Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Different meanings and definitions
Enlightenment, secularism and liberalism
By
Hossam Badrawi
Published in Al-Masry Al-Youm, Wednesday 5/6/23
On the occasion of Eid, I wrote congratulations to my family and friends, in which I wrote:
“I hope that everyone will enjoy a holiday full of beauty and love, and that we communicate with those whom we have forgotten, and even those with whom we disagreed, with humility and affection.”
There was a dialogue with “Dreamers of Tomorrow” about communicating with those with whom we disagreed, and one of them said to me: Two friends of mine had a disagreement years ago, and they were close, and I tried to use your method and make them communicate, and I found, surprisingly, that they do not even remember the real reason for the quarrel, but the quarrel lived between them Years….
Another young woman said that there was a quarrel between her and a friend of hers, despite her love, so how can she communicate and concede?
I said: Let us share with you, perhaps in the dialogue a way out.
She said: You accused me of blasphemy and atheism, because I said that I am secular, and I support the civil state, which I did not accept from her because I believe in my Lord and my religion, and her accusation of me I considered it unjust and not a disagreement.
I said: Guys, what your colleague says is not far from the causes of differences between nations, but rather wars.
Mere difference in the definition of a word, without knowing its origin, or submission to an ideological or religious concept may lead to disasters, if the heart and mind do not expand to understand first, and search behind the meanings and definitions of words secondly, before reaching whether there is a difference or not, and if it is, then there is no difference. That must cut a cord of affection, not a bond of communication.
Another young man said, and what is the most misunderstood definition, Doctor?
I said: I mention three, the Enlightenment, liberalism and secularism.
He said: Can you explain?
I said: Before clarifying, I remind you that the name is not the most important element to clarify the truth. If you call the rose by any other name, you will still smell its fragrance and see its beauty as it is… You have to search for the meaning that the name means in your minds to give the words a meaning, for, for example, I see the reality of Egyptian society as secular Liberal, enlightened according to the definitions of words in my mind and conscience, but the current of political Islam was able to give meanings to words other than the origin of their philosophy, so the liberal, the enlightenment, the secular, and the civil all mean for those who do not search for the atheist, the infidel, and the traveller, although the truth is the opposite, and let us discuss the meanings…
The Enlightenment expresses an intellectual, cultural, and philosophical movement that emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe and before that in Andalusia. .
The philosopher (Immanuel Kant) explained in his article “Dare to Know” what enlightenment is, and said, “It is a person’s attainment of maturity or adulthood.”
He also defined human insufficiency as blind dependence on others, the inability to think personally, or take any decision without consulting the person who is his guardian, and from this perspective his enlightening cry came to say: Use your minds, O people, so that you have the courage to use them, so do not rely after today. And do not give in to laziness, the destined, and the written. Move, be active, and engage in life positively and insightfully, and I warn you against blind obedience to political leaders or clerics.
The protection and education of man lies in him becoming mature, capable of self-reliance, and using his reason to be free from instinctive beliefs in the truths given to him.
As for secularism, secularism, or secularism, it is the intellectual approach that believes that human interaction with life must be based on a worldly basis and governed by a constitution that is agreed upon among people, and not on clerical interpretations of the heavenly books.
Secularism separates religion from the affairs of state governance, but it does not reject or prevent religion.
The same concept and secular (and scientific) thought applies to the view of the universe and celestial bodies. Secularism calls for an interpretation of the cosmic system in a purely scientific worldly way, in an attempt to find an explanation for the existence of the universe and its components, which are interpretations that can be updated and adapted according to the circumstances of the progress of science, and not just believing metaphorical explanations as facts. Scientific.
As for the description of secularism by its opponents as atheism, it is giving a definition to it that did not exist in the philosophy of its existence except when opponents of the idea of separating religion from politics and linking that with atheism to mobilize citizens against a political idea by turning it into a religious idea, manipulating the definition, to influence human emotions towards political orientations on the basis that they are Attitudes that deny the existence of God. And the matter is no different, whether it was Christianity, Islam or Judaism, because the extremists of religions throughout history are closer to each other in methodology, most of them seek power and control over others under the pretext that they are absolutely right and everyone is wrong, and in political action there is a multiplicity of opinions and means, and conditions change with the change of circumstances.
It is the same mistake that the opponents of Islam make as a terrorist religion against the Absolute, because some Muslims are carrying out terrorist acts in this time, just as the extremists of Christianity did in an earlier time, and it is the religion of forgiveness and peace in origin.
Liberalism is a political philosophy based on the ideas of freedom, equality, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, religious freedom, the free market, and civil rights.
Liberalism rejects the rule of the church in the name of religion, the divine right of kings and rulers, or the caliph that Islamic religious rule calls for and to which the people must listen and obey.
Philosopher John Locke is often credited with founding this philosophy, given that every human being has the natural right to life, liberty, choice, and possession.
Liberal, secular, and civil society call for not using religion to obtain political gains, and their pillars are respect for the beliefs of all citizens of the country, and that religion is a relationship between the individual and God Almighty, and he has his respect, rules, and practices. The state cannot have a religion, but a state for the majority of its citizens is a religion, like religion. Islamic in our case, but some of its citizens have different beliefs and yet everyone has the same rights and has the same responsibilities towards society.
I would even add and say that respect for religion and freedom of belief is an authentic liberal principle, and I even affirm that it is an authentic Islamic principle, contrary to what the hardliners are promoting. In the liberal state, it is not possible to impose a religion on individuals or force citizens to embrace it.
It is enough for me to say the Qur’an: “And say the truth is from your Lord. So whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve.”
And the Almighty said, “And if your Lord had willed, everyone on earth would have believed together. So, do you force people until they are believers?”
He said, “O people, we have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.”
Isn’t that all and other respect for freedom of belief and pluralism?
As for the economic policy in liberalism, it means the free economy or the market economy. It is the economic system of classical liberalism. The idea of a free economy is the non-interference of the state in economic activities and letting the market control itself.
As for social liberalism, which is the concept that I embrace, it partially supports the state’s intervention in the economy, and it takes a middle position between extreme capitalism and extreme leftism. It believes in the role of the state in providing social rights such as education and health care, and it understands the role of the state as a coordinator and guarantor of justice and the organizer and guarantor of equality and freedom. And he is solely responsible for internal security and defense of the homeland and the safety and sovereignty of its lands, sky, river and seas.
This philosophy is also called social justice liberalism, or welfare state liberalism, and it means its inclusion of the concept of social justice. .
Social liberalism insists on obligating the government to create a climate that builds the capabilities of individuals and provides them with equal opportunities. It considers that the right to work and the right to a suitable wage are no less important than the right to property.
However, the state’s intervention in the economy must have limits and requires conviction in the main role of the private sector in development, investment and job creation, not as a gift from the government that gives it when it wants and withdraws it when it wants.
Experience says that when the ownership of one or more state institutions of the means of production becomes inflated without accountability, the matter ends just as the largest public ownership ideology in history has ended.
You will see from all the definitions that the disagreements, blasphemy, and attacks on those who talk about the state’s civility, secularism, and liberalism are disagreements about the concept of political rule, and not about religion. Religion belongs to God and the homeland is for everyone.
