Political Theory
Our approach to political theory focuses on the Umma as a central conceptual space in the study of descriptive/empirical questions in political science as well as prescriptive/normative questions in political philosophy.
Ummatic political theory covers broad issues pertaining to siyasa shar’iyya, iqamat al-din, and the nature of the Quranic mission, as well as human rights, questions of collective existence and action, and more. All of this is undertaken with and through an engagement of relevant scholarship from the Islamic and human sciences.
Some of the questions and areas covered by our study of Political Theory
Classical Islamic political theory (major thinkers, models, development, genealogy, critiques), with a particular focus on the theoretical aspects of the siyasa shar’iyya and ahkam sultaniyya literature
Analysis and critical evaluation of liberal political theory and its foundational concepts (freedom, democracy, secularism)
Political theory of the caliphate and its institutions
Analysis and critical evaluation of governance practices in historical caliphates
Analysis and critical evaluation of authoritarianism, dysfunction, and disunity in the post-colonial and contemporary Muslim world
Modern Islamic political theory (major thinkers, movements, models, development, genealogy, critiques), with a particular emphasis on their engagements with contemporary problems
Consideration and critique of non-liberal theories (including communitarian, agonistic, Christian, Marxist, feminist, and decolonial theories)
Latest on Political Theory
On Ḥakimiyyah: Sovereignty of God and Communal Authority
Ali Harfouch
July 16, 2023
Inventing Generation M: The Umma and Neoliberalism
Ali Harfouch
February 19, 2023
Irredeemable Failure: The Modern Nation-State as a Nullifier of Ummatic Unity
Joseph Kaminski
December 14, 2022
The Great Fitnah: Secular Power and Muslim Future(s)– Part 2
Ali Harfouch
September 12, 2022
The Great Fitnah: Secular Power and Muslim Future(s) – Part 1
Ali Harfouch
September 12, 2022
Secular Neutrality and the Failed Political Experiment in Tunisia
Joseph Kaminski
September 12, 2022