Vision:

By Zoheir Salem*

I'm not Defending Secularism

But Where are the Real Secularists?

I'm not a secularist, and I don't accept the Secular project. And I do my best to achieve what God ordains.

But I think that the Secular method which is based on its real rules and regulations is much more elevated than what we hear and live and suffer from, which lead to our failure spiritually and materially.

There are certain conditions and rules for the Islamic project, and there are other certain conditions and rules for the Secular project. I think they have much more in common, except for the whim that misleads us from the right path.

And whereas we see Muslims sacrifice with a lot of faithful martyrs, the Secular project still does not have loyal followers. Except if we considered the Vanguards of the Renaissance Secularists, although they were not, because most of them were members of the Islamic project.

The Secular project with its essential dimensions did not find elite who adopted it honestly, defended it, and sacrificed for its sake as a whole project with its derivations and branches. All that the Arabic Secularism got was a group of  the "Partitioners", according to the Quranic term, which means that each one of them has adopted some part of the secular project to satisfy certain inclination, goal, or a voracity, as if Secularism was like an elephant being figured out by group of blind people.

This is why the Arabic Secular project did not find a popular ground to stand on, and get sacrifices from. The Arabic parties, which pretended to be Secular and reached the power have left the secular rules behind, and adopted some special curricula that might not apply to the classification table of political systems. The individual freedom which is the essence of Secularism was the first right to be confiscated.  

And Secularism became, because of its preachers ideas and thesis's, in addition to its enemies' machination, a deformed picture, and an invitation to disbelief. In fact everybody who knows Secularism believes that it is neutral in accordance to all religions and sects and ideas, and that it is only partial when it comes to the human freedom and his choice, regardless to his faith.

The first thing that killed Secularism was its followers call for atheism, and preaching – behind its name- for disobeying values.

Lets imagine Jesus' ( PBUH) preaching without "Disciples" ( his followers) : " Said the Disciples, We are God's helpers ", and let's try to imagine the call of Islam without the prophet (PBUH), Abi Baker, Omar, Othman, Ali, Abi Obaida and Khaled.

There is always with each successful call a generation of faithful martyrs and loyal people.. "How many of the prophets fought (in God's way), and with them (fought) large bands of goodly men? but they never lost heart if they met with disaster in God's way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in." 146Aal Imran

Jesus' followers were crucified and sawn; others were forced to jump into fire. Muhammad's followers left their money, families, and houses to make great models with their sacrifice, valor and generosity.

We wonder here about those who follow the real Secular project with its essential pillars, as a project for the humane freedom individually and collectively. We wonder about Secularism as a revolutionary project that depends on the free choice of humans, so where are those Secularists who sacrifice their lives to let a person express his objection? Why do we always hear the Secularists condemning, whining, excluding and threatening? While the real Secular sect believes that everything that is related to freedom is considered secularist, and defended by Secularism whatever right or wrong it is.

And on the bases of giving the human, individually and collectively, his free choice, the western Secularists were successful at the Demilitarizing the conventional infrastructure since the eighteenth century from its authoritarian powers and tools, announcing the separation of religion from state, so that religion will have no authority with its stands, and his men over the state and its institutions, separating religion or any other power from the individual's behavior and his conscience.

The Secularist call which conflicted with the church and the clergy did not actually oppose religion in church, rather than the church's Authoritarian tendency. The Secularist revolution which accompanied the French Revolution has fought to liberate the humane choice from any dominance, insisting on liberating this choice from any dominance and not only from religion. The Secularist call was focused on liberating the humane choice from all shapes of the authoritarian coercion. Secularists or those who were associated to Secularism in the Arab world did not dare, for fear of the one who is in charge, to declare their doctrine through this port, the port of the freedom of choice by elaborating its image in addition to denouncing the hatred policies wherever it comes from, but if they embraced Secularism with its genuine essence they might have had more supporters and sympathizers.

 The Arab Secularists, who entered the public arena during the age of Islamic retreat, with its stumbling state , and the economic cultural western victory since Napoleon's invasion of Egypt , have seen Islam and its followers an easy prey to dominate. They also found that those in power practiced their dominance using the holy books, church and the parliament harshly, so they held a truce with them, while others sought support from them.

Those Arab Secularists did not find other than religion to demean, and make fun of its texts, fighting its proponents and followers. Muslim societies, who did not oppose Islam: its doctrine, laws and preachers, chose to give their back to this project and its followers. Then Arab Secularists spread as a new societal epidemic in filthy circumstances, one that can't be cured even by a skilful surgeon.

The so called Arab Secularists added insult to injury when they did not only present a deformed version of Secularism, but they also exceeded in applying their project, to convince their audience by using the policy of double standards. Proving that they are like the priest who forbids people from drinking while he drinks at night.

So how can we understand and elaborate to audiences that the Danish cartoons were regarded as a freedom of expression that should be respected, and that the peaceful protest against them was  an example for reactionary stagnation, backwardness and terrorism!

How could the Arab Secularist explain to the simple Arab that it is his right and a right for every researcher to criticize (the sacred text) that is the holy Quraan and prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) speech because the mind is free to criticize , and because Descartes taught us to examine all the facts before accepting them. And that we should not accept anything said, and if a man criticized a Secularist leader, all the Secularist society attacks him contradicting the Secularist principle of everybody's Infallibility, encouraging criticizing everyone!Even if the criticizer was wrong, but Secularism encourages that and accepts it, because it is a victory for the man to question the preacher. Didn't the Secularist methodology require Secularists to use this law to serve their agenda, to decide that we can question what ever the preacher says. So everyone should be questioned, do we have to explain for the secularists who write about ( The Resigned Mind in Islam) a prescription that could help them use their minds?!

How can the Secularists convince society with the humane freedom and the holy freedom of choice, when they defend the right of everybody male/ female, to take off whatever clothes whenever he wants, but they suddenly keep silent when someone is forbidden from wearing what he wants whenever he wants. The Secularist shouldn't go through Burqaa battle considering it as a religious/ secular symbol, because it would be a questioned act ( the freedom of human's choice).

The issue of Burqaa is an issue of the individual humane choice, and when the Secularist defends a person's right to choose what to wear, he actually defends his own agenda and not the right it self. This is the British minister of justice Jack Castro – who no body questions his loyalty to Secularism- deciding that it is impossible to put a Secularist law regarding Burqaa, in the British Parliament , this man respects his Secularism and represents it as a respected method. The Secularist who intrudes to determine what others have to choose is the same preacher who only changed his clothes.

And as hundred of assemblies spread throughout the western American European world to cure the drinking masses in societies, with the destructive effects on health, society and economy, and its direct effects on increasing crimes against women and family members in particular, meanwhile some Secularists mourn in our homeland over the need for bars in Syrian districts, and another calls for a club for homosexuals, another also promises her fellows that there is a hymen made in China which only coasts four thousand dollars, another one incites against a preacher, while another is worried from prayers in mosques, also another accuses Alqaradawi of cooperating with Zionists.

Please stop…

The Secularist project has the right to have an elevated vision above these foolishnesses, it is a project for the freedom of humans without fetters, which we first called for, and still defend, and sacrifice for.

Jesus Christ has warned a lot from false messengers; also prophet Muhammad described them in details: they mix religion with the worldly things, they treat others very kindly, with wolve's hearts.

_________

*Director of The Arab Orient Center

00447792232826

zuhair@asharqalarabi.org.uk

27/02/2010