The Prophet’s Sunnah as the Normative
Matrix of Islamic Culture and Society
Muhammad al-Ghazali
Professor
Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad
<muhammadalghazali@hotmail.com>
A B S T R A C T
The Sunnah is the essential perennial source of Islam. It is inseparable
from, and integral to the Qur’┐n as its explanatory and applied part.
Since it is another form of revelation in its own right, it is at once a
parallel and complimentary source of authentic, ideal and pragmatic
pattern of Islamicity. Its record has been meticulously preserved in
history. The Prophet (peace be on him), being the Prime Source of all
revealed knowledge, wisdom and guidance, his oral teachings and
practical instructions and precedents gave rise to the universal Islamic
culture and civilization unfolding in history and leaving a deep imprint on
the consciousness and behaviour of a vast segment of humanity. This
paper attempts to highlight the normative value and authenticity of the
Sunnah. This fact has been testified by the declarations of the Qur’┐n as
well as established in the reliable corpus of ╓ad┘th literature. It seeks to
bring to the fore those aspects of the catalyst process performed by the
Prophet (peace be on him) in the spiritual, moral and socio-political
order of Mad┘nah that make it the normative matrix of the Islamic
Culture and Society.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 05-36
Planning in the Islamic Tradition
The Case of
Hijrah Expedition
Javed Iqbal
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Sciences
International Islamic University, Islamabad
<binsadiq@hotmail.com>
Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Shr┘‘ah and Law
International Islamic University, Islamabad
<mushtaqahmad@iiu.edu.pk>
A B S T R A C T
This paper describes the origin of planning as a managerial function
emphasizing the contribution of Islam in this process. The term scientific
management though was first floated in 1911, this paper argues that
management principles existed in some form, from an Islamic point of
view, since the inception of humanity as they were, in some shape, part
of the knowledge of all things which Allah taught to Adam (peace be on
him) and they were practiced by the Prophet Mu╒ammad (peace be on
him) as well when Islam re-dawned on the soil of Arabian Peninsula.
Taking Hijrah, one of the major events in the life of the Prophet
Mu╒ammad (peace be on him), as an exemplar to illustrate the notion of
planning and execution by the Prophet (peace be on him) as a strategy to
achieve his objectives, this paper attempts to apply Weihrich and
Koontz’s planning model to evaluate the Prophet (peace be on him)’s
strategy to leave securely from Makkah and to reach Yathrib safely. The
present authors contend that Hijrah expedition when studied in the light
of modern Management Sciences perfectly conforms to the management
model propounded in the 21st century. However, the facts remained
hidden in the pages of history, which this paper attempts to unveil.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 37-68
The Role Model
A Few Glimpses from the Life of the Prophet
Introduction
(peace be on him)
Abdul Jabbar Shakir
Director,
Da‘wah Academy, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan
<insights.da.iiui@gmail.com>
The Qur’┐n says indeed the best role model for you O mankind is in
the life pattern of the Messenger of Allah (Mu╒ammad), for every
one among you who seeks (the pleasure of) Allah, (success on) the
Last Day and remembers Allah the most.
1
Never had there been a community except that there had been raised
among them Prophets as guides and role models to guide its people
towards the truth and to lead them from depths of the darkness of
ignorance to the light of Islam.
2
The Prophets of Allah (peace be on
them all) received the message and directions from Allah that
enabled them to counsel their contemporaries, through the ages, as
they were the divinely appointed role models for their people so that
the people may imitate and follow them.
3
This process of selecting
1. See, the Qur’┐n 33: 21.
2. See for example, the Qur’┐n 13: 7; 15: 10; 16: 36; 35: 24.
3. See, the Qur’┐n 4: 64 states: “We sent no Messenger but to be Obeyed by Allah’s Leave.” English
translation of the meaning of the ┐y┐t of the Qur’┐n in this paper is mainly based on Mu╒sin Kh┐n and
Taq┘ al-D┘n, Hil┐l┘, Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’┐n (Mad┘nah: King Fahd Complex,
1419 AH), however, this author has made modifications at times, for the sake of clarity.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 71-102
Contemporary Christian Evaluations
of
the Prophethood of Mu╒ammad
(peace be on him)
Mahmut Aydin
**
*
Professor, History of Religions and Inter-religious Dialogue
Faculty of Theology, University of Ondokuz Mayis, Samsun, Turkey
Introduction
<mahmuta@omu.edu.tr>
Ed. Abdurrahmaan Saaleh
Assistant Professor, International Islamic University, Islamabad.
