ISLAM AND POLITICS

State Politics and Islam

In the relationship between Islam and state in the contemporary Muslim world, there are at least three types of countries as far as the role of sharia is concerned. First, there are countries which still regard the sharia as the fundamental law and apply it more or less in its entirety. Saudi Arabia is a case in point. Second, there are countries where the sharia law has been abandoned completely and substituted by a wholly secular one. Turkey fits into this category. Third, there are countries which try to reach a compromise between the two domains of law by adopting the secular law and preserving the sharia at the same time. These include such countries as Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

To understand how this relationship has been examined by Muslim scholars, it is interesting to read these example books as follows:

1. The Principles of State and Government in Islam by Muhammad Asad. Although the Muslims are for the most part imbued with enthusiasm for the idea of a truly Islamic state that is, a state based not on the concepts of nationality and race but solely on the ideology Of the Qur'an and Sunnah, they had a yet no concrete vision of the method of government and of this institutions which would give the state a distinctly Islamic character and would, at the same time, fully correspond to the exigencies of the present age. The very fact that none of the existing Muslim countries Has so far achieved a form of government that could be termed genuinly Islamic, makes a discussion of the principle which ought to underlie the constitution of Islamic state imperative.

2. Al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah: The Laws of Islamic Governance by Abu'l-Hasan al-Mawardi. An easily accessible translation of Al-Mawardi's unique classical work on the laws of Islamic governance. Based on the example of the first Muslim community of Madina, and concerned more with practice than with theory, it describes the rights, duties and responsibilities of those in authority, including the selection of the Khalifah and his appointment of ministers, amirs of the provinces and the armed forces, Imams of the mosques, judges and court officials, and those responsible for collecting the zakah and other revenues. The book also considers the main issues relating to land ownership, water supplies, criminal law, fair trading, control over weights and measures, and public order. A vital reference resource for those already exercising authority, as well as for students and researchers of Islamic studies, this book can be studied either as a historical record of Islamic governance in the 5th century AH/11th century CE, or as a description of the exercise of authority which still existed at the beginning of the 20th century CE.

3. State Politics and Islam by Mumtaz Ahmad. Articles in this book are a result of a serious attempt, to reformulate Islamic political theory in the context of today's political realities and problems, initiated in the form of an International seminar held in the U.S. Contributors include Fathi Osman and Fazlur Rahman, with issues covered including, Bait al-Imam, principles of Shura, and the creation of a just social order in Islam.

These books can be found at: http://www.ikitab.com

posted by Alin at 9:05 AM