East</ref>

== Secular states with majority Muslim populations ==
Of the 50 Muslim majority countries in the world, the following 21 countries are listed to be secular:
*{{Flag|Albania}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/al00000_.html#A007_|title=ICL - Albania - Constitution|access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Azerbaijan}}<ref name="Article 7.1 of Constitution">{{cite web |url=http://azerbaijan.az/portal/General/Constitution/doc/constitution_e.pdf |title=Article 7.1 of Constitution |access-date=2016-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026135534/http://azerbaijan.az/portal/General/Constitution/doc/constitution_e.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*{{Flag|Bosnia-Herzegovina}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://servat.unibe.ch/icl/bk00000_.html|title=ICL - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Constitution|access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Burkina Faso}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/Burkina+FasoC+(englishsummary)(rev).doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009112408/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/Burkina%20FasoC%20(englishsummary)(rev).doc|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 October 2006|date=9 October 2006|access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Chad}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/ChadC+(english+summary)(rev).doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009114533/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/ChadC%20(english%20summary)(rev).doc|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 October 2006|date=9 October 2006|access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref>
*
*{{Flag|Guinea}}<ref>[http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/cafrad/unpan002994.pdf Article 1 of Constitution] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040913180737/http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/cafrad/unpan002994.pdf |date=September 13, 2004 }}</ref>
*{{Flag|Indonesia}}<ref>{{cite web | title = The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia | url = http://www.us-asean.org/Indonesia/constitution.htm | access-date = 2 October 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070310160936/http://www.us-asean.org/Indonesia/constitution.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 10 March 2007}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The province of [[Aceh]] in Indonesia has provisions of sharia laws which applies mandatorily to its Muslim residents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/indonesia|title=2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Indonesia|year=2022|publisher=U.S. Department of State}}</ref>}}
*{{Flag|Kazakhstan}}<ref name="akorda.kz">{{cite web|url=http://www.akorda.kz/en/category/konstituciya |title=The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan |access-date=2014-11-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924011326/http://www.akorda.kz/en/category/konstituciya |archive-date=2014-09-24 }}</ref>
*{{Flag|Kosovo}}<ref>[http://www.kushtetutakosoves.info/?cid=2,247 Republic of Kosovo constitution] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121073327/http://www.kushtetutakosoves.info/?cid=2%2C247 |date=2013-11-21 }}, Republic of Kosovo constitution,</ref>
*{{Flag|Kyrgyzstan}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/T/E/Legal_Affairs/Legal_co-operation/Foreigners_and_citizens/Nationality/Documents/National_legislation/Kyrgyzstan%20Constitution%20of%20the%20Kyrghyz%20Republic.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204064819/http://www.coe.int/T/E/Legal_Affairs/Legal_co-operation/Foreigners_and_citizens/Nationality/Documents/National_legislation/Kyrgyzstan%20Constitution%20of%20the%20Kyrghyz%20Republic.asp|url-status=dead|title=Article 1 of Constitution|archive-date=February 4, 2007}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Mali}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/Mali.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912141413/http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/Mali.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Preamble of Constitution|archive-date=September 12, 2012}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Niger}}<ref>John L. Esposito. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press US, (2004) {{ISBN|0-19-512559-2}} pp.233-234</ref>
*{{Flag|Nigeria}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm#Powers_of_Federal_Republic_of_Nigeria|title=Nigerian Constitution|website=Nigeria Law|access-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727124236/http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm#Powers_of_Federal_Republic_of_Nigeria|archive-date=27 July 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|12 Northern states in [[Nigeria]] apply full Sharia law.}}
*{{flag|North Cyprus}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/main/polsyst/constitution/ | title=The Constitution of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus }}</ref>
*{{Flag|Senegal}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90117.htm|title=Senegal|work=U.S. Department of State|date=14 September 2007 |access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Sierra Leone}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Sierra_Leone_2008.pdf?lang=en|title=Sierra Leone's Constitution of 1991, Reinstated in 1996, with Amendments through 2008}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Sudan}}<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-09-06|title=Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion, state|work=Gulf News|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/africa/sudan-ends-30-years-of-islamic-law-by-separating-religion-state-1.1599359147751|access-date=2021-04-04}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Tajikistan}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Tajikistan_2003.pdf?lang=en|title=Tajikistan's Constitution of 1994 with Amendments through 2003}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Turkey}}<ref name="Article 2 of Constitution">{{cite web|url=http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/anayasa.htm|title=Article 2 of Constitution|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201041755/http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/anayasa.htm|archive-date=2010-12-01|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Turkmenistan}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uta.edu/cpsees/TURKCON.htm|title=Constitution of Turkmenistan|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414030847/http://www.uta.edu/cpsees/TURKCON.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{Flag|Uzbekistan}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Uzbekistan_2011.pdf?lang=en|title=Uzbekistan's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2011}}</ref>

