The Straits Times
16 September 2016
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Separating Islam and State May be a Way Forward
Separating Islam and State May be a Way Forward
Acts of terrorism are identified as a Muslim phenomenon today because they are mostly committed by Muslims, erroneously in the name of Islam. That is but one marker that the Islamic world is mired in a host of problems and global Muslims at a low point in their history.
These problems include the tragedy of a number of Islamic countries in the Middle East and North Africa that have become failed states. And sectarian conflicts and political violence have become ordinary happenings in many Muslim countries, especially in South Asia.
Muslim minority communities in South-east Asia, meanwhile, are engaged in conflicts with central governments arising from issues of citizenship and land ownership. Political instability and infighting have consumed several Muslim governments.
As well, immigrant Muslim communities in Europe are beset with serious problems of integration. More have entered Europe as refugees from war-torn Muslim countries, and the situation can be explosive. Islamophobia is at an uneasy high in the Western world.
… The writer is head of Studies in Inter-religious Relations in Plural Societies Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
SRP / Online / Print
Last updated on 16/09/2016
