Islamic State
Encyclopedia
An Islamic state is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law
. From the early years of Islam, numerous governments have been founded as "Islamic", beginning most notably with the Caliphate
established by Mohammad himself and including subsequent governments ruled under the direction of a caliph
(meaning, "successor" to the prophet Mohammad).
However, the term "Islamic state" has taken on a more specific modern connotation since the 20th century. The concept of the modern Islamic state has been articulated and promoted by ideologues such as Abul Ala Maududi
, Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini, and Sayyid Qutb
. Like the earlier notion of the caliphate
, the modern Islamic state is rooted in Islamic law. It is modeled after the rule of Mohammad. However, unlike caliph-led governments which were imperial despotism
s or monarchies (Arabic: "mulk"), a modern Islamic state can incorporate modern political institutions such as elections, parliamentary rule, judicial review
, and popular sovereignty
.
refers to the first system of government established by Mohammad in 622 CE, under the Constitution of Medina
. It represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah
(nation), although it did not always incorporate the full religious community of Muslims (for example, Kharijites
and Shia). It was subsequently led by Muhammad
's disciples who were known as the Rightly Guided (Rashidun
) Caliphs (632-661 CE). The Arabian Empire significantly expanded under the Umayyad Caliphate (622-750) and the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258).
* Meeting or consultation, that follows the teachings of Islam.
* Consultation following the guidelines of the Quran and Sunnah.
* There is a leader elected among them to head the meeting.
* The discussion should be based on mushawarah and mudhakarah.
* All the members are given fair opportunity to voice out their opinions.
* The issue should be of maslahah ammah or public interest.
* The voices of the majority are accepted, provided that it does not violate
with the teachings of the Quran or Sunnah.
The Prophet s.a.w. himself even though was a great influential leader, but he always respect the decision of the shura members. He is the champion of the notion of al-shura, and this was illustrated in one of the many historical events, such as, in the Battle of Khandaq (Battle of the Ditch), where the Prophet s.a.w. was faced with two decisions, i.e. to fight the unbelievers outside Medina or within Medina. After consultation with the sahabahs (companions), it was suggested by Salman al-Farisi that it would be better if the Muslim fought the unbelievers within Medina by building a big ditch on the northern periphery of Medina to prevent the enemies from entering Medina. This idea was later supported by the majority of the sahabahs, and thereafter, the Prophet s.a.w. also approved it.
The raison d'être the Prophet s.a.w. placed great emphasis on the agreement of the decision of the shura, is to respect the decree of the shura members, and also because the majority of opinion (by the sahabah) are supposedly better than the decision make by one individual. However, it should be emphasized here that the decision of the shura should not in any way violate the teaching of Islam, Quran and Sunnah.
The abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate
as an office of the Ottoman Empire occurred under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
in 1924 as part of Ataturk's reforms
. This move was most vigorously protested in India, as Gandhi and Indian Muslims united behind the symbolism of the Ottoman Caliph in the Khilafat (or "Caliphate") Movement
, which sought to reinstate the Caliph deposed by Ataturk. This Khilafat Movement
leveraged the Ottoman
political resistance to the British Empire
, and this international anti-imperial connection proved to be a galvanizing force during India's nascent nationalism movement
of the early 1900s, for Hindus and Muslims alike, even though India was far from the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate in Istanbul.
The modern conceptualization of the "Islamic state" is attributed to Abul Ala Maududi
(1903–1979), an Indian Muslim theologian who founded the political party Jamaat-e-Islami
and inspired other Islamic revolutionaries such as Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini. Abul Ala Maududi
's early political career was influenced greatly by anti-colonial agitation in India, especially after the tumultuous abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924 stoked anti-British sentiment (see Khilafat Movement
). In Maududi's 1941 book The Islamic law and constitution and in subsequent writings, he coined and popularized the term "Islamic state" (Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية, al-dawla al-islamiyya) itself. He also coined and popularized the term "Islamic revolution" during this time, even though this phrase is commonly associated with the 1979 Iranian Revolution
that occurred 40 years later.
