Does Secularism conflict with Individual Rights?

When conversation turns to the Middle East and Northern Africa, secularism inevitably comes up. Are Islam and secularism compatible? Is there an inherent conflict? How can Western society assist the Middle East in moving towards secularism? Do any communities and countries in the region really want the “help” of the west? What would culturally responsive secularism look like when Islam is a dominant religion? We assume that secularism is at least PART of the answer, but what is it REALLY? Many organizations and groups work diligently to influence the conditions where secular values can take root. What are the steps that lead up to a societal shift such as this?

Religious fundamentalism in any community, many observe, contributes to a culture of intolerance. Intolerance leads to conflict and violence.

Shouldn’t government provide for the separation of religion and state so that all people, even those who are agnostic or aetheists can live side by side- with mutual respect for each others differences. So what is secularism? I decided that I would try find out more.

Of course, I started with Google. There are many definitions of secularism on the Web.

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A neutral attitude, especially of the State, local government and public services, in matters relating to religion; non-religious rather than anti ...

http://www.iheu.org/glossary
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The promotion of secular policies like the separation of church and state. Not to be confused with Secularization, which aims to be a purely objective and value-free theory of in the sociology of religion. ...

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/religion/gloss.php
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Secularists, regardless of their religious preferences, believe that religious considerations should be excluded from civic affairs and public education (or private education that claims to be inclusive, ie Georgetown?).

Georgetown University
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a doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
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Secularism generally refers to an ideology that promotes the secular (as opposed to the religious) particularly within the public sphere.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism

While it is an overgeneralization, the notion of individual rights is a primary value in the West where community comes before the individual in many ways throughtout the cultures of the Middle East. One debate centers on this issue arguing that there is a need to create opportunities for expression of opinions and identity in Middle East Culture. This challenge then centers on securing individual rights within the Muslim world.

Whether secularism would address issues of individual rights is another area of debate. Middle East nations and Western societies frequently hold conflicting views of the meaning of secularism and what role it should play in society, scholars. Does civil rights –self expression, gender equality, free civil society groups, freedom of religion etc. contribute to the success of democracy? Is it a prerequisite for secularism? It is possible to have secular government, and severely limit individual rights? Some would say this was the case in Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

I would also ask- building off the idea of individual freedom of expression, is there a door for “openness”, “tolerance” even within Islam? Does secularism provide the way to increase tolerance and respect for individual differences? Within every religion that I am aware of, there seem to be individual, community or cultural expressions that vary. Within most, I venture there exist a vast continuum that provides a “home” for individuals whose developmental frames range from simple to rich and complex- or conservative and literal to liberal. Would it be possible to discuss in an open forum the views of Shite and Sunni Muslims? How does the openness to this type of dialogue factor into the movement of Middle East, predominantly Muslim nations, towards secularism and individual rights?

That said, perhaps Western society could also benefit from a movement towards valuing the good of the whole community. Maybe the answer is somewhere in the middle.
www.unlimitedworld.org

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