Egyptian Muslim scholar Mustafa Wahba argued that the prophet Mohamed was the first to establish a civil state at a seminar at El-Sawy Culture Wheel celebrating the Islamic New Year. When the Prophet Mohamed emigrated from Mecca to Medina, he established the pillars of the modern state on three axes, said Wahba. He listed the three as a Muslim's relationship with God, a Muslim's relationship with his Muslim brother, and a Muslim's relationship with non-Muslims, which led to the conclusion of many agreements with the Jews. Wahba said that the reason behind the controversy between a secular and Islamic state was ignorance regarding secularism. He said if those that think a secular state is an act of blasphemy used logic, they would conclude that the civil state in Islam is secularism itself. Wahba said the application of secularism varied from one society to another. "If we talked about the Turkish example in applying the secularism, there are no doubts that I wish to apply this example,” he said. “It is enough that the Turkish Prime Minister Rajep Tayyip Erdogan's wife does not shake hands during her husband official visits." Wahba said the Islamic calendar began during the rule of the second Islamic Caliph, Umar ibn-al Khattab, when the institutions of the state expanded and required a calendar. “Some people suggested that they could set the prophet's birthday to start the calendar, but some refused since Islam does not sanctify people,” he said. “The prophet's companion and cousin, Ali ibn Abd Munaf, suggested that the Prophet's immigration could be a suitable date for the Islamic calendar as the Islamic state's principles began during this immigration.”
