Ahmet T. Kuru, a Turkish author and professor, is in New Delhi to promote the Hindi version of his book, “Islam Authoritarianism: Underdevelopment – A Global and Historical Comparison.” The book will be launched by the Khusro Foundation at the New Delhi World Book Fair on February 2. Kuru teaches Political Science and leads Islamic and Arabic Studies at San Diego State University. He writes that many Muslim-majority countries of today suffer from a failure to develop, especially in science and technology. This problem, he thinks, has nothing to do with Islam but is due to the authoritarian systems that characterize these societies.
Ahmet T. Kuru: Religion and State
Ahmet T. Kuru contests the thesis that religion and state cannot be separated in Islam. He recounts how he earlier worked on secularism and faced attacks both from secularists and Islamists in Turkey. Secularists argued that Islam must be controlled, while Islamists questioned his faith. Kuru found that there is a wide variety of practices in the Muslim world. Out of 50 Muslim-majority countries, 20 have secular constitutions, while others mix secular and Islamic laws. He emphasizes that there is no clear text in Islamic sources that supports the idea of a strict religion-state connection.
Ahmet T. Kuru: Historical Context
Ahmet T. Kuru points out that traditionally, most Muslim scholars did not receive state-sponsored funds and traditionally opposed the state’s political authority. He also asserts that from the 8th to 11th century Muslims witnessed a golden age of knowledge and living harmoniously with other religions. They discovered and contributed highly to science, mathematics, and agriculture and began to influence Europe, but Kuru argues that this is usually seen as being forgotten. He thinks that the history can help reform the views about Islam and its relationship with governance in the current times.
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