Islamic Law and Muslim Minorities: The Juristic Discourse on Muslim Minorities from the Second/Eighth to the Eleventh/Seventeenth Centuries (original) (raw)
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Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies
The concept of 'minority' has proven to be a difficult one to define. Indeed, to quote Ulrike Barten, 'Decades of discussions have not led to a legally binding definition of the term "minority".' 1 Even when, in 1992, the United Nations adopted the 'Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities', and even though a number of rights were guaranteed to minorities and to persons belonging to these minorities, a clear definition of 'minority' was never given. Similarly, a definition is not given in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities adopted in 1995 by the Council of Europe. 2 Indeed, there have been different attempts in international law to define such a concept. The first attempt in this field was by Pablo de Azcárate, at that time director for the Minorities Questions Section at the League of Nations. In a study entitled League of Nations and National Minorities-an Experiment, de Azcárate proposed a definition of 'national minority' that, according to him, refer to 'a more or less considerable proportion of the citizens of a state who are of a different "nationality" from that of the majority'. 3 He went on to say that 'what in the last resort constitutes the distinctive and characteristic features of a national minority is the existence of a national consciousness, accompanied by linguistic and cultural differences'. 4 While the focus of this definition is clearly on national minorities, as the title of his study shows, it is interesting to note that de Azcárate mentions language and culture as distinctive elements that a national minority should have to distinguish itself, together with, obviously, a feeling of national consciousness. Language is also mentioned * Carlo De Angelo is the author of paragraph no. 2. Serena Tolino is the author of paragraphs nos. 1, 3 and 4. The conclusion has been written by both the authors. The Arabic transliteration system we used for this special dossier is ISO 233. Terms that are included in the Merriam Webster dictionary have been not transliterated.-We would like to thank Pat FitzGerald for her careful copy-editing of the special dossier. 1 BARTEN 2015b: 162. 2 COUNCIL OF EUROPE 1995. 3 DE AZCÁRATE 1945: 3. 4 Ibid.: 4.
The Legal Status of Religious Minorities in Islam: A Historical Perspective
Hamdard Islamicus
This paper deals with the concept of Dhimmi (non-Muslims living in an Islamic state) and the laws formulated for them in Islam, which lie at the centre of the intellectual discourses on the Islamic legal and political system vis-à-vis the issues of tolerance, democracy, and human rights. The teachings of Islam, as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (×aÌrat Muhammad RasËlullah KhÉtam un NabiyyÊn Øallallahu ‘alaihi wa ‘alÉ Ólihi wa AÎÍÉbihi wa Øallam) provide complete guidance for attaining success and glory in this world and the hereafter. As a comprehensive way of life, Islam encompasses a unique socio-economic and political system. It deals with all private and public life aspects and local and international affairs. However, the status and treatment of minorities in Muslim societies (especially in the context of Islamic law) have been of special concern to Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike. It has also been a much-debated subject among Orientalists, who have created many misint...
Minorities as Subjects and Minorities as Producers of Islamic Law: Past and Present*
Journa of Arabic and Islamic Studies, 2017
The concept of 'minority' has proven to be a difficult one to define. Indeed, to quote Ulrike Barten, 'Decades of discussions have not led to a legally binding definition of the term "minority".' 1 Even when, in 1992, the United Nations adopted the 'Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities', and even though a number of rights were guaranteed to minorities and to persons belonging to these minorities, a clear definition of 'minority' was never given. Similarly, a definition is not given in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities adopted in 1995 by the Council of Europe. 2 Indeed, there have been different attempts in international law to define such a concept. The first attempt in this field was by Pablo de Azcárate, at that time director for the Minorities Questions Section at the League of Nations. In a study entitled League of Nations and National Minorities-an Experiment, de Azcárate proposed a definition of 'national minority' that, according to him, refer to 'a more or less considerable proportion of the citizens of a state who are of a different "nationality" from that of the majority'. 3 He went on to say that 'what in the last resort constitutes the distinctive and characteristic features of a national minority is the existence of a national consciousness, accompanied by linguistic and cultural differences'. 4 While the focus of this definition is clearly on national minorities, as the title of his study shows, it is interesting to note that de Azcárate mentions language and culture as distinctive elements that a national minority should have to distinguish itself, together with, obviously, a feeling of national consciousness. Language is also mentioned * Carlo De Angelo is the author of paragraph no. 2. Serena Tolino is the author of paragraphs nos. 1, 3 and 4. The conclusion has been written by both the authors. The Arabic transliteration system we used for this special dossier is ISO 233. Terms that are included in the Merriam Webster dictionary have been not transliterated.-We would like to thank Pat FitzGerald for her careful copy-editing of the special dossier. 1 BARTEN 2015b: 162. 2 COUNCIL OF EUROPE 1995. 3 DE AZCÁRATE 1945: 3. 4 Ibid.: 4.
‘MINORITIES’ IN ISLAMIC HISTORY: An Analytical Study of Four Documents
The idea of religious minority faces difficulties operating in the framework of a nation and nation-state. The religious minority groups do not necessarily share a compact territorial space, same language or ethnicity. Consequently it is hard for them to function as even a ‘sub-nation’. These problems are perhaps created by the fact that the concepts of ‘nation’ and ‘nation-state’ have not properly defined the role and status of non-majority groups. The problem of religious minority is more complex, due to its probable origins in the medieval political thought in which the legitimacy of the political power was derived from religion. The political order in this period was not necessarily based on the principle of the majority rule. The medieval kings often treated even the majority religious groups of their subjects as minorities if they differed with them in religion or in religious denomination within one religion. They did not enjoy the same status as that of the ruling class. People of different religious persuasion were entitled to “protection” within the confines of a religious community, represented by institutionalized religious leadership. This legal framework is hard to operate in a modern state, particularly in a democratic setting. In order to understand the complexity of the problem, we must study the various historical contexts in which the idea grew. It is also necessary to make us aware of the need to distinguish between different historical contexts so as not to use one context as a criterion to judge another. Plainly speaking, we should not judge the past by present standards, nor should we expect the past measures to work effectively in the present context.
How have Muslims, past and present, thought about the experience of living under non-Muslim rule? Does being a minority religion change the way Islam is practiced? What sort of religious freedoms have Muslims defined as being important? Can there be an authentic Islam where the Shariʿa cannot be enforced? This anthology of fatwas showcases diverse reflections by major Muslim thinkers on the political, social, and theological ramifications of living in places with non-Muslim governments. These documents, which span the fourteenth to the twenty-first centuries, reflect on the experiences of Muslim communities in such places as medieval Christian Spain, India, French Africa, Europe, the United States, and Israel/Palestine. Providing newly translated fatwas together with informative introductions and explanatory notes, this book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Islamic law, interreligious encounters, colonialism, comparative world history, and the Muslim experience of minorityhood.
2. Rethinking Islamic law for Europe
Imams in Western Europe, 2018
The fiqh al-aqalliyāt ('Islamic law for Muslim minorities') is based on the problematic concept of living outside the 'Land of Islam'. This chapter offers a brief survey of the criteria for a land to be judged a 'Land of Islam'. It is shown that the basic criteria are the freedom and security for Muslims to practice the basic sha c ā'ir al-islām ('Islamic rules') and to serve al-c adl ('the cause of justice'). Ironically, a general assessment of many Western and Eastern Muslim-minority countries according to these criteria gives them a relatively high score on the 'Land of Islam' scale.