In his book "Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy", Nader Hashemi looks specifically at 17th century Europe and convincingly argues that secularism on the old continent was not developed against a religious context, but rather out of and along the lines of a religious-reformist agenda. Correspondingly, Hashemi argues, democratic reforms and the separation of religion and politics in the Islamic world will not be possible outside of religion or without religious actors. In this interview with Lewis Gropp, Hashemi accordingly refutes the notion that Islam and the Sharia are non-reformable and in inherently anti-democratic.