Abdessamad Belhaj

Authority in Contemporary Islam

Structures, Figures and Functions


What is authority?

In recent years, researchers have shown a renewed interest in authority, and religious authority in particular.1 The subject of authority in its various manifestations is rich and complex, therefore, let us first define authority; the prestigious The Brill Dictionary of Religion defines authority as “a pattern of voluntary subordination to the resolutions of those who claim prestige or influence”.2 Authority itself derives from the Latin auctoritas (“prestige”, “influence”) which was distinguished in Roman antiquity from potestas (“power”, “control”), to designate a relationship of voluntary subordination without direct application of force, practiced by the senate, relating to prestige, dignity and trust.3

Authority in Contemporary Islam

Tartalomjegyzék


Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó – Ludovika Egyetemi Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2024

ISBN: 978 963 454 960 4

Authority is a key question in Islamic studies and beyond. This book examines the nature, figures, structures and functions of religious authority in contemporary Islamic ethics. It also discusses how Islamic authority and political power compete and/or cooperate in Muslim contexts and Europe. Moreover, it provides a coherent framework to understand authority as a moral foundation in relation to community, power, tradition and subversion. Various cases from Europe and the Muslim world are studied here to showcase the claims and practices of authority in their contexts. Despite its active role and resourcefulness in contemporary Islam, religious authority has to confront many limitations, including the dynamics of secularisation and individualisation. The author is a senior researcher at the Religion and Society Research Institute of the Eötvös József Research Centre at the University of Public Service (Budapest).

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/belhaj-authority-in-contemporary-islam//

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