On the Problem of the Integration of Politics and Religion in...

On the Problem of the Integration of 

Politics and Religion in Some Islamic Countries

Today, the definition of "the integration of politics and religion" generally refers to a system in which political power and religious power are combined into one. However, such a definition is actually rather one-sided, because according to some actual phenomena in the world today, the integration of politics and religion is actually reflected not only in the system, but also in all aspects of a society. In addition, the superficial system is only one aspect of it.

How should the "integration of politics and religion" be fully defined? In a nutshell, as long as the laws of a country tolerate the religious teachings, support the practice of demanding people with the religious teachings, and impose relevant personal punishment on people, then it is actually a practice of the integration of politics and religion. If this practice is also universal to a certain extent, then the country can be regarded as a de facto country where the politics and religion are integrated.

At present, this kind of integration of politics and religion exists in many Islamic countries in the world. Thus, I will discuss the problem of the integration of politics and religion in these countries and explain the relevant rules on freedom of belief.

1. The problem of the integration of politics and religion in some Islamic countries

In some Islamic countries, there is often a lot of confusion between the teachings of Islam and national laws. In these countries, their people can be required to abide by the teachings of Islam, but this is actually a combination of politics and religion. With regard to the irrationality of the integration of politics and religion, we can imagine that if its citizens (or some citizens, the same below) are required to believe in Islam and abide by the teachings of Islam in a country, that is to say, citizens in my country, namely China, should also be required to believe in and abide by the relevant rules of Confucianism, and citizens in India are required to profess a religion and abide by its dogma. Of course, this is absurd, because it is tantamount to depriving the citizens of a country of their right to freedom of faith.

2. The essence of the integration of politics and religion is the forced belief

The so-called integration of politics and religion means that citizens of a country are required to believe in and abide by certain religious teachings, or that nationals of a country are required to choose only one religion and doctrine, which is actually a practice of forced belief.

3. The integration of politics and religion is harmful to the religion itself

On the surface, the integration of politics and religion, which is actually the force belief, seems good for the development of a religion, but in reality, it is not. Because first of all, no matter whether a religious doctrine itself is good or bad, even if a religion with good teachings in itself is allowed to be praised by the public but not belittled within the scope of the integration of politics and religion, that is, it does not give the public the right to discuss freely, then even the best religion will certainly be monopolized by some people to exercise doctrinal monopoly, and the national law will be employed as the support to carry out doctrinal demands on the people. Such a religion is likely to move towards forced belief in doctrine because it is controlled by some people, and thus have a harmful effect on the religion itself.

4. The harmful effect of the integration of politics and religion on the race and family

The integration of politics and religion will also lead to the forced belief in the whole nation and individual families and deprive all people of the right to understand and choose freely regarding different religions and doctrines. It is also easy to demand and compel those who know different religions among their race and individual families, thus making the whole nation and family fall into a negative environment of forced belief and faith. In other words, the integration of politics and religion in a country can easily be brought into its nation and individual families to produce some kind of binding and harmful effects.

5. The harmful effects of the integration of politics and religion on the individuals believing in the religion

The integration of politics and religion in a country is not only disadvantageous to those who do not believe in its religion, but also has a harmful effect on those who believe in its religion. Because professing a religion should be a free and smooth choice for a person, if a person can freely choose a religious belief environment, then he can profess a religion according to his own wishes, without being affected by the compulsive environment such as the integration of politics and religion. However, if a person believes in a religion in an environment where the politics and religion are integrated, he will be easily influenced by the compulsive environment in which a part of people monopolize the discourse of doctrine. In this compulsive environment, he is also more likely to have some kind of religious paranoia, and even face extreme influence, thereby exerting a harmful impact on the personal religious faith.

Therefore, it can be seen that on the surface, the integration of politics and religion seems to be a kind of support for its believers, but in fact it will have a harmful impact on individual believers.

6. The necessity for the separation between the politics and religion

It can be seen from the above that the integration of politics and religion will have a harmful impact not only on a religion itself, but also on its nation, family and individual believers. As a result, the whole country is in a social state of mutual demand for the integration of politics and religion. Therefore, if a country wants to have a normal social state, the separation of politics and religion is indeed necessary.

7. The basic principles of the separation between politics and religion

Here we need to clearly clarify and define the separation between politics and religion in order to understand where the boundary between a religion and national laws should be in a normal society, reflected in the following three basic principles of freedom of faith:

(1) As long as a religious group does not violate the national law, it has the right and legitimacy to exist.

First of all, for a religious group, as long as it does not violate the laws of that country, it falls into the normal scope of freedom of religious faith, and neither the government nor others have the right to interfere. Instead, the right and legitimacy of its existence should be respected. A country or race should have such a broad mind and understanding.

(2) Everyone has the freedom to choose whether or not to profess a certain religion or to abide by a certain religious doctrine.

Moreover, for a specific individual, as long as he has not violated the national law in his conduct, it is his personal freedom whether he is willing to profess a certain religion or to abide by a certain religious doctrine, no matter what kind of person he is. Here, no matter whether he is a Christian, Islamic or any kind of person, he should only represent an independent free individual.

(3) Each person's right to choose a religion is affected by his own individual freedom, rather than his own background.

Recently I read an article about Islam, which claims that the separation of politics and religion is truly realized, if the law of a country only requires Muslims (that is, Islamists, the same below) to abide by the rules of Islam, but not requires non-Muslims to abide by the rules. But of course, this statement is wrong, because every Muslim is essentially an independent individual of a national, and it is naturally included in the principle of separation of politics and religion in that country, as long as he does not violate the laws of that country, then it should be his personal freedom and right to abide by the rules of Islam and even to choose other religious faiths.

8. Conclusion

To sum up, it can be seen that some Islamic countries and their citizens have been adversely affected by the integration of politics and religion, and Islam itself is also affected by the integration of politics and religion because the discourse power of its teachings is easily monopolized. Therefore, these countries should begin to establish a normal system of separation of politics and religion, loosen the ties between the country and Islam, and restore the national law into the normal law and religion into the normal religion. Only by establishing such a separation system, can the citizens of these countries begin to have a normal environment of freedom of religious faith, and therefore have a normal social state under the sole authority of the national law, thereby eliminating the practice of governing people with the teachings.