Religion rather than nationality has been the primary basis of identity in Islam
Evidence
A second result is that religion—rather than country, language, descent or nationality—has been the primary basis and focus of identity and loyalty, that which distinguishes those who belong to the group and marks them off from others outside the group. The imported Western idea of ethnic and territorial nationhood has had an extraordinary impact; but it remains, like secularism, alien in origin and imperfectly assimilated. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1393
Categorization
Category: Definitional Content
- XREF: Parallels the author’s treatment of how foundational communal structures shape identity and belonging, resonating with the book’s broader examination of listening and community.
Related
- Religion-based identity in Islam predates Western secular nationhood. (similarity 0.93)
- Religion, not nationality, anchored identity for Muslims and medieval Christians (similarity 0.87)
- Religion is one factor among many, not the defining one, in Muslim-majority societies (similarity 0.80)
- Islam traditionally makes no compartmental separation between religion and other life domains (similarity 0.79)
- Pre-national Middle Eastern loyalty ran to religion, kin, and village, not nation. (similarity 0.78)
- Arabic-speaking peoples defined themselves by Islamic loyalty rather than ethnicity (similarity 0.78)
- Middle Eastern national identity derives from religious communality rather than ethnicity (similarity 0.78)