<asaaleh@yahoo.com>
The question of the status and prophethood of Mu╒ammad (peace be
on him) has been one of the most crucial and controversial issues of
Christian-Muslim relations ever since the advent of prophethood of
Mu╒ammad (peace be on him). So, in almost every ChristianMuslim
encounter, the issue of Christian
acknowledgement of the
prophethood
of Mu╒ammad
(peace be on him) has been and still is
* “Peace be on him,” is the English parallel of the formula, ‘alayh al-sal┐m/╖all All┐h ‘alayh wa sallam, by
which a Muslim invokes the peace and blessings of the Creator, Allah the Exalted, whenever the name
of a true Prophet/Messenger of Allah is mentioned. It is added, throughout this paper, by the editor.
** This article is based on selections from chapter five “Contemporary Christian Evaluations of the
Prophethood of Muhammad” of Mahmut Aydin’s work, Modern Western Christian Theological
Understandings of Muslims Since The Second Vatican Council (Washington, DC: Council for Research in
Values and Philosophy, 2002). The present article argues that shunning away of the prejudices and the
negative characterizations of Mu╒ammad (peace be on him) which were current in the Christian world
of the medieval times and affirmation of the Prophethood of Mu╒ammad (peace be on him), though in a
Christian framework, by a number of Christian scholars in the second half of the twentieth century was
a healthy foundation for development of better Christian Muslim Relations. The publication of the set
of twelve cartoons depicting the Prophet Mu╒ammad (peace be on him), by the daily Danish newspaper
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 105-137
Introduction
Current Financial Crisis
and
Islamic Economics
Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
Formerly, Distinguished University Professor
International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
<mnsiddiqi@hotmail.com>
∗
The current crisis emanating from US financial markets and
spreading to other developed and fast developing countries like
China, India and Brazil, is threatening a global meltdown leaving the
entire world poorer and full of forebodings regarding future. It
started as a credit crunch due to highly over-stretched leverage, was
aggravated by the complexity of the products and reached its zenith
∗∗
∗ This article is based on a lecture which the author delivered on October 31, 2008, at Aligarh, India,
which is available at: <http://www.siddiqi.com/mns/CurrentFinancialCrisisAndIslamicEconomics.
htm>.
∗∗ After completing PhD from the Aligarh Muslim University, India (1966), Dr Siddiqi has taught
Economics in various capacities at the Aligarh Muslim University, India; King Abdulaziz University,
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and University of California, Los Angeles. He has served as a Visiting Scholar at
the Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and as a
Distinguished University Professor at the International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He
has written widely on the subject of Islamic Economics and has to his credit 16 books in English, 13 in
Urdu and 7 in Arabic, along with 64 papers in academic journals. His works have been translated into
several languages of the world. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of a number of professional
journals. He was awarded the King Faisal International Award in 1982 in recognition of his
contribution to Islamic studies; American Finance House Award in 1993; Shah Waliullah Award for
2001 by Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 141-150
Introduction
From Judaism Back to Islam
Maryam Jameelah
A freelance researcher and author, Lahore, Pakistan.
<f_khan58@hotmail.com>
Margaret Marcus (Maryam Jameelah) was born to a Jewish family in
New Rochelle, NY, on May 23, 1934 [1353
AH]. She grew up in a
secular environment of an “assimilated,” “reformed” Jewish home.
She, however, had a keen interest in religion since her childhood and
unable to find spiritual guidance in her immediate environment, in
her adolescence, she looked to other faiths. Her search eventually
brought her in contact with Islam around the year 1373/1954. She
was then greatly impressed by The Meaning of the Glorious Koran
by
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (d. 1355/1936) and by the works
of Muhammad Asad (d. 1412/1992), who himself was able to make
his way from Judaism back to Islam in 1345/1926. She embraced
1. Reformed Jews, according to her, “did not call their houses of worship “synagogues” but rather,
“temples.” Reformed temple services were patterned after the Protestant Christian denominations with
a trained, professional mixed choir of men and women (some of them Christians) who sang the wellknown
melodies
of Christian hymns
set to different
words which
would not
offend
a Jewish audience.
