Islam and the Foundations of Political Power

Ali Abdel Razek

Paperback, 144 pages

9780748689835

Egypt, 1925: the Muslim world is in turmoil over Mustapha Kamal Ataturk's proposal to abolish the caliphate in Turkey. The debate over Islam and politics re-ignites as traditional political systems dissolve under pressure from European powers and most Muslim countries lose their sovereignty.

Into this debate enters Ali Abdel Razek, a religious cleric trained at Al-Azhar University, arguing in favour of secularism in his essay 'Islam and the Foundations of Political Power', translated here for the first time.

Contents:

Book One: The caliphate and Islam
1: The nature of the caliphate
2: The status of the caliphate
3: The caliphate from the social point of view

Book Two: Islam and government
4: The system of power at the time of the Prophet
5: Prophecy and power
6: Islam: a message from God rather than a system of government a religion rather than state

Book Three: The caliphate and the government throughout history
7: Religious unity and the Arab people
8: The Arab State
9: The nature of the caliphate