The racialisation of secularism
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Honestly, when I first read the quote "a secular logic of religious belief and practice," I interpreted it entirely based on my experience of secularism and religion as a secular (ish) Jew. I had to reread the pages surrounding that quote several times to rearrange my understanding of "secular logic." Race and religion have been intertwined for centuries, as Rana describes; his argument discusses the historical association of Islam with racial formations. During the conquest of the New World, European powers constructed narratives about Muslims that framed them as exotic, dangerous, or morally inferior, serving to justify colonial domination. In the 'post-race' era, where "culture and ethnicity replaced race and racism" as the key to differentiation, religion became racialized under the guise of secularism.
Rana argues that Western states operate with a superficial, ignorant understanding of religion, one that is deeply entwined with power and control. The state decides which religious practices are acceptable and which are deemed extremist or threatening. In this context, religious practices are not neutral, private matters; they are treated as sources of danger or deviance. Through the West's formulaic gaze, Islam has been transformed from a personal belief system into a spreading practice that must be restrained. Since religion is perceived as a choice rather than a biological trait, it is seen as something that can be "judged" or "fixed" within a secular framework. Islam is then regarded as culturally backward, incompatible with modernity, or threatening to secular values. These dynamics not only illuminate the inhumanity with which the West perceives and regulates religion, but also resonate with my understanding of secular Jewish identity, which navigates a lessened version of these challenges of acceptance and suspicion within the broader framework of Western norms.
Secular Jewish identity is often tolerated within the larger context of Western values, as it aligns more closely with contemporary norms and is perceived as non-threatening. As long as we provide bagels and keep Shabbos within the privacy of our homes, we are allowed to remain inconspicuous and more untouched by government surveillance. In contrast, Hasidic and more visibly identifiable Jews are viewed through a lens of suspicion and disdain, stemming from a misunderstanding of 'backward' views that might supposedly infect the so-called neutral Western population.