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Islamic Political Thought
In Islam, as it was understood by most Muslims at least until the twentieth century, the nature and form of the polity were supposed to have been determined by divine revelation. Recently, however, some have asked whether the political praxis of early Islam was not a human response to particular circumstances.
Islamic Political Thought Up to the Twentieth Century
In traditional Islamic political thought, the only significant human community was the Muslim people (ummah). This was led by the Prophet’s successor and deputy (caliph), the leader (imam) of the people. His worldwide political, military, and religious authority was prescribed by God. The caliph’s functions were to ensure observance of the Shari’a; to spread Islam by teaching, building mosques, funding religious education, and holy war (jihad); to ensure ...
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