Islam, Secularism, and the Muslim Dilemma A thematic Review of Islam and Secularism by Sayed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

Abstract

This article seeks to review the ambivelant tensions between Islam and Secularism through the lens of Sayed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. In his remarkable work: Islam and Secularism, al-Attas decomposes, perchance exhumes, the minutest factors behind the vulnerability of the Muslim World to the secular arsenal, after a long history of being impervious thereto. His profound critique to the concept of 'Disenchantment' paves his way towards his significant theory entitled: the Loss of Adab. This introductory review aims at presenting, if not re-visiting, the major themes discussed in his renowned book, highlighting the mechanisms employed by the West in the process of secularisation. In addition, this article also places al-attas's theories in the appropriate context through the exegesis of this complex synthesis. In this regard, the chief attainment of this article is to contextualise al-Attas's theory of the Loss of Adab within the discourse on Secularism in the Muslim World.