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Irfan, I think you put your finger on something very important both here and in the other thread on Rand, where you talk about her "Americo-centric" thrust. If genuine freedom is to have any future, it will only be because it finds a way to be relevant to given cultural and historical conditions---as it has in the past.
Unfortunately, the secular separation (de facto or de jure) of religion and state is not something that the fanatical Islamic fundamentalists seek. But if it is possible to affect that kind of separation, as you suggest, within an Islamic context, then it is also possible for Islamic-dominated countries to start thinking and generating a distinct form of liberal politics.
Classical liberals, for eons, have been speaking of the universality of their creed. But universality does not mean that only one "model" is acceptable; if the West is waiting for that one "model" to be accepted, followed, and practiced, that day may never come. It is not a paradox to say that the success of a universal political principle, such as freedom, depends greatly on its adaptability to contexts that exist in a particular time and place. Bringing "Western" liberal thought into engagement with the Islamic world is a necessary step, therefore, but it's only a first step.
Unfortunately, the secular separation (de facto or de jure) of religion and state is not something that the fanatical Islamic fundamentalists seek. But if it is possible to affect that kind of separation, as you suggest, within an Islamic context, then it is also possible for Islamic-dominated countries to start thinking and generating a distinct form of liberal politics.
Classical liberals, for eons, have been speaking of the universality of their creed. But universality does not mean that only one "model" is acceptable; if the West is waiting for that one "model" to be accepted, followed, and practiced, that day may never come. It is not a paradox to say that the success of a universal political principle, such as freedom, depends greatly on its adaptability to contexts that exist in a particular time and place. Bringing "Western" liberal thought into engagement with the Islamic world is a necessary step, therefore, but it's only a first step.
Return to Building a Civil Society
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra on January 20, 2005 at 8:21 AM