Our services at the reformed temple were almost entirely in English with very little Hebrew. None of
the laws which the Orthodox deem so essential were binding upon us as they were scorned as
antiquated by the reformed leaders and no longer of any value in modern life. Our home was likewise
indistinguishable from those of our Christian neighbours and we felt as remote from Orthodoxy as
they. The only thing which kept our family from losing their Jewish identity entirely was the amazing
fact that as “assimilated” as we were, there were no inter-marriages with Christians. Social intercourse
was likewise restricted to our own kind.” Maryam Jameelah, “From Judaism to Islam” in her, Islam in
Theory and Practice, 7th edn. (Lahore: Muhammad Yusuf Khan & Sons, 1990), p. 3.
2. It was first published as: [Mohammed] Marmaduke William Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious
Koran (London: Allen and Unwin, 1930).
2
1
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 153-160
Dr Khalid ‘Alavi
(1940–2008)
Safir Akhtar
Formerly Editor-in-Chief, Islamic Research Institute
International Islamic University, Islamabad
<aasimfarooq@yahoo.com>
One who is born has to leave this world sooner or later since
livelihood for everyone on the earth is for an appointed time (alQur’┐n
2: 37),
but memorable are those who leave their imprint
behind.
One such mortal was the late Dr. Muhammad Siddique
Khalid,
commonly known as Dr Khalid ‘Alavi. He died in the
evening
of the 18th November 2008 in Islamabad. The next day his
funeral
prayer was offered in north-western lawn of the Faisal
Mosque
and the dead body was taken
to Lahore where it was placed
for
eternal rest in the graveyard of
the Punjab University
after
second
and third funeral prayers, attended by
hundreds of his
colleagues
and
other admirers coming from far and near.
Dr. Khalid ‘Alavi was born on November 16, 1940 in Dh┐k, a small
village of District Khushab (Punjab) in an A‘w┐n family. The A‘w┐ns
trace their lineage to ‘Al┘ b. Ab┘ ║┐lib, the fourth rightly guided
caliph (36–40/656–661). That is why he had a suffix of ‘Alavi
[‘Alav┘] in his name.
Dr. ‘Alavi’s father Ghul┐m Mu╒y┘ al-D┘n was a highly religious
fellow with ╖┴f┘ leanings. He was formally initiated in the Q┐diriyyah
Order and had a circle of his affiliates. In the native village he was
known as the Miy┐╞ ╗┐╒ib due to his piety and religious observances.
Miy┐╞ ╗┐╒ib wanted to see his son as an ‘┐lim (religious scholar),
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 163-168
M.A. Muqtedar Khan. Ed.
Islamic Democratic Discourse:
Theory, Debates and Philosophical Perspectives.
Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2006. Pages xxi+271.
Paperback. ISBN 0–7391–0645–7. No price given.
Tauseef Ahmad Parray
PhD Candidate, Department of Islamic Studies,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
<tauseef.parray21@gmail.com>
Islamic Democratic Discourse attempts to study the development of the
gradually emerging philosophical and theological discourse on
Islamic democratic theory. This wide-ranging set of essays explores
the multi-faceted relationship between Islam and democracy.
Making a systematic effort to link contemporary Muslim ideas on
Islam and democracy with classical Islamic theories and profound
theological concepts and issues, it opens new avenues to seriously
build authentic Islamic theory/theories of democracy.
The book comprises of Eleven (11) Papers, divided into three
sections, viz: Classical Perspectives on Islam and Politics (3 Chapters);
Regional Debates on Islam and Democracy (4 Chapters); and Global
Discourse on Islam and Democracy (4 Chapters), which are preceded by
a Preface and Introduction and followed by the Index and Notes
about the Editor and Contributors.
