Humanism, Secularism and Islamophobia

PART ONE

I

Although the term is used loosely in general, the clinical definition of a phobia is that it is an irrational fear. For example, being afraid or even unable to cross a sturdy bridge that is currently being used safely by many people would be a case of the unreasonable fear of heights (acrophobia). Another example would be a fear of open or crowded spaces in a safe environment, often leading to avoidance of public situations (agoraphobia). Such anxieties may be based on previous experiences, perhaps traumatic, that result in long term actions to avoid similar situations.

At The New Enlightenment Project we are not suggesting that every Muslim is violent. However, is it not reasonable to fear Islam to some extent after considering the long list of violent actions taken in the name of this faith? Such fear is based on evidence and not derived from fantasy. Recall a few examples of terrorist activities and decide:

1. September 11, 2001 A series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda involving the hijacking and crashing of passenger jet airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City and other locations: 2,996 deaths, 25,000+ injuries;
2. July 7, 2005  Four suicide bombers attacked London Underground trains and a double-decker bus during the morning rush hour:  52 deaths, nearly 800 injuries;
3. January 7, 2015 Two brothers forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris and shot employees: 12 deaths, 11 injuries;
4. November 13, 2015 There was a coordinated series of attacks in Paris including on the Bataclan theatre: 137 deaths, 146 injuries;
5. January 1, 2025 A radicalized Muslim intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year Day’s party-goers in New Orleans:  15 deaths, 57 injuries.

While such atrocities are not performed by the vast majority of Muslims, in each of the above cases the attackers explicitly acknowledged their religious inspiration. And this is merely a short list that emphasizes episodes from Europe and the USA. Many more examples could be included from a variety of countries, including those with large or even majority Muslim populations. In fact, other Muslims have been the most numerous victims of similar outrages.

Many militant groups, including the small sample listed below, continue to engage in violent actions based upon their fundamentalist and often fanatical interpretations of Muslim doctrines:

1. Taliban (Afghanistan)
2. al-Qaeda (various countries)
3. ISS (Daesh) (Syria and Iraq)
4. Boko Haram (West Africa)
5. Al-Shabaab (East Africa)
6. Hamas (Palestinian Gaza)
7. Hezbollah (Lebanon)

Thus, anxiety that further Islamist violence could occur at any time is not a phobia, nor is it an unfounded dread and dislike of Muslims in general. It is, rather, a realistic concern based on a record of well documented evidence.

II

It has been argued that Islamophobia is a form of racism in the sense that it is the result of stereotypes. In such thinking negative characteristics are considered typical, for instance “Islam is violent, and thus Muslims should not be allowed to live in our neighbourhood”. At The New Enlightenment Project we are not suggesting that every Muslim is violent. We know from evidence that such is not at all the case. But we reject the label of racist or islamophobe when we point out the dangers of Islamism, i.e. the idea of bringing society under the control of traditional Muslim law known as Sharia.

And there is no prejudice in noting that many sections of the Muslim scripture (the Qur’an) call for holy war, the subordination of women, and criminal punishments that today we would consider cruel and unusual such as amputation and stoning. While preaching in mosques often urges humanistic actions such as caring for widows and orphans, moral self-discipline, and generally honest behaviour, the values represented in the preceding section may also be included. It is well known that in certain Muslim schools (madrasas) fundamentalist teachings form the core of instruction.

It is obvious that numerous religious people, Muslim or otherwise, try to have it both ways in that they accept modern science and humanistic values while at the same time ignore those components of their faith system that rely on myth, miracles, and mysticism. There is definitely an inconsistency here, yet many people of various faiths live generally law-abiding and commendable lives. Thus, a blanket condemnation of Islam would be inappropriate.

The clear danger lies in the fanatical behaviours previously outlined. Yet there are other behaviours that are problematic. Obliging girls who reach puberty (or even earlier) to wrap their heads in a scarf (hijab) and wear leggings in hot weather while boys are not required to do so is clearly sexist in our modern view. The same goes for not allowing girls to participate in school sports or other extra-curricular activities. The facial veil (niqab) is a further demeaning of females and of the supposedly lustful males who would otherwise accost them.

