العلمنة والمجتمعات العربية تحديث قسري أم خيار استراتيجي؟

Abstract

Purpose: This study seeks to contribute to the rationalization of the current debate concerning the process of secularization to which Arab and Islamic societies are being subjected systematically and steadily. It also seeks to contribute to the answer to the central question raised in the title: Is the process of secularization a strategic choice that reflects a concurrence between state and society, or a top-down decision imposed on these societies under duress?

Methodology:  This study does not discuss secularism as a concept or an ideology. It rather deals with secularization as a political phenomenon in terms of a procedural process related to the state's relationship with society. Given that this phenomenon is alien to Arab societies and is associated with the colonial movement, this paper combines the historical and sociological approach to understanding the process of secularization within its historical and social contexts, by highlighting the facts, practices and reasons that accompanied the passage of Arab society towards secularization.

Findings:  This paper shows that the phenomenon of secularization is novel and alien to Arab societies. It is associated with the emergence of international coercion witnessed during the colonization era, and has continued under the influence of dependency that dominated the relationship of Arab states to the European centre during the post-independence phase.

Originality: Unlike many critical theoretical studies that address secularization as a concept, this paper focuses on the importance of a the sociological approach to understanding the manifestations of secular influences on social lifestyle and the behaviour of individuals, groups and official institutions under the rule of foreign laws, as well as their dominance over society’s culture and its core values.