AKU- Newsletter

Diversity of humanity is a long recognised fact. Pluralism, however, is an attitude towards this fact. It entails not only the recognition of diversity but also an acceptance of its social and epistemological implications. It is therefore important that pluralism be analysed systematically in terms of philosophical strength, historical genealogy and social applicability.

To this end, Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) initiated a series of seminars in 2003 on 'Approaches to Pluralism in Muslim Contexts.' Besides the heads and faculty members of various leading universities and research institutions, these seminars continue to attract a number of professionals and prominent members of the Muslim community in the UK.

Participants at the third seminar of the series titled ‘Approaches to Pluralism in Muslim Contexts’ discussed a wide range of ideas including the democratisation of communities, the concept of the secular, and distinction between religion and ethics.

This year's first seminar, the third in the series, was organised by AKU-ISMC in March in London. Titled 'Public and Private Spaces: Can Muslims Negotiate Between the Two?', the seminar was dedicated to exploring the notions of public and private spaces in Muslim contexts.

Keynote speaker Professor Akeel Bilgrami, Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, presented an insightful paper that covered a wide range of issues. Using Indian Muslims as a case study, Professor Bilgrami addressed the notion of minority and explored it from a psychological standpoint. He argued that the underlying psychological characteristics of minority - the sense of alienation and victimisation - are manifested amongst some Muslims' self-perception even in countries where Muslims are not a minority. The minority psychology, he proposed, is linked to two types of clashes to be found within Muslim societies. The first is a clash between what he called 'absolutists' and 'moderates'. He argued that the moderates, despite their majority, are unable to critique and restrain the minority absolutist voice. This, in Professor Bilgrami's opinion, is due to the existence of another clash that is internal to the psychology of moderate Muslims themselves. He argued that most moderate Muslims are torn between their dislike for absolutism and their resentment of forces they see as alien and exploitative of Muslims. It is within the framework of this defence mechanism against external exploitative forces that moderate Muslims regard any critique of absolutists as a betrayal of fellow Muslims. In Professor Bilgrami's opinion, the exploitative forces - mainly the western hegemonic forces - were themselves a result of the weakening of democratic processes in the West.

Professor Bilgrami observed that the nature of public life in Muslim societies is closely linked to these two types of clashes. He argued that unless the clash internal to moderate Muslims is resolved - and this he saw as partly connected to democratic processes in the West - the majority moderate Muslims will not be in a position to critique the absolutists and the public sphere will continue to be dominated by the latter.

The second keynote speaker, Professor Sami Zubaida, Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at University of London's Birkbeck College, approached issues of the public and private spheres from a historical standpoint. He argued that while notions of the public and the private existed in Muslim consciousness historically, their connotations differed from those present now. The bathhouses, markets, mosques, taverns and, particularly, coffee houses formed the centres of public life in Muslim societies for both the khas (elite) and aam (masses). People would gather in these places and engage in public discourse that was often censored by the authorities. In this regard, Professor Zubaida saw the coffee house, a place where the literati and artists gathered, as the institution closest to what we now regard as public space. The family was the private sphere par excellence, with its own nuances of public and private spaces.

With the spread of European modernity in Muslim societies, the notions of the public and private underwent a transformation. The driving forces of this transformation were the spread of literacy and printing which allowed the participation of the masses in public life, thus changing the very foundations of public life in Muslim societies. As European laws began to be applied to all aspects of life, with the exception of family and personal law in most cases, they too helped create a public secularised sphere. Professor Zubaida argued that the process of secularisation continued with the rise of independence movements and also in the post-colonial period with its emphasis on industrial growth and modernisation. Professor Zubaida stated that in the last few decades, the process appears to have reversed with the growth of 'absolutist' movements in Muslim societies. The distinction between the public and the private came under attack as laws pertaining to dress, food, marriage and other behaviour began to encroach upon private spheres in some Muslim societies. However, the appearance of de-secularisation masks deeper secularisation processes that continue to exist.

Professor Zubaida cited the example of Iran where roughly 70 per cent of the population is under 30 and continues to defy and challenge the imposition of state and religious decrees in the private sphere. He concluded on an optimistic note, arguing that the rise of absolutism has not managed to alter shifts toward secularisation.

Earlier in his welcome address, Dr Abdou Filali-Ansary, Director of AKU-ISMC, outlined the work of the Institute, particularly its goal of bringing together scholars from various disciplines for meaningful intellectual encounters. Established in 2002, AKU-ISMC's goal is to strengthen research and teaching on the heritage of Muslim societies in all its historic diversity.