Political Liberalism in Muslim Societies (Routledge Islamic Studies Series)

152 Pages·2011·2.027 MB·English

by  Fevzi Bilgin

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Political Liberalism in
Muslim Societies
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2 Having survived the process of modernization and reasserted them-
t selvesinpubliclife,religioustraditionsplayanincreasinglyimportant
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] publicroleinshapinganddefiningsocialinstitutionsandinteractions.
)
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m This book examines Rawls’s theory of political liberalism in the
m contextofMuslimsocieties,wherereligionwieldsasignificantsocial
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r andpoliticalinfluence.Contrastingasociologicalanalysiswithathe-
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o oreticalapproach,theauthorexploresthepoliticalquestionsbrought
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P up by religious individuals, organizations, and minorities, and exam-
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S ines fundamental notions such as neutrality of state, public/private
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L distinction,andindividualautonomy.Offeringarichsetofconceptual
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and normative instruments, the author presents new ways to incor-
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e porate political liberalism into political discourses, advocating policy
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nt prescriptionsfortheadvancementofdemocracyinMuslimsocieties.
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C Independent of the focus on Muslim societies, this book makes a
T significant contribution to the political liberalism debate. As such, it
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N will be of interest not only to students of Islam and the Middle East,
B but also to those with an interest in political philosophy, democracy,
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L religion,andcontemporarypoliticaltheory.
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[I FevziBilginisanAssistantProfessorofPoliticalScienceatSt.Mary’s
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b College of Maryland. He received his doctorate from the University
d of Pittsburgh in 2004 and has since published a number of essays on
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d politicalliberalism,constitutionalpolitics,andreligionandpoliticsin
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o TurkeyandtheMiddleEast.
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Routledge Islamic Studies Series
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2 This broad-ranging series includes books on Islamic issues from all parts of
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Political Liberalism in
Muslim Societies
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1: Fevzi Bilgin
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6
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r Firstpublished2011
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A byRoutledge
2 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
0
9 SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
5 byRoutledge
1: 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
2
t RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,
a aninformabusiness
]
e) (cid:2)c 2011FevziBilgin
m
m TherightofFevziBilgintobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhas
a beenassertedbyhiminaccordancewithsections77and78ofthe
gr Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
o
r TypesetinSabonbyIntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd,
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Pondicherry,India
T PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyTJIDigital,Padstow,Cornwall
S
LI Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor
N reproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,
( orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,including
e photocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformationstorageor
r
nt retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers.
e
C BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
T AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
E
N LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
B Bilgin,Fevzi.
I PoliticalliberalisminMuslimsocieties/FevziBilgin.
L
p.cm.--(RoutledgeIslamicstudiesseries;15)
F
N Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
I 1.Liberalism--Islamiccountries.2.Islamand
[
y politics--Islamiccountries.3.Islamiccountries--Politicsand
b government.I.Title.
d JC574.2.I74B552011
de 320.510917(cid:3)67--dc22
a 2010034062
o
nl ISBN978-0-415-78182-4(hbk)
w ISBN978-0-203-83084-0(ebk)
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1 To my parents
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Contents
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2 Acknowledgments viii
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e 1 Introduction 1
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ra 2 The idea of political liberalism 8
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3 Political liberalism and Islam 32
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L 4 Political liberalism in Muslim societies 46
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r 5 Tolerating religion 67
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T 6 Religion and the impartiality of the state 89
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B 7 Conclusion 112
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Notes 122
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y Bibliography 130
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d Index 139
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Acknowledgments
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2 This book reflects two of my lifelong intellectual preoccupations,
t religion and political theory. I am very fortunate to have had the
a
] opportunity to express these concerns in a work of this magnitude,
)
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m which, I have to acknowledge, would never have come to fruition
m without the help and support I received during my research and
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r writing.
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o I am extremely grateful for the extensive feedback I have received
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P from various friends and colleagues over the years, including
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S Frederick G. Whelan, Michael Goodhart, Jonathan Scott, David
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L Barker, Ahmet Davutoglu, Burhanettin Duran, Fred Dallmayr, David
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Thunder,andtwoanonymousreviewersforcommentingonanentire
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e draftofthebook.IamdelightedtothankaudiencesattheAmerican
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nt Political Science Association Meeting, Association for Political The-
e
C ory Meeting, Midwest Political Science Meeting, CURA Program on
T Religion and Globalization at Boston University, International Sym-
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N posium on Rethinking the Classical, and National Endowment for
B the Humanities’ Summer Seminar on Philosophical Perspectives on
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L LiberalDemocracyandGlobalEthics,andmycolleaguesatUniversity
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N Pittsburgh, Sakarya University, and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
[I I would also like to thank my editor at Routledge, Joe Whiting,
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b and his editorial staff, especially Suzanne Richardson and the copy-
d editor Elizabeth Stone, for their support and assistance throughout
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d thepublicationprocess.
a
o This book draws substantially upon some of my previously pub-
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w lished work. Chapter 3 draws upon “Political Liberalism and Inclu-
o sion of Religion,” which appeared in Rutgers Journal of Law and
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Religion(2006).Chapter4drawsupon“TheProspectofPoliticalLib-
eralisminNon-WesternSocieties,”whichappearedinCriticalReview
of International Political and Social Philosophy (2007). Chapters 5
and6drawupon“ClassicalLiberalReflectionsontheContemporary
Acknowledgments ix
Issues of Religion and Politics,” which appeared in Medeniyet ve
Klasik, published by Klasik (Istanbul, 2007). I would like to thank
thesejournalsandpressesforallowingmetousetheseworks.
Most importantly, I would like to express my gratitude to my
friends and family members, especially my parents, to whom I ded-
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1 icate this work, for their neverending support and encouragement
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2 from thousands of miles away; to Klara, whose care and compan-
il ionship have sustained my work and my life; and to my boys Sander
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A andDenizforremindingmeeverydaythatIhavetoworkforabetter
2 worldnomatterwhat.
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1 Introduction
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2 This book investigates the possible application of John Rawls’s idea
t of political liberalism in Muslim societies. Two basic premises guide
a
] the analysis. The sociological premise is the recent resurgence of
)
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m religious—especially Islamic—claims in public life. Contrary to com-
m mon expectations in the past, religious traditions have survived the
a
r process of modernization and reasserted themselves in public life.
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o Today, religious traditions throughout the world are refusing the
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P marginal and privatized role predicted by theories of modernity
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S and secularization and dictated by secular regimes.1 They play an
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L increasingly important public role in shaping and redefining social
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institutions and interactions. The political questions raised by reli-
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e gious individuals, organizations, and minorities are among the most
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nt pressing and potent issues in the contemporary world of politics.
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C These religious claims have posed serious theoretical challenges to
T the basic premises of contemporary liberal democracy. Fundamental
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N notions such as the neutrality of the state, the public/private distinc-
B tion, and individual autonomy have been called into question.2 The
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L theoretical premise is the need to address this matter and to offer a
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N normativeframeworkfortheproperplaceofreligioninpubliclife.
[I Political philosophy has always had to confront the political chal-
y
b lenges of religion. Among the major trends of thought, there have
d been ideas favoring the homogenization of diverse faiths through
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d coercive imposition, the rationalization or trivialization of religion
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o through secular institutionalization, and, finally, the forceful elim-
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w ination of religious manifestations in public life.3 Liberalism has
o developedamongtheseasadecisivealternative,atraditionstemming
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from the defense of toleration and peaceful coexistence. However,
some variants of contemporary liberalism insist on viewing religion
as merely a private matter, and thus overlook the public significance
of religion. Rawls’s political liberalism, on the other hand, presents