Muslim Critics Of Secularism Paperback

India

Abdoulaye Sounaye

One of the marking features of the 1990s democratization in Niger has been the rise of a variety of Islamic discourses. Laicite has been among their major preoccupations. For many ulama this secularism contradicts Niger's religious identity. Three voices are presented: the Collaborators, the Moderates and the Despisers. Each group seeks to influence the political and ideological make-up of the state. Although ulama in general remain critical of the state ideological transformation, not all of them reject the separation from religion clause. The Collaborators suggest cooperation between the religious and the political authorities; the Moderates demand governance to accommodate people's will; and the Despisers reject the liberalism that voids religious authority and demand a total re-islamization. I argue that what is at stake is less the separation between state and religion as its modality and impact on religious authority. The targets, tones and justification of the discourses I explore show the limitations of a democratization project grounded in laicite. Thus, in place of a secular democratization, ulama propose a conservative democracy based on Islam.

3838395573

9783838395579

English

LAP Lambert Academic Publishing

29 Aug 2010

108

ABD at Northwestern University; particularly interested in the ways in which the 1990s democratization and the sociopolitical dynamics that ensued inform Muslim subjectivities and sociabilities in Niger. Faculty at Abdou Moumouni University in Niger and on the Boston University Niger program; teaches Islam, development studies, philosophy.