Asad on the Secular
This paper examines a South African debate on legislating Muslim marriages in the light of anthropologist Talal Asad’s critique developed in his Formations of the Secular (2003). It probes aspects of the debate under four Asadian themes: (1) the historicity of the secular, secularism, and seculariz...
Guardado en:
| Autor principal: | |
|---|---|
| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
International Institute of Islamic Thought
2013
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/a3f4702500004d2a8e801a2debfe87fd |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| id |
oai:doaj.org-article:a3f4702500004d2a8e801a2debfe87fd |
|---|---|
| record_format |
dspace |
| spelling |
oai:doaj.org-article:a3f4702500004d2a8e801a2debfe87fd2021-12-02T19:23:13ZAsad on the Secular10.35632/ajis.v30i1.3082690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/a3f4702500004d2a8e801a2debfe87fd2013-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/308https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 This paper examines a South African debate on legislating Muslim marriages in the light of anthropologist Talal Asad’s critique developed in his Formations of the Secular (2003). It probes aspects of the debate under four Asadian themes: (1) the historicity of the secular, secularism, and secularization; (2) the place of power and the new articulations of discourses it creates; (3) the state as the arm of that power; and (4) the interconnections (or dislocations) among law, ethics, and the organic environment (habitus). I argue that Asad illumines the debate in the following ways: (1) by providing a deeper historical and philosophical appreciation of its terms of reference, given that the proposed legislation will be subject to South Africa’s secular Bill of Rights and constitution; (2) by requiring us to examine and interrogate the genealogies of such particular hegemonic discourses as human rights, which some participants appear to present as ahistorical and privileged; and (3) by showing, through the concept of habitus, why this debate needs to go beyond its present piecemeal legal nature and develop an appreciation of the organic linkages among the Shari‘ah, morality, community, and self. Yet inevitable nuances are produced when applying Asad’s ideas to the South African context. Auwais RafudeenInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 30, Iss 1 (2013) |
| institution |
DOAJ |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
Islam BP1-253 |
| spellingShingle |
Islam BP1-253 Auwais Rafudeen Asad on the Secular |
| description |
This paper examines a South African debate on legislating Muslim marriages in the light of anthropologist Talal Asad’s critique developed in his Formations of the Secular (2003). It probes aspects of the debate under four Asadian themes: (1) the historicity of the secular, secularism, and secularization; (2) the place of power and the new articulations of discourses it creates; (3) the state as the arm of that power; and (4) the interconnections (or dislocations) among law, ethics, and the organic environment (habitus). I argue that Asad illumines the debate in the following ways: (1) by providing a deeper historical and philosophical appreciation of its terms of reference, given that the proposed legislation will be subject to South Africa’s secular Bill of Rights and constitution; (2) by requiring us to examine and interrogate the genealogies of such particular hegemonic discourses as human rights, which some participants appear to present as ahistorical and privileged; and (3) by showing, through the concept of habitus, why this debate needs to go beyond its present piecemeal legal nature and develop an appreciation of the organic linkages among the Shari‘ah, morality, community, and self. Yet inevitable nuances are produced when applying Asad’s ideas to the South African context.
|
| format |
article |
| author |
Auwais Rafudeen |
| author_facet |
Auwais Rafudeen |
| author_sort |
Auwais Rafudeen |
| title |
Asad on the Secular |
| title_short |
Asad on the Secular |
| title_full |
Asad on the Secular |
| title_fullStr |
Asad on the Secular |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Asad on the Secular |
| title_sort |
asad on the secular |
| publisher |
International Institute of Islamic Thought |
| publishDate |
2013 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/a3f4702500004d2a8e801a2debfe87fd |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT auwaisrafudeen asadonthesecular |
| _version_ |
1718376633811861504 |