Is Islam compatible with democracy and the West? How do Muslim communities understand the concept of the secular? How have contemporary Islamic scholars addressed the topic and why? How does living in a secularized context affect the everyday lives of Muslim women living in the west? What about the so-called 'secular' Muslims? These and other questions are discussed in Muslim Societies and the Challenge of Secularization: An Interdisciplinary Approach. A timely collection which, for the first time, explores these themes from a strong interdisciplinary approach.
This book provides theoretical and ethnographic discussion of both the experience of Muslims vis-a-vis the idea of the secular as well as the revival of the discourse of secularism within the western context. Through its interdisciplinary approach and the case studies of different Muslim communities, this book avoids some of the clichés and essentialism which often affect the analysis of secularization and Islam. The collection aims to open a discussion and provide glimpses into current studies on the topic.