Islamic Doctrines and Political Liberalism

Beschreibung

“In this timely and illuminating book, Gozde Hussain explores whether observant Muslims can join the ‘overlapping consensus’ on liberal ideals and principles theorised by John Rawls, or whether any Islamic endorsement of liberal institutions will inevitably be more contingent and contextual than Rawls hoped. To do so, Hussain helpfully maps out a range of positions within Islamic political thought and their level of orthodoxy, ultimately arguing that devout Muslims can find theologically acceptable justifications for a liberal political order. In this way, the book significantly advances our understanding of the relationship between Islam and liberalism.”

— Paul Billingham, Associate Professor of Political Theory, University of Oxford, UK

“Most Muslims in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries across the globe desire democracy, but to what extent is this just a pragmatic position? Gozde Hussain, informed by an understanding of liberalism and of Islamic scholarly positions in ethics and politics inquires to what extent can faithful Muslims and liberal theorists be in intellectual agreement. Her answers are nuanced and worth studying.”

—Tariq Modood, FBA, University of Bristol, UK

In this book, the central question addressed is the realism of observant Muslims endorsing a liberal democratic state from within their doctrinal tradition. By examining a range of Islamic orthodoxy positions, the book demonstrates that Muslims can theoretically find Islamic reasons, rooted in acceptable interpretations of divine sources, to justify their commitment to a liberal state. Furthermore, it provides moral reasons and strategies for the liberal state to address incompatible Islamic doctrines, ensuring Muslims can maintain religious practices without an Islamic political authority. This theoretical framework offers insights for future empirical and theoretical studies on Muslims navigating pluralistic liberal societies, making it a vital contribution to the discourse on Islam and liberalism.

Gozde Hussain earned a PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, where they are currently a visiting lecturer and affiliated with the Centre for Islamic and West Asian Studies.

This book delves into the compatibility of Islam with liberal values, engaging in a comparative analysis of Islamic moral language and John Rawls's liberal democratic ideas. Rawls, a prominent modern liberal political philosopher, posits that diverse moral and religious doctrines in a pluralistic society should align with the principles of a liberal democratic political culture. The author shares Rawls's assumptions and maps out a spectrum of Islamic orthodoxy positions to assess the plausibility of reconciling Islamic doctrines with a liberal political order. While acknowledging that such compatibility is not the mainstream outlook, the book argues that it's feasible through reasonable interpretations of Islamic sources.

The central question addressed is the realism of observant Muslims endorsing a liberal democratic state from within their doctrinal tradition. By examining a range of Islamic orthodoxy positions, the book demonstrates that Muslims can theoretically find Islamic reasons, rooted in acceptable interpretations of divine sources, to justify their commitment to a liberal state. Furthermore, it provides moral reasons and strategies for the liberal state to address incompatible Islamic doctrines, ensuring Muslims can maintain religious practices without an Islamic political authority. This theoretical framework offers insights for future empirical and theoretical studies on Muslims navigating pluralistic liberal societies, making it a vital contribution to the discourse on Islam and liberalism.

Autor*in

Gozde Hussain

Themen in »Islamic Doctrines and Political Liberalism«

Political liberalism Islamic doctrine Islamic orthodoxy Comparative political theory John Rawls

Stimmen zu »Islamic Doctrines and Political Liberalism«

“Most Muslims in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries across the globe desire democracy, but to what extent is this just a pragmatic position? Gozde Hussain, informed by an understanding of liberalism and of Islamic scholarly positions in ethics and politics inquires to what extent can faithful Muslims and liberal theorists be in intellectual agreement. Her answers are nuanced and worth studying.” (Tariq Modood, FBA, University of Bristol)

“The compatibility of Islam with liberal democratic ideals and institutions is of vital importance, both theoretically and practically. In this timely and illuminating book, Gozde Hussain explores whether observant Muslims can join the ‘overlapping consensus’ on liberal ideals and principles theorised by John Rawls, or whether any Islamic endorsement of liberal institutions will inevitably be more continent and contextual than Rawls hoped. To do so, Hussain helpfully maps out a range of positions within Islamic political thought and their level of orthodoxy, ultimately arguing that devout Muslims can find theologically acceptable justifications for a liberal political order. In this way, the book significantly advances our understanding of the relationship between Islam and liberalism.” (Paul Billingham, Associate Professor of Political Theory, University of Oxford, UK)

“Comparative political theorising is often called for, but more seldom achieved. Gozde Hussain’s book combines a thorough knowledge of the Islamic intellectual tradition with a sophisticated understanding of Rawls’s political liberalism. It brings these two into dialogue to make a convincing argument that devout Muslims can support a liberal political regime. This is a timely, original, and philosophically important book.” (Jonathan Seglow, Royal Holloway, University of London)

“With this book, Hussain makes a vital contribution to the debate on the compatibility between political liberalism and Islamic doctrines. Informed by the diversity of the Islamic intellectual tradition, Hussain provides a nuanced and systematic assessment of the theological and jurisprudential grounds for devout Muslims to endorse political liberalism. In doing so, the book also advances our understanding of how to carry out comparative political theory.” (Nick Martin, University of Liverpool, U.K.)

“This is an important contribution to debates over the compatibility of Islamic doctrines with Rawlsian political liberalism. It offers a nuanced and sophisticated account of how observant Muslims situated in a variety of Islamic doctrinal traditions can sincerely support a liberal political order.” (Andrew Mason, Professor of Political Theory, University of Warwick')

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