== Secularist movements by state==
=== Crimea (Ukraine) ===
{{main|Ismail Gaspirali|Jadid}}
The first secularist movements appeared in the late Russian Empire. A Crimean Tatar intellectual [[Ismail Gasprinski]] was the first Muslim intellectual in the Eastern European region, who realized the need for education and cultural reform and modernization of the Turkic and Islamic communities. The movement started by him got the name ''Usul-i Cedid'' which means "new movement".

In 1917, [[Crimean Tatars]] declared their independence ([[Crimean People's Republic]]) which was the first state in the modern Muslim world which introduced [[women's suffrage]].<ref>[https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%83%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8 Constitution of the Crimean People's Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418214739/https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%83%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8 |date=2020-04-18 }} ''in Russian''</ref>

=== Turkey ===
{{Main|Secularism in Turkey}}

Secularism in [[Turkey]] was both dramatic and far-reaching as it filled the vacuum of the fall of the [[Ottoman Empire]] after [[World War I]]. Starting with an amendment to the constitution in 1928 eliminating state religion, [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] led a political and cultural revolution. "Official Turkish modernity took shape basically through a negation of the Islamic Ottoman system and the adoption of a West-oriented mode of modernization."<ref>Alev Cinar, ''Modernity, Islam and Secularism in Turkey'', p 14</ref>

* The Caliphate was abolished.
* Religious lodges and Sufi orders were banned.
* A secular civil code based on Swiss civil code was adopted to replace the previous codes based on Islamic law (''[[Sharia|shari'a]]'', şeriat) outlawing all forms of polygamy, annulled religious marriages, granted equal rights to men and women, in matters of inheritance, marriage and divorce.
* The religious court system and institutions of religious education were abolished.
* The use of religion for political purposes was banned.
* A separate institution was created that dealt with the religious matters of the people. 
* The alphabet was changed from Arabic to Latin.
* A portion of religious activity was moved to the Turkish language, including the ''[[adhan]]'' (ezan, call to prayer) which lasted until 1950. Today, there are only sermons (''[[khutbah]]'', hutbe) in Turkish.

Throughout the 20th century [[secularism]] was continuously challenged by [[Islamists]]. At the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, political Islamists and [[Islamic democracy|Islamic democrats]] such as the [[Welfare Party]] and [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Justice and Development Party]] (AKP) gained influence. In the 2002 elections the AKP came to power and (as of 2024) has held on to it with increasingly authoritarian methods;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/11/08/commentary/world-commentary/erdogan-derailing-turkeys-promising-future/|title=Erdogan derailing Turkey's promising future|date=8 November 2016|newspaper=Japan Times|author=Gwynne Dyer}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/michael-rubin-turkey-headed-bloodbath-515787|title=Turkey is Headed for a Bloodbath|date=3 November 2016|magazine=Newsweek|author=Michael Rubin}}</ref> 
eliminating the "old secularist guard" from positions of authority and replacing them with members/supporters of the AKP;<ref name="NYT-23-7-16">{{cite news|last1=Akyol|first1=Mustafa|title=Who Was Behind the Coup Attempt in Turkey?|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/opinion/who-was-behind-the-coup-attempt-in-turkey.html?_r=0|access-date=23 July 2016|agency=New York Times|date=July 22, 2016}}</ref> Islamizing education to "raise a devout generation" became government policy;<ref>{{cite web|author=Sukru Kucuksahin|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/turkey-high-schools-student-stand-up-against-islamism.html|title=Turkish students up in arms over Islamization of education|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=20 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Zülfikar Doğan|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/turkey-education-erdogan-devout-generation-plan.html|title=Erdogan pens education plan for Turkey's 'devout generation'|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=29 June 2016}}</ref> reversing the role of the governmental body established to control and limit religious affairs (''[[Presidency of Religious Affairs|Diyanet]]''), to promote a conservative (''[[Hanafi]]'' [[Sunni]]) version of Islam.<ref name=rise>{{cite web|url=http://www.turkeyanalyst.org/publications/turkey-analyst-articles/item/463-the-rise-of-diyanet-the-politicization-of-turkey%E2%80%99s-directorate-of-religious-affairs.html |title=The Rise of Diyanet: the Politicization of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs |last1=Cornell |first1=Svante |publisher=turkeyanalyst.org |date=2015-10-09 |access-date=2016-07-27}}</ref>

