What happened to the worlds transition to secularism?
Religion was supposed to fade away as globalization and freedom spread. Instead, it’s booming around the world, often deciding who gets elected. And the divine intervention is just beginning. Democracy is giving people a voice, and more and more, they want to talk about God. After Hamas won a decisive victory in January’s Palestinian elections, one of its supporters replaced the national flag that flew over parliament with its emerald-green banner heralding, “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet.” Days after the prophet’s banner was unfurled in Ramallah, thousands of Muslims mounted a vigorous, sometimes violent, defense of the prophet’s honor in cities as far-flung as Beirut, Jakarta, London and New Delhi. Outraged by cartoons of Muhammad originally published in Denmark, Islamic groups, governments and individuals staged demonstrations, boycotts and embassy attacks. On their own, these events appeared to be sudden eruptions of “Muslim rage.” In fact, they were only the
