Secularism in Social and Political Contexts: Contemporary Trends, Movements, and Ideas in the Middle East

Dear Colleagues,

Modern secular ideas and movements in the Middle East have long-standing roots dating back to the 19th century. As the most complex and historical development, the Ottoman endeavour of reforming and modernising the state and society introduced secular ideas and norms across the Middle East. Later, the emergence of nationalist movements in the early 20th century had similarly paved the way for the institutionalization of secular approaches which fundamentally impacted the state and society. On the other hand, these experiences have not been monolithic experiences (Hashemi 2010). The construction of the Kemalist-secular republic in Turkey and the Shah regime in Iran have, for example, been among the most striking secular models in the region. Besides, in many other cases including Syria, Iraq, and Libya secular ideas and policies have deeply impacted states and societies for decades in varying political paths (See, Salem 1996).

Middle East Studies on politics and society have prevalently been conducted through the impact of religion. An important reason for the dominance of the religion-focused approach has been the ever-growing influence of Islamism since the 1970s. Islamists have come to power with crowds-pulling promises in Turkey at the beginning of the new millennium. Similarly, especially with the so-called "Arab Spring", Islamist movements in Egypt and many other Middle East countries attained strong political positions. In this trend, it was also observed that, for instance, in Palestine, secular and social democratic forces weakened and Islamists, like Hamas, have become much more influential in the socio-political realm. Hezbollah has become a game-changer in Lebanon, once a source of inspiration for secular thoughts and policies in the region. Not only in Islam-dominated societies but also in Israel, religion-based and conservative camps including ethnic/ethno-cultural movements like Zionism have become more powerful vis-à-vis political groups which describe themselves as secular and progressive. Accordingly, academic inquiry on politics and society, understandably, has focused on the omnipresent impact of religion across the region, a trend which also resulted in less interest in research on secularism.

A wall of separation between church and state (Ledewitz 2009); secularism has been a defining concept in the Western modern state with conceptual specifics which varies across cases, featuring different philosophical, sociological, and political dimensons (Hashemi 2010). While the the Anglo-American perspective mainly ordains the separation of church and state, the French tradition follows the idea of excluding any form of religious manifestation in public. In some other cases, like the Indian experience, the concept originally requires fairness in allocation of public resources among religious groups (Calhoun 2008, 7).

Recent developments under the JDP governments in Turkey; the role of the Islamists after the "Arab Spring" across the region; the Iranian experience after the Islamic Revolution have resulted in wide-ranging problems. Those problems have sparked off social and political reactions, especially among the urbanite, new generations in which the revival of secular thoughts and a demand for secularization are growing. This trend is even observable among some religious groups which seek to develop a new interpretation of religion compatible with secularism. Despite the remission of secular ideas and movements vis-à-vis religious and fundamentalist rivals for decades, those recent developments reveal the necessity of a new reading of society and politics through the lenses of secularism.

Considering such critical themes, this special issue of Religions aims to revisit secularism and politics in the Middle East. In search of an interdisciplinary analysis of theory and practice, we aim to bring issues and approaches together to contribute to the study of secularism and politics in the region. In this trajectory, we are pleased to invite scholars, experts, and policy-makers to contribute to Religion’s special issue on "Secularism in Social and Political Contexts: Contemporary Trends, Movements, and Ideas in the Middle East". 

Drawing from various scholars and mainly of Jean Baubérot (See Baubérot 2016 and 2013), in this special issue, we define secularism as separation of religious institutions from the institutions of the state and no domination of the political sphere by any religious interpretation. Thus, any political social or intellectual movement that defines itself sharing these two principles are potential subject matter of this special issue. Accordingly, our scope in this inquiry envisages secularism studies in its widest sense, welcoming political, sociological, and philosophical accounts. Besides, it covers not only anti-clerical/religous thoughts and movements; but also nationalist and conservative traditions. Thus, this issue aims to publish (i) original research articles that dissect the complexities of contemporary major developments in this regard, and (ii) reviews that systematically study contemporary major theoretical and methodological contributions to the field. To give an idea, contributors may submit proposals in parallel with the aims of the issue such as (but are not limited to):

1. Original research articles studying how secularism manifests itself in social, political, and intellectual layers in the last decade. These may include secular thoughts and movements; political and ideological interpretations aiming at reconciling Islam with secularism; recent successes of secular parties; rising impact of feminist, labour, and environmental movements in the region after the "Arab Spring".
2. Articles/reviews that explore contemporary academic approaches, ideas, theories, and methods on the study of secularism and politics in the Middle East. 

In search of enriching the academic inquiry on the Middle East through solid theoretical and empirical investigations, we look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Gokhan Bacik
Dr. Serkan Seker
Guest Editors

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• secularism and politics
• the Middle East
• islamism
• secularism
• secular political thought
• social and political study of secularism
• Arab nationalism and secular movements
• left-wing politics and secular movements
• transnational secular studies