=== Lebanon ===
{{Main|Secularist movement in Lebanon}}

[[Lebanon]] is a [[parliamentary democracy]] within the overall framework of [[Confessionalism (politics)|Confessionalism]], a form of [[consociationalism]] in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. A growing number of Lebanese, however, have organized against the confessionalist system, advocating for an installation of [[laïcité]] in the national government. The most recent expression of this secularist advocacy was the [[Laïque Pride]] march held in [[Beirut]] on April 26, 2010, as a response to [[Hizb ut-Tahrir]]'s growing appeal in Beirut and its call to re-establish the Islamic caliphate.

=== Tunisia ===
{{Main|Secularism in Tunisia}}

Under the leadership of [[Habib Bourguiba]] (1956–1987), Tunisia's post independence government pursued a program of secularization.<ref>''Secularism and Democracy in the Middle East''; http://www.islam-democracy.org/4th_Annual_Conference-shakman-Hurd_paper.asp {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220053302/http://www.islam-democracy.org/4th_Annual_Conference-Shakman-Hurd_paper.asp |date=2008-02-20 }}</ref>

Bourguiba modified laws regarding ''habous'' (religious endowments), secularized education and unified the legal system so that all Tunisians, regardless of religion, were subject to the state courts. He restricted the influence of the religious [[University of Ez-Zitouna]] and replaced it with a faculty of theology integrated into the University of Tunis, banned the headscarf for women, made members of the religious hierarchy state employees and ordered that the expenses for the upkeep of mosques and the salaries of preachers to be regulated.<ref>Nazih N. Ayubi, ''Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World'', p. 113</ref>

Moreover, his best known legal innovations were the 'Code du Statut Personel' (CSP) the laws that govern issues related to the family: marriage, guardianship of children, inheritance and most importantly the abolishing of polygamy and making divorce subject to judicial review.<ref>Laurie A.Brand, ''Women, the State and Political Liberalization: Middle East and North Africa Experiences'', p. 178</ref>

Bourguiba clearly{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}} wanted to undercut the religious establishment's ability to prevent his secularization program, and although he was careful to locate these changes within the framework of a modernist reading of Islam and presented them as the product of ''ijtihad'' (independent interpretation) and not a break with Islam, he became well known for his secularism. [[John Esposito]] says that "For Bourguiba, Islam represented the past; the west was Tunisia's only hope for a modern future."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islam-democracy.org/4th_Annual_Conference-shakman-Hurd_paper.asp|title=Secularism and Democracy in the Middle East |author1=Elizabeth Shakman Hurd|author-link1=Elizabeth Shakman Hurd|date= May 16, 2003 |publisher= Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220053302/http://www.islam-democracy.org/4th_Annual_Conference-Shakman-Hurd_paper.asp|archive-date=2008-02-20|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
 
