Middle East’s conflict about role of religion spreading East

Muslim refugees in Europe and the US, and the fear there of Islamist extremism, are bringing the old debate about faith and society to the fore, says Tarek Osman.

An old debate about the role of religion has come to the fore. To what extent should it determine political legitimacy, social frames of reference, and personal identities?

Religion’s social role is a conspicuous problem in the Middle East. But now it is causing tensions in Europe, as well, owing to the influx of predominantly Muslim refugees, and in the United States, where president-elect Donald Trump’s campaign stoked fears about Islamist radicalism.