Abstract
This essay delves into Sunni interpretations of the Qur’an that attempt to derive a political system based on scripture, and make it a priority for Muslims to establish one. Within this narrative, religion and state go hand-in-hand. However, Afsaruddin argues that these interpretations have little to do with the Qur’an or with the historical reality of the early Islamic period. In this essay, Afsaruddin analyzes the theories of ‘Abd al-Raziq, a key thinker from the early twentieth century who argued for a separation between religion and politics based on his reading of the Qur’an and hadith (the reported statements of the Prophet Muhammad). Afsaruddin offers an analysis of these debates regarding governance, and how these arguments among Sunni Muslims remain influential to this day.
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Notes
- 1.
This essay is an abbreviation and adaptation of my chapter “Islam and Politics” in Asma Afsaruddin, Contemporary Issues in Islam (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), 54-85.
- 2.
For an insightful critique of a number of these positions and replacing them with a more historically nuanced and sophisticated reading of the sources, see Hayrettin Yucesoy, “Justification of Political Authority in Medieval Sunni Thought,” in Islam, the State, and Political Authority: Medieval Issues and Modern Concerns, ed. Asma Afsaruddin (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 9-33. Cf. also Aziz al-Azmeh, “God’s Caravan: Topoi and Schemata in the History of Muslim Political Thought,” in Mirror for the Muslim Prince: Islam and the Theory of Statecraft, ed. Mehrzad Boroujerdi (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2013), 326-397.
- 3.
See this discussion in Asma Afsaruddin, “Obedience to Political Authority: An Evolutionary Concept,” in Islamic Democratic Discourse: Theory, Debates, and Directions, ed. Muqtedar Khan (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2006), 37-60.
- 4.
For a comprehensive discussion of these variegated trends within political Islam, see Mohammed Ayoob, The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007), esp. 64 ff.
- 5.
For the full report titled “Most Muslims Want Democracy, Personal Freedoms, and Islam in Political Life,” see http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2012/07/Pew-Global-Attitudes-Project-Arab-Spring-Report-FINAL-Tuesday-July-10-2012.pdf
- 6.
For a useful discussion of this crisis over the caliphate, along with a synopsis of ‘Abd al-Raziq’s views, see Hamid Enayat, Modern Islamic Political Thought (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 2001), 78-103.
- 7.
‘Ali ‘Abd al-Raziq, al-Islam wa-usul al-hukm (Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, 1966), 113.
- 8.
Ibid., 113-14.
- 9.
Ibid., 114.
- 10.
Ibid., 118-19.
- 11.
Ibid., 119-21.
- 12.
Ibid., 123-25.
- 13.
Ibid., 136-42.
- 14.
Ibid., 144-45.
- 15.
Ibid., 146-50.
- 16.
Ibid., 150-52.
- 17.
The relevant part of the verse reads, “If God had so willed, he would have made you a single community, but [His plan is] to test you in what He has given you, so hasten to do good!”
- 18.
‘Abd al-Raziq, Islam wa-usul, 155.
- 19.
Ibid., 200-01.
- 20.
Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti‘i, Haqiqat al-Islam wa-usul al-hukm (al-Matba`ah al-Salafiyah, 1960), 4.
- 21.
Ibid., 4-5.
- 22.
Ibid., 23-24.
- 23.
Ibid., 24-25.
- 24.
Ibid., 25-26.
- 25.
Ibid., 293-95.
- 26.
Al-Muti‘i is clearly construing the verb tahkum to mean “rule” in the political sense rather than “judge,” which is the usual sense of the word, particularly in the Qur’anic context.
- 27.
Ibid., 296-98.
- 28.
Jacques Derrida, Rogues: Two Essays on Reason, trans. Michael Naas and Pascale-Anne Brault (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005), 28-29.
- 29.
Such a belief was notably articulated by Bernard Lewis who, after the Twin Tower attacks, remarked ominously to an interviewer: “I have no doubt that September 11 was the opening salvo of the final battle [between Islam and the West];” see Michael Hirsh, “Bernard Lewis Revisited: What if Islam isn’t an Obstacle to Democracy in the Middle East but the secret to achieving it?” in the Washington Monthly (November 2004), 14.
- 30.
Alfred Stepan, “The World’s Religious Systems and Democracy: Crafting the ‘Twin Tolerations’,” in his Arguing Comparative Politics (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
- 31.
Nader Hashemi, Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy: Towards a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).
- 32.
Ahmet T. Kuru, Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009).
- 33.
Hashemi, Islam, 4.
- 34.
For these detailed findings, see John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think (New York: Gallup Press, 2007), 29-63.
- 35.
Robert Inglehart and Pippa Norris, “The True Clash of Civilizations,” Foreign Policy 135 (2001): 62-70.
- 36.
Amaney Jamal and Mark Tessler, “The Democracy Barometers: Attitudes in the Arab World,” The Journal of Democracy 19 (2008): 97-110. These countries included Morocco, Kuwait, Jordan, and Algeria.
Works Cited
‘Abd al-Raziq, ‘Ali. 1966. [al-Islam wa-usul al-hukm] Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat.
Afsaruddin, Asma. 2006. Obedience to Political Authority: An Evolutionary Concept. In Islamic Democratic Discourse: Theory, Debates, and Directions, ed. Muqtedar Khan, 37–60. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
———. 2015. Islam and Politics. In Contemporary Issues in Islam, 54–85. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
al-Azmeh, Aziz. 2013. God’s Caravan: Topoi and Schemata in the History of Muslim Political Thought. In Mirror for the Muslim Prince: Islam and the Theory of Statecraft, ed. Mehrzad Boroujerdi, 326–397. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
al-Muti‘i, Muhammad Bakhit. 1960. Haqiqat al-Islam wa-usul al-hukm. al-Matba`ah al-Salafiyah.
Ayoob, Mohammed. 2007. The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Derrida, Jacques. 2005. Rogues: Two Essays on Reason. Translated by Michael Naas and Pascale-Anne Brault. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Enayat, Hamid and Hamid Algar. 2001. Modern Islamic Political Thought : The Response of the Shīʻī and Sunnī Muslims to the Twentieth Century. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust.
Esposito, John and Dalia Mogahed. 2007. Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. New York: Gallup Press.
Hashemi, Nader. 2009. Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy: Towards a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hirsh, Michael. 2004. Bernard Lewis Revisited: What if Islam isn’t an Obstacle to Democracy in the Middle East but the secret to achieving it?. Washington Monthly.
Inglehart, Robert and Pippa Norris. 2001. The True Clash of Civilizations. Foreign Policy 135: 62–70.
Jamal, Amaney and Mark Tessler. 2008. The Democracy Barometers: Attitudes in the Arab World. The Journal of Democracy 19: 97–110.
Kuru, Ahmet T. 2009. Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Stepan, Alfred. 2001. The World’s Religious Systems and Democracy: Crafting the ‘Twin Tolerations. In Arguing Comparative Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Yucesoy, Hayrettin. 2011. Justification of Political Authority in Medieval Sunni Thought. In Islam, the State, and Political Authority: Medieval Issues and Modern Concerns, ed. Asma Afsaruddin, 9–33. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Afsaruddin, A. (2023). Islam, Political Governance, and Secularism: Examining a Fraught Relationship. In: Laurence, J. (eds) Secularism in Comparative Perspective. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13310-7_2
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