Abdessamad Belhaj

Authority in Contemporary Islam

Structures, Figures and Functions

Introduction

Albeit contested, modern Western states play a central role in regulating public morality. Some states consider morality a legitimate government interest in connection to sexual practices;1 other states act as purveyors of morality through various state institutions (schools, etc.)2 while other states renegotiate their roles in public morality amidst tensions between religion and secularism.3 Challenged by rising religious claims in the public sphere, liberal Western states responded by searching for a balance between the “restrain” they should practice on moral questions (as secular states) and the need to enforce a moral code to implement effective policies.4 In this regard, Talal Asad described the liberal perception of the state, as that “which believed it was necessary to forcibly educate its subject populations until they had truly developed that capacity and could exercise the right to self-government in a responsible manner”.5

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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