Liberal Political Philosophy of Religious Difference after Saba Mahmood

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Abstract

This contribution responds to Saba Mahmood’s critique of secularism and uses it for theory development in liberal political philosophy. Building on the work of Rahel Jaeggi I reconstruct selected parts of Mahmood’s works as an immanent critique of secular- ism as a form of life. I argue that liberal egalitarian political philosophical approaches to religious difference should broaden the focus of social critique. Beyond – but not instead of – formal regulations such as constitutional law and religious accommodation, political philosophy needs to address what Mahmood calls “ethical sensibilities”, and informal social practices and conventions. My considerations are informed by an exploration of the refusal of some pious Muslims to shake hands with someone of the opposite sex, and controversies about this issue in Western-European countries.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)301-322
Number of pages22
JournalSociology of Islam
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • form of life
  • immanent critique
  • political philosophy
  • religious difference
  • secularism

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