Farid Panjwani is an assistant professor at the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations in London. He has a background in Islamic Studies, philosophy of education, and international development and has published widely on these topics. He spoke with Foreign Policy In Focus in December 2010 about the relationship between religion and citizenship, the impact of Sharia law, and the role of Muslim faith schools.
John Feffer: Can you talk about the interaction between religious faith and civic engagement?
Farid Panjwani: It has been persuasively argued, in debates around the secularization thesis for example, that for many people – perhaps for an increasing number of people – their religious tradition remains very important. It has also been argued that much good can be inspired by these traditions in everyday life, in civil society activities, etc. Whatever one’s position on this matter, we can no longer ignore religion as a source of motivation that people might have for civic activities; the desire that some people have for what Rosenblum has called ‘religiously integrated existence’ cannot be ignored. Having acknowledged this, in my opinion, religiously inspired citizenship must be located within the limits of the separation of religion and politics in the matters of constitutional principles concerning civil liberties and the democratic processes. Drawing upon the Rawlsian sense of political liberalism, when we talk about religion as an inspiration for citizenship, I locate it in what has been called the background culture. It is in this arena that I feel that among the sources from which one might find motivation is one’s religion.
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