In 1947, the land of pure was came into being with a slogan of La Ilaha Illaha that means there is no God except Allah SWT, and this historical slogan enchanted the hearts of millions of Muslims of sub-continent. The whole nation united itself and fought in the name of Allah for a separate homeland, where they can practice their religion openly without having fear of being beaten and murdered by Hindus of sub-dividend country. This powerful slogan acted as a lifeline for millions of gloomy hearts. Muhammad Ali Jinnah had fulfilled his promises and fought sacrificially for this homeland in order to get this land; the land of Pakistani.

Without a shadow of a doubt, after centuries this was a huge or we can say the ever-happened event of this universe wherein Muslims minorities won in the name of Allah and for practicing their rightly religion without any distress.  However, by and by this attitude had started diminishing like a slow poison.  People around the world got so depressed and surprised that the minority got victory for practicing of religion whereas, the majority of the whole world believed secularism. I believe that the religion of Islam is itself a compete procedure of life which invokes and describes each and every vicissitude. Not only of a person but a nation personality is built if it follows its religious / guidelines and acts accordingly. But alas! People of our country moved on and the democratic culture with the mixture of modernism has travelled from religious perspective to secularism to some extent.

Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. The separation of religion and state is the foundation of secularism. It ensures religious groups don’t interfere in affairs of state, and the state doesn’t interfere in religious affairs. In a secular democracy all citizens are equal before the law and parliament. No religious or political affiliation gives advantages or disadvantages and religious believers are citizens with the same rights and obligations as anyone else.

Secularism is actually derived early 1800 century arises from the history of its coming to be in the west, where there were conflicts between federal government with churches. To put it briefly, there were two important founding contexts for this kind of regime, the United States and France. Congress passed no law establishing religion or impeding the free exercise thereof (or something like that).

In fact, today, Turkey finds itself at another moment in which the definitions of secularism and the relationship between the government, religion, and the public sphere are all in flux. Just as in the Ottoman era, Turkish leaders’ approach to these changes will have repercussions for the greater region and the Muslim world more generally. A review of the history of secularism in Turkey-including its successes, failures, and unintended consequences-informs our understanding of the current moment. Further, putting Turkey’s contemporary transition into historical context can reveal paths to a future where secularism and democracy can coexist-a balance that has so far eluded the republic.

Firmly, we can say that Islam is a true and fair religion and being a Muslim, we can not survive without its teaching and in fact this nation cannot separate its identity from its religion. In my believe that the person cannot deny the fact that politics and religion are absolutely not separate. Historically, Islam has always been given a certain official status and pre-eminence in states in which Muslims ruled. In these states Islam was the basis of state ceremonials and insignia, and public hostility against Islam was a punishable offence (sometimes a capital offence). Islam was the basis of jurisprudence. The state - legislation, decrees, law enforcement, taxation, military power, foreign policy, and so on - were all regarded as the prerogative of the ruler(s), of political power, which was regarded as having its own imperatives, skills, etc., and this is not wrong to say that these rules were made in accordance with the teachings of Islam.

Different people have different opinion. Some take secularism as a positive aspect in politics. There are some secular liberals who do not promote actual secularism and have leniency to some extent. Actually, back in early ages, where Christianity prevailed, people got offended and developed this concept of secularism.

Ironically, it has been observed that Islam has always been a target for every religion. Readers are pretty aware of the Islamic headscarf controversy. It began in the 1980s, when Turkish universities started experiencing something unprecedented: female students who wore the Islamic headscarf. Eventually, the conflict became a key symbol of Turkey’s culture war. In the next three decades, secularists tried to impose the ban on the headscarf, which extended from the universities to other public buildings, including sometimes even hospitals. Meanwhile, Islamists, conservatives, and even secular liberals defended the right to wear a headscarf.

Iken, India claimed itself as a secular state, however, the Muslims minorities are still in trouble. Not going so far, a recent incident of India purely shows their aggressive behaviors on a student for only covering her by abaya. Keeping this perspective, if Hindus deliberately started their religious practice in politics, this had always been a trouble for minorities. Thus, for states like India, secularism can be the good option.

Being respectful for every religion, however, clearly more than respect as recognition or recognition of religious minorities, and while I am mainly concerned to argue for the latter, I am open to the former, especially as I believe that respect for religion is quite common amongst religious believers and I worry about an intolerant secularist hegemony. I pray that Pakistan which had built in the name of God may always shine like a star on the sky by keeping the religious aspects in their decision making whether personal or political and avoiding extremism at any cost.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 09 2022

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