The word “secularism” corresponds to the English term *Secularism*, which is itself derived from the Latin word *Saeculum*, meaning “the world” or “earthly life,” in contrast to the Church or religion. The word was first used in the provisions of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, following the end of the Thirty Years’ War. The treaty referred to the secularization of Church property, meaning the transfer of Church possessions to non-religious political authorities. When the term first appeared, it was neutral regarding religion. For example, John Holyoake (1817–1906)—the first to coin the term in its modern sense—used it to mean the possibility of improving human conditions through material means, without addressing questions of doctrine or faith through either rejection or acceptance. Later, however, the term came to mean rejecting religion in the political sphere and confining it—if necessary—to the realm of personal matters. One definition states that it is “the principle of separating governmental institutions and persons charged with representing the state from religious institutions and religious figures.” Among the features of secularism is the affirmation of the right to freedom from religious rule and teachings, and the belief that public activities and decisions—especially political ones—should not be subject to the influence of religious beliefs and/or practices. The term entered the Arab-Islamic world through colonialism. Arab thinkers differed over the most accurate Arabic translation of *Secularism*. One group called it *ʿilmāniyya* (with a kasra on the letter ʿayn), attributing it—irregularly—to “the world”; a second group called it *ʿalamāniyya* (with a fatḥa on the ʿayn), attributing it to “knowledge”; while a third group referred to it as “worldliness.” They defined secularism as “political non-religiosity,” meaning the separation of religion from the state and society. To understand the meaning and implications of the term, it is necessary to shed light on the circumstances that gave rise to it and the historical development that led to its emergence. Secondly:  The historical background to the emergence of secularism in Europe: It can be said that secularism was the product of the intense conflict between the Church and scientists in medieval Europe. The causes of this conflict go back to the fact that the Church in Europe had altered the Bible, inserting into it the astronomical and natural theories then known, as well as much historical and geographical information. The Church aimed to reinforce its influence and strengthen its authority in the face of those who rebelled against or criticized it. As a result, sacred texts became mixed with human words. Perhaps the distortion of divine truths and their mixing with human information was among the gravest mistakes the Church committed against Christianity—and against itself. Later scientific discoveries confirmed the inaccuracy of much of the information that had been incorporated into the sacred texts. This was the reason for the well-known conflict between scientists and Church leaders: the Church saw scientists’ views and discoveries as threatening religious faith and contradicting the accepted interpretation of sacred texts. What may have harmed the Church most was its inclusion of detailed information about the universe and life in sacred texts. It stated that the Earth was the fixed center of the universe; that God created the world in 4004 BCE; that Adam was created in the same year in the Garden of Eden, located two days’ journey from Basra; and that the Flood occurred 2,262 years after the creation of the first human being—that is, in 1742 BCE. One of the main issues that ignited the conflict was the scientists’ claim that the Earth revolves around the Sun. The first European scientist to put forward this view was Copernicus, who formulated his astronomical theory in 1543. However, Copernicus died before the Church could punish him. He was followed by Bruno, who affirmed that the Earth revolves and persisted in his view; the Church burned him in 1600. In 1609, the Italian scientist Galileo developed the telescope and experimentally demonstrated what his predecessors had said. The Church exerted pressure on him that forced him to recant while kneeling before the Pope. The Church insisted that the Earth was stationary, saying: “The Earth must be the fixed center of the universe because Christ is worshipped upon it, the work of salvation took place upon it, and the Lord’s Supper is received above it. The Torah says: ‘The Earth stands forever; the Sun rises, and the Sun sets, and hastens to the place where it rises.’” The Church also mocked the claim that the Earth is round, saying: > “It is absurd for anyone to believe that there are people whose feet are above their heads, or plants and trees that grow downward.” At that time, popes enjoyed broad influence and immense powers. Papal authority extended to appointing and dismissing kings, imposing taxes, and issuing divine laws for kingdoms. One example of the influence enjoyed by popes in Europe concerns the French Constitution: France’s Constituent Assembly was compelled to seek the Pope’s approval of the civil constitution so that it would be considered legitimate and valid in the eyes of the