Following increasing economic problems, Islamist movements came about in 1970 with the revival of religious teaching in Ez-Zitouna University and the influence which came from Arab religious leaders like Syrian and Egyptian [[Muslim Brotherhood]]s.<ref>Nazih N.Ayubi, ''Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World'', p. 114</ref> There is also influence by [[Hizb ut-Tahrir]], whose members issue a magazine in Tunis named ''Azeytouna''.<ref>http://www.azeytouna.net {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125115518/http://azeytouna.net/ |date=2016-01-25 }} Azeytouna Magazine</ref> In the aftermath, the struggle between Bourguiba and Islamists became uncontrolled and in order to repress the opposition the Islamist leaderships were exiled, arrested and interrogated.<ref>John L.Esposito, ''The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?,'' p.167</ref>

[[Ennahda Movement]], also known as Renaissance Party or simply Ennahda, is a moderate Islamist political party in [[Tunisia]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12611609 |title=Tunisia legalises Islamist group Ennahda |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=1 March 2011 |access-date=24 June 2011 }}</ref><ref name="FT">{{Cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/20208be6-70e1-11e0-9b1d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1QD6AeB85 |first=Roula |last=Khalaf |title=Tunisian Islamists seek poll majority |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |publisher=FT.com |date=27 Apr 2011 |access-date=24 June 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Jazeera">{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011130111220856971.html |title=Tunisian leader returns from exile |work=[[Al Jazeera English]] |date=20 January 2011 |access-date=24 June 2011 }}</ref><ref name="WSJ">{{Cite news |first=Matthew |last=Kaminski |title=On the Campaign Trail With Islamist Democrats |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=26 October 2011 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204777904576651361230968584?mod=googlenews_wsj |access-date=26 October 2011 }}</ref> On 1 March 2011, after the secularist dictatorship of [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali]] collapsed in the wake of the 2011 [[Tunisian revolution]], Tunisia's interim government granted the group permission to form a political party. Since then it has become the biggest and most well-organized party in Tunisia, so far outdistancing its more secular competitors. In the [[Tunisian Constituent Assembly election, 2011]], the first honest election in the country's history with a turn out of 51.1% of all eligible voters, the party won 37.04% of the popular vote and 89 (41%) of the 217 assembly seats, far more than any other party.<ref name=isie-report>{{Citation
 |last=ISIE 
 |first=High and Independent Instance for the Elections. 
 |title=Decree of 23 Nov. 2011 about the Final Results of the National Constituent Assembly Elections 
 |language=ar 
 |url=http://www.isie.tn/Ar/image.php?id=722 
 |year=2011 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118043826/http://www.isie.tn/Ar/image.php?id=722 
 |archive-date=2011-11-18 
}}</ref><ref name=Feldman>{{cite news|last=Feldman |first=Noah |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-30/islamists-victory-in-tunisia-a-win-for-democracy-noah-feldman.html |title=Islamists' Victory in Tunisia a Win for Democracy: Noah Feldman |publisher=Bloomberg |date=2011-10-30 |access-date=2011-10-31}}</ref><ref name=Lynch>[http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/06/29/tunisias_new_al_nahda Tunisia's New al-Nahda] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203023319/http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/06/29/tunisias_new_al_nahda |date=2013-12-03 }} Marc Lynch 29 June 2011</ref><ref name="RealClearPolitics">{{cite web|last=Bay |first=Austin |title=Tunisia and its Islamists: The Revolution, Phase Two|url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/11/30/tunisia_and_its_islamists_the_revolution_phase_two_112228.html |access-date=March 22, 2012}}</ref><ref name="WorldAffairs">{{cite web|last=Totten |first=Michael |title=No to America and No to Radical Islam |url=http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/michael-j-totten/no-america-and-no-radical-islam |access-date=2012-03-22 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324121609/http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/michael-j-totten/no-america-and-no-radical-islam |archive-date=2012-03-24 }}</ref>

=== Egypt ===
{{Main|Secularism in Egypt}}

Secularism in [[Egypt]] has had a very important role to play in both the history of Egypt and that of the Middle East. Egypt's first experience of secularism started with the British Occupation (1882–1952), the atmosphere which allowed the propagation of western ideas. In this environment, pro-secularist intellectuals like [[Yaqub Sarruf]], [[Faris Nimr]], Nicola Haddad who sought political asylum from Ottoman Rule were able to publish their work. This debate had then become a burning issue with the work of Egyptian Shaykh [[Ali abd al-Raziq]] (1888–1966), "The most momentous document in the crucial intellectual and religious debate of modern Islamic history"<ref name=autogenerated1>Fauzi Najjar, ''The debate on Islam and Secularism'', Arab Studies Quarterly; 1996, Vol. 18 Issue 2</ref>

