Shamsiddin smiled, giving a small shrug. His reply was warm:
“Maybe it does. Who’s to say?”
But the student pressed on:
“You advocate for secularism. Doesn’t that imply you reject all religion? All belief systems?”
Shamsiddin straightened slightly. A hint of steel appeared in his expression.
“Secularism doesn’t mean ‘believing in nothing.’ It means that state and public institutions remain independent of religious influence. It means freedom.”
The student smirked.
“Then why call yourself a secular person if you say you believe in Allah?”
Shamsiddin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card. He didn’t fidget with it, didn’t show it—just held it, while looking the student directly in the eye.
“I support a secular society. And a secular society respects all faiths. I don’t impose my belief on anyone. Now let me ask you—
Must a secular person believe in nothing at all?”
A ripple of murmurs passed through the hall.
The discussion had shifted—rising to a different plane.
In the piercing quiet, Shamsiddin spoke again:
“I want to ask something of you. What are the questions we forgot to ask today?
Not about secularism…
But about humanity. About the search for the self. About personal responsibility.”
He turned once more to the student who had challenged him:
“Right now, it feels as though you're interrogating me. Perhaps you'd like to come up here? Take my place? Tell us—what is it you’re really looking for in these questions?”
With a slight smile, he gestured invitingly toward the podium.
“Dear student, please continue this chain of inquiry.
And by the way—atheists are usually quite good at this sort of thing,” he added with warm irony. “Just a joke, of course!”
“Alright… ahem…” the student cleared his throat. “Tell me—have you ever wondered: Why Islam?”
“I have. That’s a question I had to ask myself.”
“And? Why Islam, specifically? Are the other religions inferior?”
“That’s a slightly provocative question… but fair enough—students are allowed such things.
Even if I had been raised within a different faith, after studying all religions, I would still have chosen Islam.”
“Why? Do you think religion is inherited genetically from one’s parents?”
“First—no, I don’t.
And second—my answer ends here.”
A low wave of noise stirred through the audience.