Why Muslims Need a Secular State and Western Politics Should not Interfere

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im meets Maurits Berger on 25 May- Join the Debate!

Researcher and activist An-Na'im argues - from a Muslim perspective - for a secular state.To be a Muslim by conviction and free choice, An-Na'im says, he needs a state that is neutral regarding religions. Yet still he thinks that religion should play a bigger role in politics. But which one? This debate is part of a two-day conference on "Promoting Pluralism through Civic Reason?" organised by the Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Programme.

Researcher and activist An-Na'im argues - from a Muslim perspective - for a secular state.To be a Muslim by conviction and free choice, An-Na'im says, he needs a state that is neutral regarding religions. Yet still he thinks that religion should play a bigger role in politics. But which one?

Some religious values may be at loggerheads with certain human rights. An-Na'im has struggled his entire life for the acceptance of the universality of human rights. But don't force him to chose. In his view, Shari'a and human rights can well go together. What does that mean - for instance - for women in Muslim societies? Which rights do they have?

In Muslim societies, human rights are often dismissed as Western ideas. An-Na'im is therefore critical about the role that outsiders can play. Western Politics should interfere less in human rights issues elsewhere. 'Engage in these debates in your own societies' An-Na'im proposes.

What about the debate in the Netherlands? Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are often seen as conflicting values. Does religion have a big enough role in politics? Or should it be less? How to find a common language on these issues?

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im is of Sudanese origin. He teaches 'religion and human rights' at Emory University in the United States. His life has been marked by struggle against fundamentalism. But An-Na'im also resists imposed Western ideologies. Together with Muslims of the most different backgrounds he works on social change. More information on Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im

Moderator of the evening Maurits Berger is the authors of many writings on Islam and Shari'a in Western Europe and the Arab World. As researcher and journalist he has lived for several years in the Middle East. He currently teaches 'Islam in the Contemporary West' at Leiden University, the Netherlands. More information on Maurits Berger

Do you want to join the debate? Register here!

The debate takes place at Cultural Centre 'Ottone' in Utrecht. Want to knwo how to get there? Download a route description here.

This debate is part of a two-day conference on "Promoting Pluralism through Civic Reason?" organised by the Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Programme. It will bring together the academics and practitioners involved in the programme in India, Indonesia and Uganda and international experts such as Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Justice Aftab Alam of the Indian Supreme Court and Veit Bader and Jan Breeman of the University of Amsterdam. More information (in Dutch) can be found on the website of the University for Humanist Studies following the title "De toekomst van de seculiere staat".