In his study Islam and the Secular State, Abdullahi An-Na’im argues that a secular state is not only a necessary choice for Muslims in today’s world due to the lack of an alternative, but also that such an entity is more consistent with Islamic history than the idea of an “Islamic” state, which emerged during the 20th century as a reaction to the impact of the European colonization. In this context, he uses the term “secular state” for a state that is neutral toward any religious belief and enforces no religious doctrine on its citizens, whereas the term “Islamic state” refers to an Islamic political order based on enforcing the Shari’a upon its people.