Abdessamad Belhaj

Authority in Contemporary Islam

Structures, Figures and Functions


Conclusion: limits to the moralising state

When a state claims a moralising role in the public space this implies that it is, in some respects, an authority on morality. That is to say, a state that moralises a public space possesses the knowledge of the right and the wrong and a de facto need to be an epistemic authority in the field of morality. Thus, the moralising state in Muslim contexts faces some major limitations when it assumes the position as an arbiter of moral authority. On the one hand, the state is somehow compelled to play by the book, as it is expected to endorse the Islamic sources of morality (the major sources of ethics in the Muslim world) by incorporating Islamic ethics and law in state institutions. The more a state embraces a moralising role, the more it comes under criticism and attack by liberal voices (inside and outside the country in question); and the less it does so, the more it exposes itself to attacks by conservative and Islamist voices.1 On the other hand, since Muslim religious scholars are the most versed in their understanding in terms of knowing what is the appropriate Islamic ethical conduct, states are bound to rely on them as epistemic authorities to provide the necessary justification modern states normally cannot provide.2 This lacuna grants opportunities for religious authorities to play a role in the state’s action, adding to the ambivalence of the state in Muslim contexts. Furthermore, moralisation, being one dimension of the state’s sovereignty and justification, the function of which is to ensure “moral security” and maintain the moral order, can be sacrificed if it comes at the expense of other priorities on the scale of priorities related to state security.

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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