Ahmad Al-Bahdadi, a political science lecturer at Kuwait University, recently published in the Kuwaiti daily "Al-Siyasa" a number of articles condemning religious thought and praising secularism. Below are excerpts from his articles:
From Mary
In an article published on November 14, 2004 under the title "Secularism and Life" Al-Bahdadi claimed that only a society freed from religion can progress and develop, while demonstrating how Islamic religious thought prevents its progress and development[1]:
"... Secularism as a [world] concept and as a way of life did not come out of nowhere, but is the result of a painful life experience of man that lasted for nearly a thousand years and during which the religious thought of the church was eliminated as a result of the thought of the clergy... During this experience, Western man lived in the dark [in terms of] thought and in destructive wars during the period called the 'Dark Ages'.
The educated in the field of science, industry, money, politics and culture, had only one solution which is a refuge for the unhappy societies. And it is: removing the religious man from life... From that moment on, the Western world was the only developing, progressive and prosperous world in all areas of life.
So that we are not accused of a subjective [approach] against the religious concept, we will give examples from the reality in the Muslim and Arab countries:
1. Religious thought is the only thought today that refuses to accept the 'International Declaration of Human Rights' for religious reasons and this constitutes an obstacle to the [realization] of these rights in Islamic countries, not only in the area of inheritance, but also in areas such as equality, freedom of expression and freedom of expression.
2. Islamic religious thought is the only one today that still adheres to [accusing Muslims] of apostasy [returning from Islam]... Unfortunately, this adherence [to the matter of apostasy] results in the murder of a person even without trial.
3. Religious thought opposes freedom of expression and freedom of expression when religion is criticized. Moreover, religious thought sanctifies things that religion itself does not command to sanctify. So is a parable regarding [the immunity from criticism of] the members of the Prophet who are not considered part of the principles of religion or the roots of faith. Religious thought does not distinguish between religion and its believers.
4. Religious thought is still against [the rights of] women, even if religious scholars claim otherwise.
5. Religious thought [also] opposes the medicinal treatment of human health [such as] the prohibition of adding alcohol to most medicines, which causes a decrease in their effectiveness... [Also] a Muslim doctor today does not dare to order a patient not to fast [during the month of Ramadan], and therefore the hospitals are full in fasting patients.
6. Religious thought supports political tyranny, because it opposes democracy and the constitution.
In Kuwait they strive to destroy the constitution and the constitutional state and in Saudi Arabia there is total opposition to democracy.
7. If we imagined that some [Arab] regime adopted a certain religious school, what would happen to the other schools?
8. The religious thought opposes the other, accuses him of heresy and opposes living alongside him. The proof of this is
The curses and requests [from Allah] that we hear in the mosques to destroy all non-Muslims and harm them, instead of asking for guidance for them to the straight path, [as should have happened if it were in society] is a grain of human tolerance.
9. The religious thought is the main reason for the creation of terrorism, and this is due to the negative interpretations [given] to the verses [of the Koran] regarding Jihad.
10. Religious thought opposes creativity and art on every issue...
The West did not progress until it was freed from this thought. This is the only solution [facing] the Muslims. They have no future as long as they are subject to religious thought."
Two days later, al-Bahdadi published another article in two parts under the title "The Good in Secularism and the Bad in You" in which he emphasized the differences between the secular countries and the Islamic countries[2]:
"There is no Muslim country where a Christian or Jew can reveal a cross or a kippah and do so in peace. Also, adherents of [other] human religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism are not allowed to hold their ceremonies in public, even with the consent of the government, without people harming them, as happened at the place of Hindu worship in Kuwait. Compared to this religious persecution [in Muslim countries], in which [the people of] the [Islamic] religious current boast, there is no secular country that prohibits the building of mosques, [not to mention that sometimes] the government finances it [itself]. Also, there is no secular country that prevents the Muslim from praying in public...
There is not a single church in the secular Christian world where a priest stands and curses anyone who disagrees with his religion or prays that trouble and disasters will be caused to him, as the preachers do in our Friday prayer. [Also] in our religious thought there is no equivalent to the message recently stated by the current Pope regarding the importance of peace for all. Compared to the ease with which a mosque is built in secular Europe and America, building a church [in a Muslim country] is only done with the approval of the president of the country, [and that too] rarely.
There is not a single non-Muslim religious institute that teaches its students to hate the other, on the grounds that he is considered an apostate whose life is hell, and it does not matter if he has benefited humanity. This hatred is found in the Islamic curriculum.
Throughout [Muslim] history, there was not a single Muslim judge who sought to obtain justice for a wronged non-Muslim, while the United States and Europe saved many nations from oppression by sacrificing human life and property to save other [nations]. [In this context] there is no objection to mentioning the kindness of the seculars towards the Kuwaitis on the day they decided to liberate Kuwait and restore the honor of its government and people.
In the secular world, a writer, intellectual or journalist is not sent to prison for their opinions - except in the case of the European laws regarding the denial of the Holocaust that destroyed the Jews in Europe, because it is an existing fact that the European conscience still suffers from. [Even in such a case the Holocaust denier] is not banned but only fined. They do not consider him an apostate [one who has returned from his religion] and do not seek his death, [they do not] try to assassinate him, harm his livelihood or separate him from his wife and children. On the other hand, the extremist Muslims and the Muslim clerics often resort to ideological terrorism, calling for killing and accusing [people] of 'redah' [returning from Islam...
The secular world is good, respectable, brave, helps the poor and advances in all areas of life. The countries [advocating secularism] are endowed with cleanliness of hands, honesty, virtues, social and legal justice, the exercise of civil and ideological liberties, good education, speaking the truth and the absence of deception... and what do we have in countries whose mosques are full of people who pray in the last ten days [of Ramadan] to avoid work and studies ? Do I have to mention again the report on the corruption in the world when the Islamic countries played a significant part in the corruption and the lack of transparency?
Those [belonging] to the religious stream have no escape from admitting that all the good is found in secular thought, and all evil is found in religious thought, since they use religion to harm not only people, but also religion itself, to the point that Muslims no longer respect their religion, and they begin to exploit it to rake in financial profits through the sale of Islamic books and drinks.
Do you know why Allah helps the secular state? Because she is right. Why doesn't he help countries that build mosques every day? Because these are countries doing…
The Muslim countries are unable to embrace secularism for a simple reason: the principles of secularism contradict the concepts of these countries based on tyranny, oppression, aggression, backwardness and anarchy. Moreover, these countries exploit religious thought to impose their legitimacy. Therefore you find that they are the most enthusiastic supporters of the religious groups, while they know that in these groups there are those who support terrorism and help harm society. Because the religious groups do not support rights and justice as much as they support usurpation and tyranny, while secularism [works] in the opposite way."
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Al-Siyasa, Kuwait, 14.11.2004. [1]
[2] Al-Siyasa (Kuwait), 16-17.11.2004.
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