'Ulama-state alliance may lead to authoritarianism, underdevelopment'
Published on: Thursday, February 01, 2024
By:
FMT, Sean Augustin
Turkish-American scholar Ahmet T Kuru said the alliance between the ulama and state has led to the politicising of religion and is detrimental in the long run.
PETALING JAYA: Renowned Turkish-American scholar Ahmet T Kuru says the authoritarianism and underdevelopment experienced in most Muslim-majority countries stem from an alliance between the ulama and the state.
In his book “Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison”, Kuru claimed that the alliance had arrested development in the Muslim world for centuries by marginalising independent scholars and entrepreneurs.
ADVERTISEMENT
It has also hindered the emergence of a strong intellectual class and a dynamic middle class, he said.
However, Kuru said these problems had nothing to do with Islam itself.
He warned that such an alliance, which leads to the politicising of religion, would be detrimental to Muslim nations in the long run.
“When the ulama or religious authorities become a partner of the state, they lose the ability to criticise injustices and the corruption of state authorities,” he told FMT.
ADVERTISEMENT
Kuru’s book, ‘Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison’ has been translated into Malay and was recently launched in Malaysia. (X pic)
Kuru said that for the Muslim world to progress, there must be a separation between the ulama and state.
ADVERTISEMENT
Historically, the church-state separation created a balance of power in Western Europe which helped foster an intellectual class in newly opened universities and the rise of the bourgeois or middle class in Italian city-states, he said.
Acknowledging that his proposal might be considered controversial by Muslim nations, Kuru added that the idea was not merely an attempt to imitate the West.
“The separation between religious and political classes was championed by the early Muslim civilisation,” he said.
Asked if the separation of the ulama and state and the resulting de-politicisation of religion would see less religious piety and promote greater secularism, Kuru said he expected the opposite to happen.
He said countries like Turkey and Iran were seeing critics of the ulama-state alliance leaning more towards secularism and even leaving the religion.
Even in the US, the partnership between evangelical churches and the Republican Party is causing a decline in church attendance among supporters of the Democratic Party, he said.
“A separation between the ulama and the state can make the younger generation more pious and less secular because young people will no longer blame religion for being part of authoritarian politics,” he said.
Learning from non-Muslims
Kuru said one of the characteristics of the Muslim “golden age” was the community’s cooperation with Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims in scientific and economic production.
Early Muslims were also open to learning from other cultures, including Greek philosophy and Indian mathematics, he said.
“The beauty of the Muslim civilisation between the eighth and 11th centuries was its ability to bring together diverse cultures as well as its acceptance of non-Muslim citizens’ contributions in various fields.”
He said Muslim societies should once again be open-minded and appreciate the contributions of their non-Muslim citizens, adding this would help pave the way for a “Muslim Renaissance”.
He also invited critics in Malaysia to read his book before dismissing it as a mere critique of al-Ghazali, a prominent Muslim jurist and theologian, or any other medieval ulama.
“My book is not promoting a Western model. It reminds today’s Muslims of their golden age based on diversity and creativity.”
A translation of Kuru’s book into Bahasa Melayu, titled “Islam, Autoritarianisme, dan Kemunduran Bangsa: Suatu Perbandingan Global dan Pensejarahan”, was recently launched in Malaysia.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