The Islamic state was perceived as a "third way" between the rival political systems of democracy
and socialism
(see also Islamic Modernism
). Maududi's seminal writings on Islamic economics
argued as early as 1941 against free-market capitalism and socialist state intervention in the economy, similar to Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr's later Our Economics written in 1961. Maududi envisioned the ideal Islamic state as combining the democratic principles of electoral politics with the socialist principles of concern for the poor.
is the official name given to several Islamic modeled contemporary states in the Muslim world
, including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan
, Iran
and Afghanistan
. Pakistan
adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania
adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran
adopted it after the 1979 Iranian Revolution
that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty
. In Iran, the form of government is known as "Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists". Afghanistan
was run as an Islamic state in areas controlled by the Taliban from 1992–2001, and after the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban the country is still known as the "Islamic Republic of Afghanistan"
. Despite the similar name, the countries differ greatly in their governments and laws.
Saudi Arabia
can be considered an Islamic state, but it is an absolute monarchy
ruled by a king and therefore not known as an "Islamic Republic".
Pan-Islamism
is a form of religious nationalism
within political Islam which advocates the unification of the Muslim world
under a single Islamic state, often described as a caliphate
.
The Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration
of 3 August 2011 declares Islam to be official religion of Libya
.
(1939–2005) believed that the instrumental use of Islam for political ends violates the central principle of Islamic theology, monotheism
(or "tawhid
"), by mixing divine oneness with worldly politics. (Information questionable, no link provided)
of 1979, many of the highest-ranking clergy in Shi'a Islam held to the standard doctrine of the Imamate
, which allows political rule only by the prophet Mohammad or one of his true successors. They were opposed to creating an Islamic state (see Ayatollah Ha'eri Yazdi (Khomeini's own teacher), Ayatollah Borujerdi, Grand Ayatollah Shariatmadari, and Grand Ayatollah Khui). Today, contemporary theologians who were once part of the Iranian Revolution
have also become disenchanted and critical of the unity of religion and state in Islamic Republic of Iran, and are advocating secularization
of the state to preserve the purity of the Islam
ic faith (see Abdolkarim Soroush
and Mohsen Kadivar
).
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. From the early years of Islam, numerous governments have been founded as "Islamic", beginning most notably with the Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
established by Mohammad himself and including subsequent governments ruled under the direction of a caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
(meaning, "successor" to the prophet Mohammad).
However, the term "Islamic state" has taken on a more specific modern connotation since the 20th century. The concept of the modern Islamic state has been articulated and promoted by ideologues such as Abul Ala Maududi
Abul Ala Maududi
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi , also known as Molana or Shaikh Syed Abul A'ala Mawdudi, was a Sunni Pakistani journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist leader and political philosopher, and a major 20th century Islamist thinker. He was also a prominent political figure in Pakistan and was the first...
, Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini, and Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s....
. Like the earlier notion of the caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
, the modern Islamic state is rooted in Islamic law. It is modeled after the rule of Mohammad. However, unlike caliph-led governments which were imperial despotism
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
s or monarchies (Arabic: "mulk"), a modern Islamic state can incorporate modern political institutions such as elections, parliamentary rule, judicial review
Judicial review
Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...
, and popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the political principle that the legitimacy of the state is created and sustained by the will or consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. It is closely associated with Republicanism and the social contract...
.
Early Islamic Governments
The term caliphateCaliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
refers to the first system of government established by Mohammad in 622 CE, under the Constitution of Medina
Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina , also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It constituted a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of the significant tribes and families of Yathrib , including Muslims, Jews, Christians and pagans. This constitution formed the...
. It represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
(nation), although it did not always incorporate the full religious community of Muslims (for example, Kharijites
Kharijites
Kharijites is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the authority of the final Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership...
and Shia). It was subsequently led by Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's disciples who were known as the Rightly Guided (Rashidun
Rashidun
The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...
) Caliphs (632-661 CE). The Arabian Empire significantly expanded under the Umayyad Caliphate (622-750) and the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258).
The Essence of Islamic Governments
The essence or guiding principles of an Islamic government or Islamic state, is the concept of 'Al-Shura'. What is then al-Shura? Different scholars have different understandings or thoughts, with regard to the concept al-Shura, However, most Muslim scholars are of the opinion that Islamic al-Shura should consist of:* Meeting or consultation, that follows the teachings of Islam.
* Consultation following the guidelines of the Quran and Sunnah.
* There is a leader elected among them to head the meeting.
* The discussion should be based on mushawarah and mudhakarah.
* All the members are given fair opportunity to voice out their opinions.
* The issue should be of maslahah ammah or public interest.
* The voices of the majority are accepted, provided that it does not violate
with the teachings of the Quran or Sunnah.
