Fundamentalism is considered to be a propensity among some individuals and groups that is described

by the implementation of a strict interpretation to religious texts or philosophies, along with a strong
belief in the importance of differentiating one's ingroup and outgroup, which leads to the focus on some
perception of piousness and a desire to return to a previous ideal from which advocates believe
members have strayed. The expression is frequently used in the religious context to signify steadfast
allegiance to a group of unchangeable principles. (Wikipedia- Simple English, 2022) “It is now often
used to describe groups of people who are committed to behave or act according to their
(mostly moral, and religious) values and beliefs even though these values may be criticised
by many people or unpopular.”

Secularism is the notion that humanity's affairs should be governed per the secular principles.
Secularism is generally interpreted as separating religion from public life and the state, but it can also
refer to any stance that seeks to eliminate or significantly reduce the impact of religion in society. In its
most simplistic form, it can refer to any position that supports the secular in any particular setting.
However, the term has a wide range of interpretations. It can be defined as (East-West Intern, n.d.)
“Separation of religious institutions from state institutions”. It may imply anti-clericalism, atheism,
naturalism, non-sectarianism, objectivity toward religious issues, or the full elimination of religious
symbols from societal structure.

Both these ideologies have faced a bunch of problems in the Modern Islamic World.

Understanding the origins and development of Islamic Divine law is crucial for understanding the
fundamentalist discourse's efforts to legitimate itself. Fundamentalist Muslims are anti-progressive,
rarely undergoing conventional religious education, and also are more prone to conforming to a
personal ideology than to the Shariah principles of Islam. They critique main sources like ijtihad, a
technique mainly used by Islamic schools of law, and other forms of independent reasoning. But they
nonetheless continue to derive their philosophy from tradition. Muslim thinkers also object to the label
because "fundamentalist" is a Christian phrase. It appears to have originated in the early twentieth
century, and it refers to certain Christian communities and organizations, particularly those that believe
in the literal divine origin and inerrancy of the Bible. Furthermore, it's critical for the majority of
contemporary Muslims to understand that, given the rapidly evolving and changing nature of the world,
as well as the unique circumstances and experiences to which we are exposed as humans, not
all answers can be always found in the scriptures. Knowing when to utilize your own free will and how to
be able to come to a consensus upon the new issues and challenges that inevitably arise every single day
have become vital. (Wikipedia, 2022) “Among Muslim theologians, there is as yet no such liberal
or modernist approach to the Qur'an, and all Muslims”

Although Islam and secularism are clearly fundamentally opposed concepts, they may share certain
resemblance. In Islam, for example, there is no requirement to utilize free will; everything is left up to an
individual's free will to select the right and wrong path. Similarly, secularism does not interfere with a
person's religious choice; in some ways, freedom of religion and conscience are entirely dependent on a
person's choice. However, secularism as a core principle of society and human existence is in
contradiction with Islamic principles and ideals. As a result, this may have unforeseen consequences
such as social difficulties and instability in society, particularly in Muslim nations. (Rodell, 2019) “One
criticism of this view is that, far from the neutrality it claims, it actually involves imposing both a
European Enlightenment notion of separating private faith from community and public life…”. The
removal of Islamic influences and ideology from the legal and political affairs of the state under foreign
colonial dominance, as well as numerous attempts to restrict social religious expression and liberation
by some secular nation states, have all contributed to the secularistic ideology's adverse negative stigma
in the Muslim world. Indeed, the concept of secularism in Islam tends to be contradictory. Islamic
secularism was not the counterpart of American secularism, which incorporates the "separation of
church and state". In reality, secularism is viewed as undermining Islam by limiting its capabilities to
concerns of religion and practice. (Wikipedia, 2022) “Islamists believe that Islam fuses religion and
politics, with normative political values determined by the divine texts”. As a result, it had a
negative impact on all parts of culture, state, character, moral etiquette, and society that had
foundations in Islamic traditions. Another difficulty arising out of secularism is that many contemporary
Muslims already believe that politics and faith cannot be isolated from each other because they perceive
that religion provides all the instruction they require for all of their affairs, including how to govern a
state such as the Caliphate. Unfortunately, secularism is disapproved by the contemporary world, and
states are forced to implement democratic forms of government in an attempt to prevent being picked
out or left far behind by the rest of the developed world.

Bibliography
East-West Intern. (n.d.). What is Secularism? Retrieved from East-West: https://blog.eastwest.org/what-
is-secularism

Rodell, J. (2019). What do secularists mean by ‘secularism’? Retrieved from LSE:

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2019/01/what-do-secularists-mean-by-secularism/

Wikipedia. (2022). Islam And Secularism. Retrieved from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_secularism#Questions_of_suitability

Wikipedia. (2022). Islamic Fundamentalism. Retrieved from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_fundamentalism#Criticism_of_the_term

Wikipedia- Simple English. (2022). Fundamentalism. Retrieved from Wikipedia- Simple English:
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalism
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