"As for treating rulers as sacred or giving them exaggerated respect- as some Islamic sects do today - this has no basis in the religion and no evidence to support it. This idea came from the Shia, who made Imamate a pillar of faith and replaced the testimony of faith with belief in leadership. Ahl al-Sunnah do not hold this view."
Political Theory
The Arab Regimes: The True Iron Dome that Protects Israel
Palestine will not be liberated until the Ummah is liberated. Gaza is not the only one besieged—the entire Islamic world remains a prisoner within the borders of Sykes-Picot, governed by regimes that fear the West and submit to its commands. Liberation will begin the day these rulers are removed, and Islamic sovereignty is restored - one and indivisible - upon the Prophetic model.
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الأنظمةُ العربيةُ: القُبَّةُ الحديديَّةُ الحقيقيةُ لحمايةِ إسرائيلَ
والسؤالُ الحقيقيُّ الذي يهربُ منه الجميعُ هو: إذا كان القادةُ هم العائقُ أمام تحركِ الجيوش، فما هو واجبُ المخلصين من أبناءِ الأمة، ومن قادتِها في الجيوش، وعلمائِها، وصفوتِها؟
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Betrayers of the Inheritance (2) – Resistance Scholars vs Regime Scholars
The difference between the scholars of resistance and the scholars of the regime is not one of interpretation. It is one of allegiance. The scholars of the regime have allied themselves with the nation-state, with its borders, treaties, and strategic partnerships. They invoke fiqh only to neuter obligation, to convert jihad into illegal activism, and to criminalize solidarity as sedition. Their invocations of "wisdom" serve only to excuse cowardice.
Reexamining the Caliphate: Authority and Political Theory
The essay by Reza Pankhurst explores the decline of the caliphate up until its formal abolition in 1924, highlighting its transformation from a powerful institution to a mere symbolic figurehead. The caliphate originally served as a centralized political authority in Islam but became hereditary over time. Pankhurst discusses the historical and theoretical frameworks surrounding the caliphate, including differing views on its selection, authority, and legitimacy. The analysis reveals the complex evolution of Islamic political theory regarding governance, reflecting waning popular involvement in leadership selection and advocating for a potentially reformed model grounded in the original principles of shared authority among Muslims.
Muslims, Islam and the Question of Sectarianism
Sectarianism has become more prominent as a dangerous problem among Muslims again in the contemporary period, dating back to the Iranian revolution, and in the new millennium since the invasion of Iraq, and then the uprising in Syria leading to a civil war which has been characterised along sectarian lines. Before delving deeper into ideological … Continue reading Muslims, Islam and the Question of Sectarianism
Islamic IR Theory: The Dar Paradigm (3)
Common Discussions There are a number of reoccurring issues, confusions and misconceptions linked to the classification of the world into dar al-Islam and dar al-kufr. These include the number of classifications, taking the meanings of the classifications literally, conflation between classifications and rules related to issues as various as emigration, interest and fighting and the … Continue reading Islamic IR Theory: The Dar Paradigm (3)
Islamic IR Theory: The Dar Paradigm (2)
Islamic Scholarship and the Dar Paradigm There are numerous definitions of what constitutes dar al-Islam and dar al-kufr found among classical scholarship. A number of contemporary writers have compiled statements of scholars regarding the dar classifications – among them Juda’i (al-taqsim al-mamura fi-l-fiqh al-islami), Dr. Muhammad Haikal (al jihad wa-l-qital fi-l-siyassa al-shara‘iyya) and Dr. Abdul … Continue reading Islamic IR Theory: The Dar Paradigm (2)
Islamic IR Theory: The Dar Paradigm (1)
Introduction Since the abolition of the Ottoman caliphate, the Muslim community has faced the unique situation of the absence of a clearly defined political entity that represents the political unity of the Muslims and has an Islamic foundation in international relations. Alien forms of statehood were imposed from outside, creating secular nation-states where the basis … Continue reading Islamic IR Theory: The Dar Paradigm (1)
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The Caliphate Deniers
(The following is a section reproduced with minor edits from an article originally published in the academic journal Political Theology 11.6 (2010) 826-845) "Muslim secularists" - or the subset within them of "Caliphate deniers", being those who profess a Muslim belief but consider that Islam has nothing to say about the State, that any conception … Continue reading The Caliphate Deniers