Re: What is your argument against secularism?
I go with AH on this topic:) He is right about Pakistan was founded by Quaid-e-Azam keeping in view secular setup. As OP said, relegion should be separated from government because of mixed population with different ethinic, religious and cultural backgrounds. At present mostly successful governments of the world are secular including our neighbour India.
Once upon a time an usurper tried to impose such Islamic laws which were backfired even during his life time. Unfortunately the hotch potch Islamic system he left only created miseries and deaths to Pakistanis which is still continuing in the name of Taliban and other jehadi setups.
Isnt he ( AH) the same fella , who also concluded ' The creation of Pakistan as the biggest Blunder in History ' :)
Jinnah sb , neither wanted to create a religiously fanatic state nor a pure secular one , where religion and Government dont sleep in the same bed .
He always wanted to have a land or Islamic state , where every body is allowed to live his/her life as per his/her moral codes/ ethics / religion .
The best way to judge whether the founder of Pakistan was a secular or not, is to have a careful look at some of his speeches and statements on various occasions and analyze them objectively. Speaking on the occasion of the Holy Prophet's birthday at the Karachi Bar Association on 25th January 1948, the Quaid said, "The Prophet of Islam (PBUH) was a great teacher. He was a great lawgiver. He was a great statesman and he was a great sovereign who ruled. The life of the Prophet (PBUH) was simple according to those times. He was successful in everything that he put his hand to from as a businessman to as a ruler. The Prophet (PBUH) was the greatest man that the world had ever seen. Thirteen hundred years ago he laid the foundations of democracy".
On another occasion addressing the Civil, Naval, Military and Air Force Officers at Khaliqdina Hall Karachi on 11th October 1947 the Quaid said, "It is my belief that our salvation lies in following the golden rules of conduct set for us by our great lawgiver, the Prophet of Islam. Let us lay the foundations of our democracy on the basis of true Islamic ideals and principles". In his concluding speech at the session of All-India Muslim League, Karachi on 26th December 1943 the Quaid said, "What is it that keeps the Muslims united as one man, and what is the bedrock and sheet-anchor of the community. It is Islam. It is the Great Book, Quran, that is the sheet-anchor of Muslim India. I am sure that as we go on there will be more and more of oneness, one God, one Book, one Prophet and one Nation".
In the message of Eid to the Muslims in September 1945 he said, "Every Mussalman knows that the injunctions of the Holy Quran are not confined to religious and moral duties. From the Atlantic to the Ganges, says Gibbon, the Holy Quran is acknowledged as the fundamental code, not only of theology, but of civil and criminal jurisprudence, and the laws which regulate the action and the property of mankind are governed by immutable sanctions of the will of God". Everyone, except those who are ignorant, knows the Holy Quran is the general code of the Muslims".
Jinnah has also talked about modern notion of the state, constitutionalism, civil and political rights and equal citizenship irrespective of religion or any other consideration. This means that he was neither for a religious or orthodox Islamic state nor for a secular system in the classical Marxist terms. His view was that Pakistan would be a modern, democratic state which derives its ethical formation from Islam.