The Editor, M.A. Muqtedar Khan—a Political Scientist with
expertise in Political Philosophy, Islamic Political Thought and
International Relations—examines how Muslim thinkers have and
are trying to formulate systems for good and ethical self-governance
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 171
Matrix of Islamic Culture and Society
Muhammad al-Ghazali
Professor
Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad
<muhammadalghazali@hotmail.com>
A B S T R A C T
The Sunnah is the essential perennial source of Islam. It is inseparable
from, and integral to the Qur’┐n as its explanatory and applied part.
Since it is another form of revelation in its own right, it is at once a
parallel and complimentary source of authentic, ideal and pragmatic
pattern of Islamicity. Its record has been meticulously preserved in
history. The Prophet (peace be on him), being the Prime Source of all
revealed knowledge, wisdom and guidance, his oral teachings and
practical instructions and precedents gave rise to the universal Islamic
culture and civilization unfolding in history and leaving a deep imprint on
the consciousness and behaviour of a vast segment of humanity. This
paper attempts to highlight the normative value and authenticity of the
Sunnah. This fact has been testified by the declarations of the Qur’┐n as
well as established in the reliable corpus of ╓ad┘th literature. It seeks to
bring to the fore those aspects of the catalyst process performed by the
Prophet (peace be on him) in the spiritual, moral and socio-political
order of Mad┘nah that make it the normative matrix of the Islamic
Culture and Society.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 05-36
Planning in the Islamic Tradition
The Case of
Hijrah Expedition
Javed Iqbal
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Sciences
International Islamic University, Islamabad
<binsadiq@hotmail.com>
Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Shr┘‘ah and Law
International Islamic University, Islamabad
<mushtaqahmad@iiu.edu.pk>
A B S T R A C T
This paper describes the origin of planning as a managerial function
emphasizing the contribution of Islam in this process. The term scientific
management though was first floated in 1911, this paper argues that
management principles existed in some form, from an Islamic point of
view, since the inception of humanity as they were, in some shape, part
of the knowledge of all things which Allah taught to Adam (peace be on
him) and they were practiced by the Prophet Mu╒ammad (peace be on
him) as well when Islam re-dawned on the soil of Arabian Peninsula.
Taking Hijrah, one of the major events in the life of the Prophet
Mu╒ammad (peace be on him), as an exemplar to illustrate the notion of
planning and execution by the Prophet (peace be on him) as a strategy to
achieve his objectives, this paper attempts to apply Weihrich and
Koontz’s planning model to evaluate the Prophet (peace be on him)’s
strategy to leave securely from Makkah and to reach Yathrib safely. The
present authors contend that Hijrah expedition when studied in the light
of modern Management Sciences perfectly conforms to the management
model propounded in the 21st century. However, the facts remained
hidden in the pages of history, which this paper attempts to unveil.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 37-68
The Role Model
A Few Glimpses from the Life of the Prophet
Introduction
(peace be on him)
Abdul Jabbar Shakir
Director,
Da‘wah Academy, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan
<insights.da.iiui@gmail.com>
The Qur’┐n says indeed the best role model for you O mankind is in
the life pattern of the Messenger of Allah (Mu╒ammad), for every
one among you who seeks (the pleasure of) Allah, (success on) the
Last Day and remembers Allah the most.
1
Never had there been a community except that there had been raised
among them Prophets as guides and role models to guide its people
towards the truth and to lead them from depths of the darkness of
ignorance to the light of Islam.
2
The Prophets of Allah (peace be on
them all) received the message and directions from Allah that
enabled them to counsel their contemporaries, through the ages, as
they were the divinely appointed role models for their people so that
the people may imitate and follow them.
3
This process of selecting
1. See, the Qur’┐n 33: 21.
2. See for example, the Qur’┐n 13: 7; 15: 10; 16: 36; 35: 24.
3. See, the Qur’┐n 4: 64 states: “We sent no Messenger but to be Obeyed by Allah’s Leave.” English
translation of the meaning of the ┐y┐t of the Qur’┐n in this paper is mainly based on Mu╒sin Kh┐n and
Taq┘ al-D┘n, Hil┐l┘, Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’┐n (Mad┘nah: King Fahd Complex,
1419 AH), however, this author has made modifications at times, for the sake of clarity.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 71-102
Contemporary Christian Evaluations
of
the Prophethood of Mu╒ammad
(peace be on him)
Mahmut Aydin
**
*
Professor, History of Religions and Inter-religious Dialogue
Faculty of Theology, University of Ondokuz Mayis, Samsun, Turkey
Introduction
<mahmuta@omu.edu.tr>
Ed. Abdurrahmaan Saaleh
Assistant Professor, International Islamic University, Islamabad.