French people. The Pope officially condemned the constitution and declared it void. The Church used these broad powers and great influence to suppress scientists, confronting their statements and discoveries with extreme violence. The number of people punished by the Church has been estimated at three hundred thousand, of whom thirty-two thousand were burned alive on the grounds that they asserted facts contrary to what appeared in sacred texts. Safar ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Hawali maintains that the Church “held people accountable not only for the beliefs in their hearts, but also for the products of their talents and their ideas.” The telescope developed by Galileo marked a major turning point in the history of that conflict. It became a powerful argument in the hands of scientists and advocates of renewal. The conflict thus became one between reason, observation, and experiment—as represented by Galileo’s telescope—on one side, and the sacred texts relied upon by the Church on the other. Scientists and reformers revolted and called for the sanctification of reason and for its independence in attaining knowledge apart from revelation. At first, however, they could not entirely deny revelation, so they assigned separate domains to reason and revelation, each operating without encroaching on the other. The best-known leader of this trend was the philosopher Descartes, who held that “the domain of science is nature; its subject is the harnessing of natural forces, and its tools are mathematics and experiment. Religion concerns the fate of the soul in the afterlife and relies on belief and submission. Thus, there is no conflict between science and religion, and neither has authority over the other.” But after scientists and reformers defeated the Church through severe and bloody conflicts, shattered its influence, and limited its role, scholars and philosophers with more explicit positions toward revelation emerged, including John Locke, Hobbes, Leibniz, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These philosophers called for revelation to be subjected to reason and for the Church to be removed from society’s affairs in favor of building the modern bourgeois state. They called for Christian theology to be purged of irrational ideas, demanded the removal of clerical control over education, and declared that religion is a personal matter that should not interfere in political and social affairs, and that Christianity concerns only the afterlife. In reality, religion became associated in the minds of many Europeans with the brutal practices carried out by Churchmen. Thus, “when religion was mentioned, so too was the innocent blood shed in the name of science and inquiry, and the innocent souls that fell victim to the cruelty and delusions of priests.” They were unable to distinguish between true religion and the practices of Christian clergy. “So that those forces claiming spiritual authority would not return again, Europe set itself up as a champion of everything opposed to religion, in principle and in practice.” Secularism in Europe then entered a second phase, in which it became openly hostile to religion. Whereas secularism in its early stages sought to limit religion’s role in public life and confine it to personal matters, in this later phase it sought to destroy and undermine religion. This tendency appeared in the writings of Feuerbach, Marx, Engels, and Lenin, and became known as “revolutionary secularism.” Revolutionary secularism aimed to eliminate religion as an obstacle to the socialism its advocates sought to establish. In their view, religion was “the opium of the people and a narcotic for the poor”; therefore, it had to be dismantled and societies freed from its influence in favor of socialism and social justice. For Feuerbach, religion was a human invention, and God was merely an illusion created by human beings when they projected their own nature onto the external world. Similarly, Marx held that “the oppressed popular class invented God, heaven, and a second life as an attempt to escape its backward condition; the exploiting and ruling classes then reinforced this belief in order to protect their interests.” Thus, the ideas promoted by Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau paved the way for the emergence of Marxism in Europe.     References:

• Abdelwahab Elmessiri, “Secularism: An Epistemological Perspective,” Al-Insan Magazine, Issue 10, Year 2, April 1993.
• Safar ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Hawali, *Secularism: Its Origins, Development, and Effects on Contemporary Islamic Life*, Umm al-Qura Press, 1982, pp. 146–147.
• Shibli al-Aysami, Secularism and the Religious State, General Cultural Affairs Press, Baghdad, 1986, p. 23.
• Abul Hasan al-Nadwi, What the World Lost Due to the Decline of Muslims, Arab Book House, Beirut, 8th ed., 1984, p. 132.
• Leopold Weiss, Islam at the Crossroads, Dar al-Ilm lil-Malayin, 1946, p. 43.
• Abdel-Baqi al-Harroumassi, Religion in Arab Society, Center for Arab Unity Studies, Beirut, 1990, pp. 26–27.
• “Secularism & Secularity: Contemporary International Perspectives”, Edited by Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar. Hartford, CT: Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC), 2007,PP.21-22.