Islam and the Foundations of Political Power: (in Translation)

Description

Egypt, 1925: the Muslim world is in turmoil over Mustapha Kamal Ataturk's proposal to abolish the caliphate in Turkey. The debate over Islam and politics re-ignites as traditional political systems dissolve under pressure from European powers and most Muslim countries lose their sovereignty. Into this debate enters Ali Abdel Razek, a religious cleric trained at Al-Azhar University, arguing in favour of secularism in his essay 'Islam and the Foundations of Political Power', translated here and published in paperback for the first time. Scholarly features include A substantial introduction that places the essay in its context and explains its impact An appendix of Razek's sources with full publication details Explanatory notes beside Razek's original footnotes Additional notes about particular people, events or vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to modern readers About the Author vi A Tribute to Ali Abdel Razek from his Grandson, Amr Hamed vii Preface xi Introduction 1 Foreword 21 Book One: The Caliphate and Islam 1 The Nature of the Caliphate 25 2 The Status of the Caliphate 35 3 The Caliphate from the Social Point of View 43 Book Two: Islam and Government 4 The System of Power at the Time of the Prophet 59 5 Prophecy and Power 67 6 Islam: A Message from God rather than a System of Government; A Religion rather than a State 81 Book Three: The Caliphate and the Government throughout History 7 Religious Unity and the Arab People 99 8 The Arab State 107 9 The Nature of the Caliphate 111 List of Sources referred to by Abdel Razek 119 Appendix 123 Index 126