Secularism, Liberal Democracy, and Islam in Europe: A Habermasian Critique of Talal Asad

This article develops a Habermasian critique of the work of the anthropologist Talal Asad. Drawing freely upon Habermas, I argue that Asad's critique of secularism and liberal democracy is flawed by "essentialism" (a reductionist binary between "Muslims" and "westemers") and "self-reference" ( an implicit reliance on normative ideas that are explicitly rejected). Finally, I defend a Habermasian approach to the case of Islam in Europe against the Asadian approach.