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| RELIGION & LIBERALISM: Is religion a threat to liberalism? |
 RELIGION & LIBERALISM: Is religion a threat to liberalism? Professor of Sociology and Principal Research Fellow Norani Othman of the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia, discussed RELIGION & LIBERALISM: Is religion a threat to liberalism? at a panel discussion at an International Conference on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, Berlin 20-21 May 2008. Below is an abstract of her presentation. All forms of liberalism claim to protect freedom particularly individual right to liberty, life, property, and the pursuit of happiness (the last was actually included in the Bill of Rights, USA). Due to its historical background or formative origin, liberalism has a strong suspicion of state power and religion (particularly established religion). The discomfort of those who uphold contemporary liberal theory (or liberalism) with religion itself and their ‘mistrust' of others with strong religious commitment poses a challenge for me-as a Muslim who is also a committed activist in a struggle to reclaim gentle, benign, humanitarian, civil Islam that upholds contemporary principles of universal human rights, equality, and justice for all fellow human beings regardless of gender, race and creed. In Indonesia, a group of like-minded fellow modernist Muslims attempted to form a movement called "Jaringan Islam Liberal" or "Liberal Islam Network". However, they suffer the fate of being rejected and accused of "being misled by westernized ideas" and even labelled as "deviant Muslims". The women's group in Malaysia Sisters in Islam has also been wrongly accused of similar charges by those Islamist activists who do not believe that those so-called principles of liberal democracy are not part of our Islamic teachings or heritage. My presentation will address this problematic experience of contemporary Muslims who share modern liberal sensibilities and notions of equality, fairness, and justice. Why can't "established contemporary liberalism" [that arguably emerged from European Enlightenment] accept the possibility of a religious endeavour at tempering its "ethical and liberalising impulse" with faith tradition and god-consciousness? Norani Othman Professor of Sociology and Principal Research Fellow Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), UKM Kampus Bangi, 43600 Selangor, Malaysia Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it News source: FNF Malaysia |
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