This is a lexical entry that gathers the terminological meaning of this term in Shahrur’s work across his various books, linking its multiple uses.
This entry belongs to the Shahrur glossary. For reading by theme, see Shahrur’s major themes and shared concepts.
Meaning in Shahrur
The people are the broadest human collectivity included within a single state and a single economic and legal system, so belonging to it is an inclusive belonging that ranks above other affiliations without nullifying them. This meaning is used to define the level of the larger collectivity organized within a single political and social framework.
Distinctions
- It is not equivalent to every collectivity defined by behavior, language, or custom, for that is narrower than the meaning of the people
- It does not denote every level of belonging in absolute terms, but rather the collectivity brought together by one state and one system without negating other affiliations.
Passages from his books
- Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism: the people are the broadest collectivity brought together by one state and one economic and legal system. This concept helps untangle the confusion among affiliations, because the author distributes them across different levels rather than making them a single absolute meaning
What it adjoins and differs from
- Mutual recognition and multiple belonging create a collectivity without contradiction
- The collectivity is defined by behavior, language, or system
- The people are a collectivity with one system
- Multiple levels of belonging
- No contradiction between affiliations