The Prophet s.a.w. himself even though was a great influential leader, but he always respect the decision of the shura members. He is the champion of the notion of al-shura, and this was illustrated in one of the many historical events, such as, in the Battle of Khandaq (Battle of the Ditch), where the Prophet s.a.w. was faced with two decisions, i.e. to fight the unbelievers outside Medina or within Medina. After consultation with the sahabahs (companions), it was suggested by Salman al-Farisi that it would be better if the Muslim fought the unbelievers within Medina by building a big ditch on the northern periphery of Medina to prevent the enemies from entering Medina. This idea was later supported by the majority of the sahabahs, and thereafter, the Prophet s.a.w. also approved it.
The raison d'être the Prophet s.a.w. placed great emphasis on the agreement of the decision of the shura, is to respect the decree of the shura members, and also because the majority of opinion (by the sahabah) are supposedly better than the decision make by one individual. However, it should be emphasized here that the decision of the shura should not in any way violate the teaching of Islam, Quran and Sunnah.
The Revival and Abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate
The Ottoman Sultan Selim I (1876–1909) reclaimed the title of Caliph, which had been in dispute and asserted by a diversity of rulers and "shadow caliphs" in the centuries of the Abbasid-Mamluk Caliphate since the Mongols' sacking of Baghdad and the killing of the last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad in Iraq 1258The abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate
Ottoman Caliphate
The Ottoman Caliphate, under the Ottoman Dynasty of the Ottoman Empire inherited the responsibility of the Caliphate from the Mamluks of Egypt....
as an office of the Ottoman Empire occurred under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
in 1924 as part of Ataturk's reforms
Atatürk's Reforms
Atatürk's Reforms were a series of political, legal, cultural, social and economic reforms that were designed to modernize the new Republic of Turkey into a democratic and secular nation-state...
. This move was most vigorously protested in India, as Gandhi and Indian Muslims united behind the symbolism of the Ottoman Caliph in the Khilafat (or "Caliphate") Movement
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
, which sought to reinstate the Caliph deposed by Ataturk. This Khilafat Movement
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
leveraged the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
political resistance to the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, and this international anti-imperial connection proved to be a galvanizing force during India's nascent nationalism movement
Indian nationalism
Indian nationalism refers to the many underlying forces that molded the Indian independence movement, and strongly continue to influence the politics of India, as well as being the heart of many contrasting ideologies that have caused ethnic and religious conflict in Indian society...
of the early 1900s, for Hindus and Muslims alike, even though India was far from the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate in Istanbul.
Origins in 20th century nationalist and anti-imperialist movements
"The very term, 'Islamic State', was never used in the theory or practice of Muslim political science, before the twentieth century," a Pakistani scholar wrote, and western scholars of Islam agree.The modern conceptualization of the "Islamic state" is attributed to Abul Ala Maududi
Abul Ala Maududi
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi , also known as Molana or Shaikh Syed Abul A'ala Mawdudi, was a Sunni Pakistani journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist leader and political philosopher, and a major 20th century Islamist thinker. He was also a prominent political figure in Pakistan and was the first...
(1903–1979), an Indian Muslim theologian who founded the political party Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami
This article is about Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. For other organizations of similar name see Jamaat-e-Islami The Jamaat-e-Islami , is a Pro-Muslim political party in Pakistan...
and inspired other Islamic revolutionaries such as Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini. Abul Ala Maududi
Abul Ala Maududi
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi , also known as Molana or Shaikh Syed Abul A'ala Mawdudi, was a Sunni Pakistani journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist leader and political philosopher, and a major 20th century Islamist thinker. He was also a prominent political figure in Pakistan and was the first...
's early political career was influenced greatly by anti-colonial agitation in India, especially after the tumultuous abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924 stoked anti-British sentiment (see Khilafat Movement
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
). In Maududi's 1941 book The Islamic law and constitution and in subsequent writings, he coined and popularized the term "Islamic state" (Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية, al-dawla al-islamiyya) itself. He also coined and popularized the term "Islamic revolution" during this time, even though this phrase is commonly associated with the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
that occurred 40 years later.
The Islamic state was perceived as a "third way" between the rival political systems of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
(see also Islamic Modernism
Islamic Modernism
Islamic Modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response" to the cultural challenges which attempts to reconcile Islamic faith with modern values regarding nationalism, democracy, civil rights, rationality, equality and progress...