<asaaleh@yahoo.com>
The question of the status and prophethood of Mu╒ammad (peace be
on him) has been one of the most crucial and controversial issues of
Christian-Muslim relations ever since the advent of prophethood of
Mu╒ammad (peace be on him). So, in almost every ChristianMuslim
encounter, the issue of Christian
acknowledgement of the
prophethood
of Mu╒ammad
(peace be on him) has been and still is
* “Peace be on him,” is the English parallel of the formula, ‘alayh al-sal┐m/╖all All┐h ‘alayh wa sallam, by
which a Muslim invokes the peace and blessings of the Creator, Allah the Exalted, whenever the name
of a true Prophet/Messenger of Allah is mentioned. It is added, throughout this paper, by the editor.
** This article is based on selections from chapter five “Contemporary Christian Evaluations of the
Prophethood of Muhammad” of Mahmut Aydin’s work, Modern Western Christian Theological
Understandings of Muslims Since The Second Vatican Council (Washington, DC: Council for Research in
Values and Philosophy, 2002). The present article argues that shunning away of the prejudices and the
negative characterizations of Mu╒ammad (peace be on him) which were current in the Christian world
of the medieval times and affirmation of the Prophethood of Mu╒ammad (peace be on him), though in a
Christian framework, by a number of Christian scholars in the second half of the twentieth century was
a healthy foundation for development of better Christian Muslim Relations. The publication of the set
of twelve cartoons depicting the Prophet Mu╒ammad (peace be on him), by the daily Danish newspaper
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 105-137
Introduction
Current Financial Crisis
and
Islamic Economics
Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
Formerly, Distinguished University Professor
International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
<mnsiddiqi@hotmail.com>
∗
The current crisis emanating from US financial markets and
spreading to other developed and fast developing countries like
China, India and Brazil, is threatening a global meltdown leaving the
entire world poorer and full of forebodings regarding future. It
started as a credit crunch due to highly over-stretched leverage, was
aggravated by the complexity of the products and reached its zenith
∗∗
∗ This article is based on a lecture which the author delivered on October 31, 2008, at Aligarh, India,
which is available at: <http://www.siddiqi.com/mns/CurrentFinancialCrisisAndIslamicEconomics.
htm>.
∗∗ After completing PhD from the Aligarh Muslim University, India (1966), Dr Siddiqi has taught
Economics in various capacities at the Aligarh Muslim University, India; King Abdulaziz University,
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and University of California, Los Angeles. He has served as a Visiting Scholar at
the Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and as a
Distinguished University Professor at the International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He
has written widely on the subject of Islamic Economics and has to his credit 16 books in English, 13 in
Urdu and 7 in Arabic, along with 64 papers in academic journals. His works have been translated into
several languages of the world. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of a number of professional
journals. He was awarded the King Faisal International Award in 1982 in recognition of his
contribution to Islamic studies; American Finance House Award in 1993; Shah Waliullah Award for
2001 by Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi.
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 141-150
Introduction
From Judaism Back to Islam
Maryam Jameelah
A freelance researcher and author, Lahore, Pakistan.
<f_khan58@hotmail.com>
Margaret Marcus (Maryam Jameelah) was born to a Jewish family in
New Rochelle, NY, on May 23, 1934 [1353
AH]. She grew up in a
secular environment of an “assimilated,” “reformed” Jewish home.
She, however, had a keen interest in religion since her childhood and
unable to find spiritual guidance in her immediate environment, in
her adolescence, she looked to other faiths. Her search eventually
brought her in contact with Islam around the year 1373/1954. She
was then greatly impressed by The Meaning of the Glorious Koran
by
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (d. 1355/1936) and by the works
of Muhammad Asad (d. 1412/1992), who himself was able to make
his way from Judaism back to Islam in 1345/1926. She embraced
1. Reformed Jews, according to her, “did not call their houses of worship “synagogues” but rather,
“temples.” Reformed temple services were patterned after the Protestant Christian denominations with
a trained, professional mixed choir of men and women (some of them Christians) who sang the wellknown
melodies
of Christian hymns
set to different
words which
would not
offend
a Jewish audience.
