Book Review: Islam and Secularism

Islam and Secularism

By : Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas (175 pages)

Reviewed by : Amru Khalid bin Sazali

This book is one of the most phenomenal work by Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, and has been a major reference in many of Muslim researches regarding ‘secularism’ and ‘worldview’, including the subject UNGS 2030. In the book, the author managed to elaborate the subject comprehensively based on precise references, the history and development of the subject, and also provided solutions to overcome the problem stated.

Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, or also known as Prof Al-Attas sorted the flow of the idea he is discussing in the book very well. Starting by introducing the history of the development under the first chapter, “The Contemporary Western Christian Background”, readers are exposed to the narrative of the western condition until the ‘secularism’ came into existence. The author focused on the west because the ideology was originally came from the west – which is defined as the western part of the world that has its root in Graeco-Roman civilization, influenced by the tradition of Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, Age of Enlightenment – which believed (outside reference) to be taken from the famous book The Secular City by Harvey Cox.

According to Prof Al-Attas, the ideology is starting to take place after the Western people do not want to believe in the church anymore. This was due to many factors such as the confusing way to perceive the God that led to self-evolved doubt about God. The author wrote, “Whatever the outcome may be Christians as a whole do not deny that their most serious problem is the ‘Problem of God’.” Besides that, the dominating power by the church was against the scientific enquiry, which has evolved among the people made them run away from the church. Even at the beginning of the chapter, the author stated that “some Christian theologians in the early half of the century also foresaw the coming of such a crisis, which is called the secularization. Already in the early half of 19th century the French philosopher-sociologist, Auguste Comte, envisaged the rise of science and the overthrow of religion.”

The author also included many names of philosophers and their works that had led to the development of the secularism itself, such as The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud which is regarded as the greatest assault on theism in western history. Then, the work of Thomas Aquinas on Thomistic metaphysics of Being which formed the basic of Scholastic thought, related to the Parmenidean theory of truth as the reference to discredit the Hellenic epistemology. Also not to forget the sceptical-doubt method introduced by Rene Descartes in his famous cogito argument, phenomenology by Edmund Husserl, Existentialism by Heidegger and other names like Immanuel Kant, William Ockham and others.

In the second chapter, Prof Al-Attas discusses about ‘Secular-Secularization-Secularism’. The author started the chapter by introducing or redefining the term secular. As in our subject UNGS 2030, it is derived from the Latin word ‘saeculum’- conveys a meaning with a marked dual connotation of time and location; the time referring to the ‘now’ or ‘present’, and the location to the ‘world’ or ‘worldly’. In this chapter, the author stated the main characteristics of secularism which is the disenchantment of nature, the desacralization of politics, and the deconsecration of values. These three notions are, according to the author, completely rejected. As of course the author continues with the elaboration on Islamic worldview, Islam certainly disenchant nature, desacralize politics, and deconsecrate values but not the same way as the secularists view them. It should be put into its proper places. Nature should be viewed as the creation of God and the signs of the Mighty of Allah, politics should be managed with integrity and accountability and not by self-claim sacral powers, and values are not forever relativized as the secularists viewed.

The next chapter, and is also another book of his own is named under the same title – Islam: The Concept of Religion and The Foundation of Ethics and Morality – discusses about what is really meant about Islam. Prof Al-Attas included many evidences to support the argument, and also to make a better understanding. It is really profound arguments that he meticulously and precisely described the original concept of religion of Islam from all aspects, linguistically, philosophically and dialectically.

Before ending his book, Prof Al-Attas disclosed one significant chapter – The Muslim Dilemma – which described the major problems in Muslim society today and stated the causes of the problems. The author said, “One of the definitions of knowledge is to know the cause of the existence of a thing, for the knowledge of the cause leads to knowledge of the nature of the thing caused. Thus knowledge of the cause, or causes, in the dilemma which we find ourselves today is itself a partial solution to the problem”. By brief, the author put in order the cause of the general dilemma which is (1) the confusion and error in knowledge, creating the condition for (2) the loss of adab within the community. The condition arising out of (1) and (2) is (3) the rise of leader who are not qualified for valid leadership of the Muslim community.

Finally, the author ends the book with solutions in the final chapter – The Dewesternization of Knowledge. Prof Al-Attas provide the guidance to face the challenges arisen that is caused by what is identified from the previous chapter, which is the confusion and error in knowledge. He elucidated briefly the key concept of religion, the concept of man, the concept of knowledge, the concept of wisdom, the concept of justice, the concept of right action, and the concept of university. These seven concepts, according to my understanding have already comprehensive enough as they are interrelated to each another, and the seventh is the form of implementation in relation to all that precedes it.

Of course, me as the reviewer may be misinterpreting the overall idea of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas as this book is a major reference to many Muslim nowadays – even non-Muslims. The idea is vast and requires a long time, guided by the authorized, and high level of intuition as well as deep contemplation. Anyway in my opinion, people must be exposed to this book, for the benefit is worth the time spent.

*Tulisan ini disediakan sebagai salah satu tugasan dalam kelas reviu buku (book review) untuk subjek UNGS 2030 – Worldview. Tulisan ini telah dibentang di depan Dr Abbas dan sahabat dalam kelas yang lebih berfokus memenuhi skema pemarkahan untuk ‘carry marks’ sahaja. Adapun reviu buku ini masih banyak cacat celanya, dan tidak mungkin hanya disyarah dalam tiga mukasurat sahaja, bahkan para ilmuwan CASIS memerlukan siri ‘Saturday Night Lecture’ bagi mensyarahkan idea besar Prof Al-Attas daripada buku ini.