Question
How does Shahrur distinguish between religion and power, between sovereignty and prohibition, and between the state and faith?
The Idea in the Atlas
This theme looks at the state as a civil organization of people, not as an apparatus for monopolizing religion. For Shahrur, sovereignty lies in God’s relation to what is lawful and unlawful, while the management of society, law, consultation, and citizenship remains a general human concern.
Quick Entry Points
- State and Religion
- State and Society
- Religion and Power
- Civil State
- Sovereignty
- Those in Authority
- Political legitimacy comes from human allegiance, not from religious mandate
- Political legitimacy comes from human allegiance
- The civil state in the Muhammadan message derives its legitimacy from people and governs by law
- Jahiliyya
- Jahiliyya becomes a tool of political classification
- An-Nisa 59
Questions for Reading
- What is the difference between the authority of the state and the authority of prohibition?
- How does Shahrur read those in authority?
- What is the place of citizenship in the civil state?
- Where does he differ from Islamists, and where does he differ from secularists?