The Evolutionary Origin of Islam and Modernity – State Secularism Revisited

Description

This book generally highlights the increasingly problematic ‘negotiations’ on the public visibility of religion in the public sphere in the modern and even post-modern societies of the world. While paying close attention to the Kadhi court debates during Kenya’s constitutional moment that largely delivered the country’s 2010 constitution, the book informs that the secular state phenomenon applied differently in different national contexts. At the end, it is clear that the understanding of secular state phenomenon has continued to evolve to the extent that today it may not necessarily exclude religion from state, but instead constitutes a rather complex mediation between religion and the state. This book employs the socio-cultural evolution, conflict and critical theoretical perspectives and is of benefit to those who want to broaden their objective understanding of religion and social change in the contemporary world.

Dr. Ochieng Lukes Ahaya holds B.Ed (Arts) degree from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. He also holds M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in Religion both from Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. Dr. Ahaya is currently a lecturer and Chair of the Social Science Education Department at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). He has a bias towards Islamic and African Religious Studies, with particular reference to the general area of religion and social change. He has research interest in the area of evolving nature of religion in the public sphere.