Muslims: Secularism or Fundamentalism?

This is a fierce debate between a secularist and an Islamist on the future of Muslim societies on Al Jazeera in October 2007. The secularist argues that Muslim societies must adopt Western-style secularism and progressive mindset in order to catch up with the West. He explains how Islamism has failed over the past several hundred years and its retention will only serve to perpetuate poverty, misery, and totalitarianism among Muslims.

PLEASE READ MY COMMENTS ON THE VIDEO BEFORE WATCHING.

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[KashifHKhan]

PART 2:

Other points of note in the discussion are: (c) historical conquest of major countries such as Iraq, Syria, and Egypt - each one, heir to a rich civilization - by "Bedouin" (ie. backward) Arabs from Saudi Arabia; (d) even today Islamic fundamentalism is associated with Saudi "Bedouin" in the form of "Wahabiism"; (e) Islamists foolishly reject all advances of the West - in fact, reject Western civilization itself - on account of permissible sexual mores such as homosexuality.

-Kashif

[KashifHKhan]

PART 1:

I am a secular and liberal person who was born and raised in Islamic Pakistan and educated in the US. I agree with the secularist's core arguments: (a) if muslims calling for "Islamism" today were to experience it in places such as Afghanistan or Somalia, they would change their minds; (b) "Islamism" has been failing for hundreds of years and must be abandoned as a platform; massive poverty and misery in Islamic world requires adoption of Western liberalism and secularism.

-Kashif

[calypspoetryguy]

I'm a muslim, and I have gone for Umrah and Hajj. Islam has 2 elements: A political ideology and a religous belief. Muslims need to break out of their 7th century worldview and reconcile the religous beliefs of Islam with Universal Human Rights, women's rights, religous plurlarism and face the realities of the globalized modern world in the 21st century. For its own survival Islam needs to survive as a personal faith and not a political doctrine, otherwise there will never be world peace!

[sniper3035]

secularist = NOT muslims

if u think u r a secularist muslims then u r a silly moron!

[IslamicState3]

@KashifHKhan: But I thought Micheal Harrington said: This civilization is the first who must ask their selves, what is the meaning of life with the answer we don't know.

Why we should adopt your weakness? The west even took many things from us, like science and many other things. Af course when you bomb Muslim countries they don't will be come far enough.

But even that is almost over. America and Europe is almost over. There is your ideologie than, ahahah. Something what will buried soon.

[ISMASHYOUBRO]

@KashifHKhan Pakistan is not an Islamic country under any merit. A true Islamic state is run under a Khilafa, something we ALL FAIL to realize. We Muslims fail to look at the bigger picture and think that we'll be prosperous by embracing liberalism and secularism when we direly need to become proper representatives of Islam. How many of us actually practice the BASIC tenets of our faith such as Salat?

Calling yourself a secular Muslim is a contradiction in and of itself.

[ISMASHYOUBRO]

@calypspoetryguy No they don't . Muslims need not compromise the religion of truth to pander to modernity. What they NEED to do is learn the basic tenets of their faith, their practices, and actually PRACTICE the faith. Islam is a universal way of life that focuses on all aspects of a Muslims life. To support secularism itself is an act of Kufr.

Compromising our Deen as shown to us by our Prophet and the Companions is a universal example....NOT pertaining solely to THAT era.

[theyoungoutsider]

Personally I think they were both right and also wrong in some respects. Not every Muslim is an evil person who stones women and hangs homosexuals. My friends a Muslim and he is one of the kindest people I know. Firstly islam is a religion of peace. Extremists bend it to fit their own extreme views. Some people misunderstand the prophet and the Quran. Don't become a narrow minded person with a pro western, fuck every body else attitude. Remember we are all human.

[Anatolian90]

@KashifHKhan I totally agree with you, I feel sad for these "muslims" who are brainwashed to think stoning women and hanging people for leaving islam is legitimate law better than democracy and secularism.

[sallywilton]

@rehan376 the Mullah has probably never travelled anywhere.

[sallywilton]

@mucalinda the guy with one tooth is from Egypt. I live in Egypt and many homosexual men come here for the easy sex which is offered every few steps. Sex is the smallest problem currently for the Middle East. Egypt is now on the verge of a collapsed economy due to the revolution, continuing protests in Cairo and ludicrous Fatwahs being stated by eccentric clerics. Islamism is surely a disaster.

[Reido2828]

@KashifHKhan

Whats your take on the recent uprisings and the large victories for the Islamist parties? Cause for concern for the world? Or just the region?

[mucalinda]

I've travelled around the world extensively and Muslim countries are the most blatantly homosexual countries by far. In Iran you see policemen walking around hand in hand, In Pakistan and Afghanistan young boys are trained as dancers and sold as sexual slaves to wealthy male warlords, Morocco is the world centre for gay holidays because of the ready availability of young boys and young men etc etc. Because of the taboo against sex with women before marriage homosexuality is widely practised.

[rehan376]

This asshole Mullaha is looking the gays who r also human being in west... He didn't see ..the judiciary system, Roadways , Space exploration , Aviation , Railway , Submarine , Factory, Telecommunications , Digital media , Oh u illiterate bastard u probably dont even know what m talkin...? Do me a favor shove ur ideology and shariya law in ur ass...