). Maududi's seminal writings on Islamic economics
Islamic economics
Islamic economics refers to the body of Islamic studies literature that "identifies and promotes an economic order that conforms to Islamic scripture and traditions," and in the economic world an interest-free Islamic banking system, grounded in Sharia's condemnation of interest...
argued as early as 1941 against free-market capitalism and socialist state intervention in the economy, similar to Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr's later Our Economics written in 1961. Maududi envisioned the ideal Islamic state as combining the democratic principles of electoral politics with the socialist principles of concern for the poor.
Islamic States Today
Islamic republicIslamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
is the official name given to several Islamic modeled contemporary states in the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
, including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
adopted it after the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
. In Iran, the form of government is known as "Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists". Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
was run as an Islamic state in areas controlled by the Taliban from 1992–2001, and after the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban the country is still known as the "Islamic Republic of Afghanistan"
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Despite the similar name, the countries differ greatly in their governments and laws.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
can be considered an Islamic state, but it is an absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
ruled by a king and therefore not known as an "Islamic Republic".
Pan-Islamism
Pan-Islamism
Pan-Islamism is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic state — often a Caliphate. As a form of religious nationalism, Pan-Islamism differentiates itself from other pan-nationalistic ideologies, for example Pan-Arabism, by excluding culture and ethnicity as primary...
is a form of religious nationalism
Religious nationalism
Religious nationalism is the relationship of nationalism to a particular religious belief, dogma, or affiliation. This relationship can be broken down into two aspects; the politicisation of religion and the influence of religion on politics....
within political Islam which advocates the unification of the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
under a single Islamic state, often described as a caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
.
The Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration
Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration
Libya's National Transitional Council on 3 August 2011 passed a "Constitutional Declaration". The document was publicly announced at a press conference of 10 August by Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, Vice President and official spokesman of the NTC ....
of 3 August 2011 declares Islam to be official religion of Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
.
Muslim criticism of Islamic states
Prominent Muslim intellectuals have argued that Islamic states destroy the purity of Islam.Indonesia
Indonesian scholar Nurcholish MadjidNurcholish Madjid
Dr. Nurcholish Madjid , in his homeland affectionately known as Cak Nur, was a prominent Indonesian Muslim intellectual. Early in his academic career, Nurcholish was a leader in various student organizations. He soon became well known as a proponent for modernization within Islam...
(1939–2005) believed that the instrumental use of Islam for political ends violates the central principle of Islamic theology, monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
(or "tawhid
Tawhid
Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....
"), by mixing divine oneness with worldly politics. (Information questionable, no link provided)
Iran
Leading up to the Iranian RevolutionIranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
of 1979, many of the highest-ranking clergy in Shi'a Islam held to the standard doctrine of the Imamate
Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)
Imāmah is the Shia doctrine of religious, spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. The Shīa believe that the A'immah are the true Caliphs or rightful successors of Muḥammad, and further that Imams are possessed of divine knowledge and authority as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt,...
, which allows political rule only by the prophet Mohammad or one of his true successors. They were opposed to creating an Islamic state (see Ayatollah Ha'eri Yazdi (Khomeini's own teacher), Ayatollah Borujerdi, Grand Ayatollah Shariatmadari, and Grand Ayatollah Khui). Today, contemporary theologians who were once part of the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
have also become disenchanted and critical of the unity of religion and state in Islamic Republic of Iran, and are advocating secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
of the state to preserve the purity of the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic faith (see Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush , born Hosein Haj Faraj Dabbagh , is an Iranian thinker, reformer, Rumi scholar and a former professor at the University of Tehran. He is arguably the most influential figure in religious intellectual movement in Iran. Professor Soroush is currently a visiting scholar at the...
and Mohsen Kadivar
Mohsen Kadivar
Mohsen Kadivar is an Iranian philosopher, University lecturer, cleric and activist. A political dissident, Kadivar has been a vocal critic of the doctrine of clerical rule, also known as Velayat-e Faqih , and a strong advocate of democratic and liberal reforms in Iran...
).
See also
- Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (in Iran)
- Islamic republicIslamic republicIslamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
- TheocracyTheocracyTheocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
- Shariah
- IslamismIslamismIslamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
- Criticism of IslamismCriticism of IslamismCriticism of Islamism concerns critique of those beliefs or notions ascribed to Islamism or Islamist movements. Such criticisms focus on the role of Islam in legislation, the relationship between Islamism and freedom of expression and the rights of women.Among those authors and scholars who have...