By 1919, Egypt had its first political secular entity called the ''Hizb 'Almani'' (Secular Party) this name was later changed to the [[Wafd party]]. It combined secular policies with a nationalist agenda and had the majority support in the following years against both the rule of the king and the British influence. The Wafd party supported the allies during [[World War II]] and then proceeded to win the 1952 parliamentary elections, following these elections the prime minister was overthrown by the King leading to riots. These riots precipitated a military coup after which all political parties were banned including the Wafd and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />

The government of [[Gamel Abdel Nasser]] was secularist-nationalist in nature which at the time gathers a great deal of support both in Egypt and other Arab states. Key elements of [[Nasserism]]:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-middle_east_politics/egypt_mahfouz_4025.jsp|title=Mahfouz's grave, Arab liberalism's deathbed|website=openDemocracy|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202235906/https://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-middle_east_politics/egypt_mahfouz_4025.jsp|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

*Secularist-Nationalist dictatorship: No religious or other political movements allowed to impact government.
*Modernization, Industrialization and Nationalization; [[Socialist economy]]
*Concentration on [[Arab Nationalism|Arab values, identity and nationalism]] rather than [[Pan-Islamism|Muslim values, identity and nationalism]].

Secular legacy of Nasser's administration subsequently influenced periods of [[Anwar Sadat]] and [[Hosni Mubarak]] and secularists ruled Egypt until [[2011 Egyptian revolution]]. Nevertheless, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has become one of the most influential movements in the [[Islamic world]], particularly in the [[Arab world]]. For many years it was described as "semi-legal"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193396891&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |title=Free Republic. The day before, and after – It's been 25 years since the Islamist genie first went on the rampage |publisher=Fr.jpost.com |access-date=2012-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223182128/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193396891&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=2011-12-23 }}</ref> and was the only opposition group in Egypt able to field candidates during elections.<ref name="multiref1">[http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-924/i.html The Islamism Debate: God's Counterculture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403133042/http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-924/i.html |date=2008-04-03 }} [[Sonja Zekri]], © Süddeutsche Zeitung / Qantara.de 2008
Translated from the German by Phyllis Anderson</ref> In the [[2011–12 Egyptian parliamentary election]], the political parties identified as "Islamist" (the Brotherhood's [[Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt)|Freedom and Justice Party]], Salafi [[Al-Nour Party]] and liberal Islamist [[Al-Wasat Party]]) won 75% of the total seats.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/world/middleeast/muslim-brotherhood-wins-47-of-egypt-assembly-seats.html Islamists Win 70% of Seats in the Egyptian Parliament] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004105215/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/world/middleeast/muslim-brotherhood-wins-47-of-egypt-assembly-seats.html |date=2022-10-04 }} The New York Times.</ref> [[Mohamed Morsi]], an Islamist democrat of [[Muslim Brotherhood]] was the first democratically elected president of Egypt. Nowadays, most Egyptian proponents of secularism emphasize the link between secularism and 'national unity' between [[Coptic Christians]] and [[Muslims]].

=== Syria ===
{{Main|Secularism in Syria}}

The process of secularization in [[Syria]] began under the [[French Mandate of Syria|French mandate]] in the 1920s and went on continuously under different governments since the independence. Syria at some point has been governed by the Arab nationalist [[Ba'ath Party]] between 1963 and 2024. The Ba'ath government combined [[Arab socialism]] with secular ideology and an authoritarian political system. The constitution guarantees religious freedom for every recognized religious community, including many Christian denominations. All schools are government-run and non-sectarian, although there is mandatory religious instruction, provided in Islam and/or Christianity. [[Political aspects of Islam|Political forms of Islam]] are not tolerated by the government. The Syrian legal system is primarily based on [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]], and was heavily influenced by the period of French rule. It is also drawn in part from the Egyptian law of Abdel Nasser, quite from the Ottoman [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Millet]] system and very little from [[Sharia]]. Syria has separate secular and religious courts. Civil and criminal cases are heard in secular courts, while the Sharia courts handle personal, family, and religious matters in cases between Muslims or between Muslims and non-Muslims.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/countries-crossroads/2007/syria|title=Syria|date=11 January 2012|access-date=15 August 2018|archive-date=20 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920121258/https://freedomhouse.org/report/countries-crossroads/2007/syria|url-status=dead}}</ref> Non-Muslim communities have their own religious courts using their own religious law.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/syria/31.htm|title=Syria - Islam|website=countrystudies.us|access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref>

