CSPS book discussion on “Secularism Confronts Islamism: Divergent Paths of Transnational Negotiations in Egypt and Tunisia”

The Centre for Studies of Plural Society organised an online book discussion on Secularism Confronts Islamism: Divergent Paths of Transnational Negotiations in Egypt and Tunisia by Dr Mohammad Affan, Director of Research at Al Sharq Strategic Research Geneva, Switzerland on 21st February 2022. The session was chaired by Dr Omair Anas of Ankara Y?ld?r?m Beyaz?t University, Turkey. In this session, Dr Affan gave a brief introduction to his book, and he also shed some light on the various concepts like Islamism, secularism, transitional negotiations, etc.

Dr Anas opened the session with a brief note on Dr Affan’s book and an introduction to Dr Affan. Dr Anas then handed over the discussion to Dr Affan, where he began the discussion by first giving an idea about the book and how the thought came to him when he attempted to understand the recent confrontation between Islamism and secularism in Egypt in comparison to the events of Tunisia during the transitional period. The book is treated as a research project, and there are three focal questions that the book tries to answer:

What do Islamism and secularism exactly mean in the context of the Arab Spring?

Who negotiated with whom on what during the transitional period?

What were the determinants that shaped the transitional negotiations in Egypt and Tunisia?

Dr Affan also gave a brief project description to make it easier for the readers to go through the book.

Dr Affan elucidated the key themes of each of the eight chapters that the book is divided into. After describing the skeletal structure of the book, Dr Affan dove into the explanation of the three primary questions which were mentioned earlier.

Dr Affan explained how the secularist and Islamist sub-ideologies are a horseshoe-shaped continuum. Dr Affan also mentioned the various secularist and Islamist forces in Egypt and Tunisia, and he also pinpointed some significant causes of conflict between the two. Dr Affan concluded his presentation with four remarks, which are:

The meaning and implications of secularism and Islamism should be carefully reconsidered.

Transition is a very exceptional experience with no established golden rules. The third and fourth remarks discussed the two principal paradoxes which pertain to the transitional negotiations.

The presentation by Dr Affan was a very structural deconstruction of the book. It included facts and research materials that gave ample information to the audience and prompted them to ask a variety of questions. Dr Anas moderated the question-and-answer session and concluded the talk with a few additional comments on the present scenario of the world regarding Islams and the various conflicts.

Report by Sweta Rath, Research Intern at CSPS