Our services at the reformed temple were almost entirely in English with very little Hebrew. None of
the laws which the Orthodox deem so essential were binding upon us as they were scorned as
antiquated by the reformed leaders and no longer of any value in modern life. Our home was likewise
indistinguishable from those of our Christian neighbours and we felt as remote from Orthodoxy as
they. The only thing which kept our family from losing their Jewish identity entirely was the amazing
fact that as “assimilated” as we were, there were no inter-marriages with Christians. Social intercourse
was likewise restricted to our own kind.” Maryam Jameelah, “From Judaism to Islam” in her, Islam in
Theory and Practice, 7th edn. (Lahore: Muhammad Yusuf Khan & Sons, 1990), p. 3.
2. It was first published as: [Mohammed] Marmaduke William Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious
Koran (London: Allen and Unwin, 1930).
2
1
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 153-160
Dr Khalid ‘Alavi
(1940–2008)
Safir Akhtar
Formerly Editor-in-Chief, Islamic Research Institute
International Islamic University, Islamabad
<aasimfarooq@yahoo.com>
One who is born has to leave this world sooner or later since
livelihood for everyone on the earth is for an appointed time (alQur’┐n
2: 37),
but memorable are those who leave their imprint
behind.
One such mortal was the late Dr. Muhammad Siddique
Khalid,
commonly known as Dr Khalid ‘Alavi. He died in the
evening
of the 18th November 2008 in Islamabad. The next day his
funeral
prayer was offered in north-western lawn of the Faisal
Mosque
and the dead body was taken
to Lahore where it was placed
for
eternal rest in the graveyard of
the Punjab University
after
second
and third funeral prayers, attended by
hundreds of his
colleagues
and
other admirers coming from far and near.
Dr. Khalid ‘Alavi was born on November 16, 1940 in Dh┐k, a small
village of District Khushab (Punjab) in an A‘w┐n family. The A‘w┐ns
trace their lineage to ‘Al┘ b. Ab┘ ║┐lib, the fourth rightly guided
caliph (36–40/656–661). That is why he had a suffix of ‘Alavi
[‘Alav┘] in his name.
Dr. ‘Alavi’s father Ghul┐m Mu╒y┘ al-D┘n was a highly religious
fellow with ╖┴f┘ leanings. He was formally initiated in the Q┐diriyyah
Order and had a circle of his affiliates. In the native village he was
known as the Miy┐╞ ╗┐╒ib due to his piety and religious observances.
Miy┐╞ ╗┐╒ib wanted to see his son as an ‘┐lim (religious scholar),
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 163-168
M.A. Muqtedar Khan. Ed.
Islamic Democratic Discourse:
Theory, Debates and Philosophical Perspectives.
Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2006. Pages xxi+271.
Paperback. ISBN 0–7391–0645–7. No price given.
Tauseef Ahmad Parray
PhD Candidate, Department of Islamic Studies,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
<tauseef.parray21@gmail.com>
Islamic Democratic Discourse attempts to study the development of the
gradually emerging philosophical and theological discourse on
Islamic democratic theory. This wide-ranging set of essays explores
the multi-faceted relationship between Islam and democracy.
Making a systematic effort to link contemporary Muslim ideas on
Islam and democracy with classical Islamic theories and profound
theological concepts and issues, it opens new avenues to seriously
build authentic Islamic theory/theories of democracy.
The book comprises of Eleven (11) Papers, divided into three
sections, viz: Classical Perspectives on Islam and Politics (3 Chapters);
Regional Debates on Islam and Democracy (4 Chapters); and Global
Discourse on Islam and Democracy (4 Chapters), which are preceded by
a Preface and Introduction and followed by the Index and Notes
about the Editor and Contributors.
The Editor, M.A. Muqtedar Khan—a Political Scientist with
expertise in Political Philosophy, Islamic Political Thought and
International Relations—examines how Muslim thinkers have and
are trying to formulate systems for good and ethical self-governance
INSIGHTS 01:3 (2009) pp. 171
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