=== Iran ===
{{Main|Secularism in Iran}}

Following the military coup of 21 February 1921, [[Reza Shah|Reza Khan]] had established himself as the dominant political personality in the country. Fearing that their influence might be diminished, the clergy of Iran proposed their support and persuaded him to assume the role of the Shah.<ref>Homa Omid, ''Theocracy of democracy? The critics of 'westoxification' and the politics of fundamentalism in Iran'': Third World Quarterly; Dec92, Vol. 13 Issue 4</ref>

'''1925–1941''': [[Reza Shah]] began to make some dramatic changes to Iranian society with the specific intention of westernization and removing religion from the public sphere. He changed religious schools to secular schools, built Iran's first secular university and banned the hijab in public. Nevertheless, the regime became totally undemocratic and authoritarian with the removal of Majles power (the first parliament in 1906) and the clampdown on free speech.<ref name=":1">Fred Halliday, ''Iran: Dictatorship and Development'', p. 23</ref>

'''1951–1953''': During the early 1950s, Prime Minister [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]] was again forming a secular government with a socialist agenda with the specific aim of reducing the power held by the clergy. However, his plan to nationalize the colonial oil interests held by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, (later British Petroleum), attracted the ire of the United Kingdom. In response, the [[United Kingdom]] with the help of the CIA, supported a coup that removed Mossadeq from power and reinstated [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].

'''1962–1963''': Using the mandate of westernization, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi introduced the [[White Revolution]], aiming to transform Iran into a [[Westernization|westernized]] secular [[Capitalism|capitalist]] country.

'''1963–1980''': Opposition rallied united behind Ayatollah [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], and by the end of the decade the Shah was overthrown in the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]].<ref name=":1" /> The country became an authoritarian [[Islamic Republic]] which has lasted to date.

== See also ==
* [[Apostasy in Islam]]
* [[Application of sharia by country]]
* [[Islam and blasphemy]]
* [[Censorship in Islamic societies]]
* [[Cultural Muslims]]
* [[Democracy in the Middle East]]
* [[Decree on Islamic Defenders Front]]
* [[Secular education]]
* [[Talal Asad]]
* [[Sadik Al-Azm]]
* [[Progressive British Muslims]]
* [[Liberalism and progressivism within Islam]]
* [[Tolu-e-Islam (organization)|Tolu-e-Islam]]
* [[M. A. Muqtedar Khan]]
* [[Irshad Manji]]
* [[Khaleel Mohammed]]
* [[Jaringan Islam Liberal]]
* [[Al-Mawrid]]
* [[Islam Yes, Islamic Party No]]

'''Islamism:'''
* [[Islamic state]]
* [[Khilafah]]

== Bibliography ==

* Addi, L. (2021). The Crisis of Muslim Religious Discourse: The Necessary Shift from Plato to Kant (1st ed.). Routledge. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003227076</nowiki>

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist|group=note}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.infidels.org/infidels/newsletter/1999/may.html#Feature |title=New Secularism in the Arab World |first=Ghassan F. |last=Abdullah |date=May 1999 |work=Internet Infidels Newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 5) |publisher=[[Internet Infidels]] |access-date=2011-04-13}}
* Sevinc, K., Hood, R. W. Jr., Coleman, T. J. III, (2017). [http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199988457.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199988457-e-10 Secularism in Turkey]. In Zuckerman, P., & Shook, J. R., (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Secularism. Oxford University Press.

{{Islamic studies}}
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[[Category:Islam and secularism| ]]