The wish to remain largely or at least significantly apart from the larger society is also a problem. Students leaving school on Fridays to attend afternoon prayers indicates a failure to integrate culturally into a typical and time honoured Canadian educational tradition of having classes at that time. (There are many opportunities to pray outside of school hours.) Another example is that of men refusing to shake hands with women, even when females are involved in business or social activities. Ritual aversion to dogs based on scripture reveals a wide cultural gap in a society where pet ownership is widespread.

PART TWO

I

Another particularly disturbing aspect of Islam is its emphasis on martyrdom. In Islam, martyrdom (known as “shahada” in Arabic) is a highly esteemed concept. It signifies dying while striving for a noble cause. Martyrs are believed to be granted a special place in the afterlife, enjoying divine favor and intercession for their clan. While often associated with death in battle during jihad (religious struggle), martyrdom in Islam also encompasses other situations where Muslims die while defending their faith, family, or property, etc.

Reports have indicated that some families of suicide bombers have received financial and material support, including a free trip to Mecca, from fundamentalist organizations. This support, which includes food and other essentials, is separate from payments provided by various governments or other organizations.

The belief that this life is transitory and it is the next one that matters is one of the core teachings of the Qur’an. Such is the importance of martyrdom in Islam that martyrs purportedly have all their sins forgiven and automatically ascend to the highest of the seven levels of paradise, with sensual rewards for men. It is vague about rewards for women.

What is unique to Islam is the tradition of murderous martyrdom, in which the individual martyr simultaneously commits suicide and kills others for religious reasons. Shia and Sunni Muslims often kill each other this way. Religious zealots see martyrdom simply as self-sacrifice in the name of the one true faith.

All across the Muslim world children are being presented an ideology that contains elements of a death wish. While martyrdom is extreme and not typical of the vast majority of Muslims, there is a type of fatalism in Islam, an emphasis on life after death. And that is a partial explanation for certain parts of the Muslim world’s lagging behind the developed countries of the planet. Failing to be enterprising and dynamic may be linked to some extent to the focus on the afterlife rather than today’s concerns. This stagnation cannot be blamed on Western imperialism. After all, some regions that were under the control of Muslim Turks (the Ottoman Empire) have prospered, while others have not. Again, some countries that were under European influence have moved forward and others have failed to develop. It might have more to do with local conditions, dictatorship, tribalism, and an emphasis on religion rather than democracy and free enterprise.

Doctrinal Islam is not influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, evolution or Einstein. Such fundamentalism and its refusal to question a code that is largely based on seventh century tribal values is a glaring example of the kind of challenge faced by humanists who seek knowledge from evidence and logic.

II

Within the Muslim religious tradition (and that of some other religions as well) are two concepts of further significance because the practice of either can lead to communal or government sanctioned punishment up to and including death.

Apostasy is the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief. Those who choose to leave Islam risk facing serious consequences from social ostracism to execution.

Heresy is challenging core beliefs of a faith. In Islam this might include denying the divine origin of the Qur’an, depicting Muhammad in art, or arguing for atheism. Again the punishments can be severe. For example, the author Salman Rushdie was threatened with assassination when he published his novel The Satanic Verses, and later a nearly successful attack was made on his life.

Threats made or carried out in opposition to perceived heresy or apostasy are contrary to humanistic values and Canadian law.

III

Perhaps the best option is secularism. Known as laïcité in French, it is open to various interpretations and applications but generally has the following components:

1. The separation of religious institutions from the institutions of government and no influence of the political sphere by religious institutions;
2. Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion for all, with everyone free to change their beliefs within the limits of public order and the rights of others;
3. No government discrimination against anyone on the grounds of their religious or non-religious world view, with everyone receiving equal treatment on these grounds.

The New Enlightenment Project takes the position that individuals are entitled to their private beliefs and practices provided that behaviours derived from them do not violate the rights of others in society, break our laws, or seriously defy our cultural norms.

Threatening the lives and property of Canadian citizens, Muslims or otherwise, is already a criminal act. No special protection of Muslims is required. “Hate crimes” are hard to define. When charges are laid, the concept might help a jury come to a decision or a judge in choosing a sentence.

In summary, fear of Islamism is not Islamophobia. Muslims who fail to integrate adequately into society are a problem. Muslims who obey the law and conform to a reasonable degree to Canadian customs and traditions should be welcomed.

