A very interesting topic indeed. I do have few thoughts about it would like to share them with you.

1- “Secular Muslim” is an entirely understandable term in western context. In west, religion has evolved (or maybe devolved?) into something very
personal. This concept is in stark contrast to the east’s “in your face” religion. In Islam’s context though, the term is a misnomer because Islam is
an exclusive religion. It claims to be subscribing code for all the aspects of human life and society leaving no space for any other ideology to mingle
with it. It has not evolved, rather over time it is becoming more and more exclusive. Current era, more than any era before it, requires that Muslims
redefine the religion Islam using the institution provided known as “ijtehad”. Unfortunately, the very idea seems to be appalling to majority of
Muslims.
2- What makes a person a believer? Is it some rational argument that makes them believe in a God? Some answer yes to that question but a little
discussion with them actually proves that that’s not the case. Most of the time their arguments are based on the negative; “If there is no God, how did
everything come into being?”. (or my personal favorite: If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex?) That cannot be called a positive
rationalization in my opinion. That is, at best, an argument to prove that our knowledge of the universe is frightfully limited. If someone cannot tell
you how everything came into being, it doesn’t mean that there HAS to be a God. Most of the people who are believers approach the whole thing in an upside-down manner; they first believe what they want to believe in and then try to find rational justification for their belief. (Islam itself actually
never tried to prove its claims through rational means. In the opening pages of Quran, it asks people to “believe in the unseen”; no rationale given
there, it’s pure and simple “Imaan bil Ghaib”). That brings us back to the original question; what makes a person believe?

Bertrand Russell says its fear, sometimes of God’s wrath and sometimes of uncontrollable natural forces. Most of the natural forces affecting a
person’s life lie beyond that person’s control. So there is a justifiable amount of fear in every human being. The concept that there is an entity up
there which is omnipotent and can be swayed either way by praying or offering bounty brings a certain form of comfort to one’s mind. That
concept, that God’s favors can be won and He can be made to do something for us, is the foundation stone of believing in God. I have yet to see any
religion which says “yeah, there is a God but He really doesn’t do anyone any favors. He doesn’t interfere in the world. He is aloof”. Or something
like “Yes, there is a God and he is running the whole show. Since the universe He is running is bigger than your imagination, He doesn’t have time
to get you a job”, or “you think God who is running millions of billions of galaxies really gives a rat’s ass about the fact that you and your wife are
not being able to give birth to a man-child?” No, no religion presents such a concept of God. The only thing which I have seen that comes closest to
such a concept is Ghulam Ahmad Parvez’ interpretation of Islam. But then I have always thought that the moment you start believing in GA Parvez’
interpretation, you come one step closer to atheism. Why? Because in your mind, you have already eliminated the UTILITY of God, what’s left is just a psychological barrier.

3- The next topic is what I call “a borderline atheist” or a “closet atheist”. The email by Dr. Sohail aptly identifies the reasons for someone
not coming out with atheism. I will just try to expand on those reasons.

Certainly there is a social isolation problem. I think Bulhey Shah is a pretty good example. I think he didn’t believe in the popular concept of God
but he just didn’t want to or couldn’t declare the fact so he enveloped it in mysticism and presented it to people. He came out without REALLY coming out. I have seen many such people.

Another reason for hovering over the line of belief and non-belief is psychological. I think Dr. Sohail can explain how hard is it for someone to
deny the belief-system one was given when he/she was a child and is now engraved on his/her mind.

Another reason for not coming out fully is the convenience of religion. Religion saves a lot of time and effort. If my 6 years old son asks me “why
shouldn’t I steal from a shop?” or some other ethical question, I have two options; either I will try to give him a rational response or I will tell
him “son, God punishes people who steel”. If I chose to do the first, I will not only have to KNOW the rational response, I also have to find a way to convey it so that a 6 year old can understand it. Sometimes it is easy and, believe me, sometimes it’s not. See how convenient religion is? You may argue that it is only convenient when talking to 6 years old, but I would maintain that majority of the people I know are not much older than my son intellectually (no disrespect intended to anyone; after all we are products of our circumstances). Then there is this cultural dilemma; there are lot
many things which are not actually bad in ethical terms. An alcoholic drink in once in a while is not really equivalent to rape but it does clashes with
my cultural norms as strongly as rape does. Comes religion to the rescue; you don’t have to explain to someone why it’s bad to have alcohol, it’s
enough that God has forbidden it. Religion’s utility as moral enforcer is such that atheists have always had tough time providing an alternative. This
moral enforcement feature is the one who made someone say “If there wasn’t a God, I would have invented one”. Who knows, maybe that’s what happened actually.

Personally, I don’t find any problem with the concept of a God if you could detach religion from it. My trouble is religion. I just can’t accept whole
set of values, unchangeable and unquestionable, just because it is contained in a book titled “Holy Book” and is supposed to be written by God. If you can convince me rationally that a set of values is for greater good of society and it contains enough flexibility to meet the demands of changing
times, written by God or not written by God, I would accept it. I consider myself a secular Muslim because I believe that religion should evolve and I
accept the things in Islam that are rational and guarantee a greater good. But using the same standard, you can also call me a secular Christian or a
secular Jew. The point is that I don’t believe that there is a single belief system out there that has a monopoly on good.

At the end, I think Arthur C. Clarke, summed it all up very nicely. In the postscript of one his novels, he admitted that religion brings comfort to
many people but he also said that the price one has to pay for that comfort i.e. compromising the independent thought, is too high.


Thanks

Aamer