Islam and Liberal Citizenship: The Search for an Overlapping ConsensusHow can Muslims be both good citizens of liberal democracies and good Muslims? This is among the most pressing questions of our time, particularly in contemporary Europe. Some argue that Muslims have no tradition of separation of church and state and therefore can't participate in secular, pluralist society. At the other extreme, some Muslims argue that it is the duty of all believers to resist Western forms of government and to impose Islamic law. Andrew F. March is seeking to find a middle way between these poles. Is there, he asks, a tradition that is both consistent with orthodox Sunni Islam that is also compatible with modern liberal democracy? He begins with Rawls's theory that liberal societies rely for stability on an ''overlapping consensus'' between a public conception of justice and popular religious doctrines and asks what kinds of demands liberal societies place on citizens, and particularly on Muslims. March then offers a thorough examination of Islamic sources and current trends in Islamic thought to see whether there can indeed be a consensus. March finds that the answer is an emphatic ''yes.'' He demonstrates that there are very strong and authentically Islamic arguments for accepting the demands of citizenship in a liberal democracy, many of them found even in medieval works of Islamic jurisprudence. In fact, he shows, it is precisely the fact that Rawlsian political liberalism makes no claims to metaphysical truth that makes it appealing to Muslims. |
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Contents
3 | |
Justificatory Comparative Political Theory The Search for Overlapping Consensus through Conjecture | 17 |
Islam and Liberal Citizenship Patterns of Moral Disagreement and Principled Reconciliation | 97 |
Islamic Affirmations of Liberal Citizenship | 163 |
Tradition and Creativity in Grounding Moral Obligation to NonMuslims | 259 |
Notes | 277 |
325 | |
337 | |
Other editions - View all
Islam and Liberal Citizenship: The Search for an Overlapping Consensus Andrew F. March Limited preview - 2011 |
Islam and Liberal Citizenship: The Search for an Overlapping Consensus Andrew F. March Limited preview - 2009 |
Islam and Liberal Citizenship The Search for an Overlapping Consensus Andrew F. March No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
Abd al-Qa¯dir affirmation al-muslima argue argument basic Beirut believe chapter civic claim classical commitment comparative political comparative political theory compatible comprehensive doctrines conception of justice concern conflict contemporary context contract cultural da‘wa da¯r Dâr deliberative democracy discourse ethics discussion doctrine of citizenship duty endorse ethical tradition fact fatwa fellow citizens fight Fiqh freedom God’s grounds hijra human Ibid Ibn Bayya Ibn Taymiyya interests Islamic doctrine Islamic ethics Islamic law jiha¯d juridical jurists justificatory legitimate liberal citizenship liberal democracy living loyalty migration moral obligation Muhammad Muslim citizens Muslim communities non-Islamic non-Muslim army non-Muslim lands non-Muslim political non-Muslim society nonliberal normative one’s overlapping consensus philosophical pluralism political community political conception political liberalism political participation position principles Qarad.a¯wı question Qur’anic Ramadan Rawls Rawls’s Rawlsian recognition regard religion religious residence in non-Muslim scholars secular sharı¯‘a social cooperation solidarity Tariq Ramadan texts tion tradition unbelievers values verses views