PART THREE

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

The Canadian government’s official position

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/combatting-islamophobia-canada.html

THE CAMBRIDGE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD

Francis Robinson, (1996)

This is a collection of scholarly essays that are generally favourable to Islam.

THE END OF FAITH

Sam Harris (2004)

This book offers an analysis of the clash between reason and religion in general, not just Islam. Harris describes some of the atrocities committed in the name of various religions. He outlines insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and meditation into forming morality without faith.

THE TROUBLE WITH ISLAM TODAY

Irshad Manji (revised edition 2005)

This book presents an enthusiastic wake-up call for honesty and change. Manji has been instrumental in calling for reform within Islam in an attempt to preserve its good qualities while questioning its resistance to the critical thinking that lies within its own tradition.

INFIDEL: MY LIFE

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (2006)

Originally from Somalia, in her autobiography Hirsi Ali describes how she transformed from her ardent devotion to Islam to rejecting that religion. She underwent traditional Somali female genital cutting and later was about to be forced into an arranged marriage when she escaped to the Netherlands. There her apostasy led to death threats from local Muslims.

THE GOD DELUSION

Richard Dawkins (2008 edition)

Entertaining, informative and splendidly written, Dawkins’ polemic is essential reading for anyone wishing to defend the humanist view of religion. He brings to bear his knowledge as a biologist and his ability to reason deeply.

ALLAH, LIBERTY AND LOVE

Irshad Manji (2011)

In this later volume Manji displays a religious fervor that calls upon Muslims to have the courage to reconcile faith and freedom. It has a fine bibliography.

HERETIC

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (2015)

She notes that in Islam the tribal, military, and patriarchal values of its origins have been enshrined as spiritual values, to be emulated in perpetuity.

1. Honour of family and clan (bloodline); unimportance of the individual (a “shame culture” as is often attributed to Japan)
2. Male guardianship of women
3. Harshness in war
4. The death penalty for leaving Islam

To question the authority of Muhammad or the Qur’an is considered an unacceptable affront to the honour of Islam itself. [No free thinking] Even mainstream Muslims today are taught that the Qur’an is a complete and final revelation that cannot be changed: it is literally God’s last word, as delivered by the final prophet, Muhammad.

The Qur’an repeatedly venerates the afterlife, jihad, and martyrdom, as well as describing in gruesome terms punishments of a fiery hell. Day of Judgment

A reformed Islam must acknowledge that the Qur’an is human in origin and contains numerous internal inconsistencies.

An apostate herself, in this book she makes the case that the only way to end the terrorism, sectarian warfare, and the repression of women in Islam is to have a religious reformation. She advocates the following five modifications to make Muslims more able to live in harmony with the modern world:

1. Ensure that Muhammad and the Qur’an are open to interpretation and criticism;
   1. Give priority to this life, not the afterlife;
   1. Shackle Sharia and its supremacy over secular law;
   1. End the practice of “commanding right, forbidding wrong”;
   1. Abandon the call to jihad (mission to control oneself but also to convert the world, through conquest, if necessary).

That, of course, begs the question if it would still be Islam.

THE STRANGE DEATH OF EUROPE: IMMIGRATION, IDENTITY, ISLAM

Douglas Murray (2017)

Murray presents on-site observations as a journalist and also an analysis of demographic and political realities as he argues that multiculturalism has been a failure. While supporting rational immigration policies, he contends that the poorly controlled admission of migrants into Europe threatens democracy, freedom of expression, and European culture broadly. The fact that governments have not reflected the will of the majority of the native population is a major problem. Murray states that the European way of life is something to cherish and urges European citizens to act before it is too late. A review of the refusal of some Muslims to integrate, their misogynistic practices, and Islamic terrorist attacks forms part of his argument.

SECULARISM: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION

Andrew Copson (2019)

Copson, a prominent humanist, present a summary of views for and against secularism, in part based on varying definitions of the term. It is an excellent summary of a complex and sensitive topic that every humanist needs to be familiar with.

THE ISLAM BOOK

DK Publishing (no author/editor credit given) (2020)

This is an in depth look at Islam that shows the religion in a generally positive light.