Islamic Studies Professor At University Of Münster Dr. Assem Hefny: Muslims Could Create A Secular Understanding Of Islam – But We Demonize And Reject This Without Thinking

Dr. Assem Hefny, an Islamic studies professor at the University of Münster, Germany said in an August 21, 2022 show on Sky News Arabia (UAE) that "the Muslim mind in the Arab world still believes in myths. He said that Muslims do not believe in the "notion of enlightenment [...] which encourages one to use one’s mind." Dr. Hefny said that Muslims lack the Western experience that drove them towards progress He qualified that Muslim need not adopt a Western secularism, but rather could create a secular understanding of Islam, however instead, they demonize and reject it without thinking.

Dr. Assem Hefny: "The Muslim mind in the Arab world still believes in myths, and is not confident about its ability to manage the affairs of this world. It does not believe in the notion of enlightenment, as outlined by Kant, which encourages one to use one's mind. We still lack this Western experience, which drove the mind towards progress.

"I am not saying that we must undergo the same experience, or that we must adopt the Western notion of secularism, because secularism is not a spare part that we can take from one car and use in another.

"Rather, it is a certain idea to create harmony between religious affairs and worldly matters. We could create a secular understanding of our Islam and our life that would be in keeping with our cultural characteristics, but we are not doing that – we demonize and reject it without thinking."