The Rise and Fall of Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Political Thought

This essay responds to reviewers of The Caliphate of Man and proposes some questions for the future of Islamic political thought.

Ultimate Sovereignty and the Flexibility of the Islamic Caliphate/Democracy

March’s exceptional book profoundly deals with the ideas of popular sovereignty and the Caliphate in modern Islamic political thought. While this book covers the concept of popular sovereignty in quite detail, March’s portrayal fails to convince the reader whether or not Islamic democracies are possible as a result. Based on previous work on medieval Islamic political thought and public attitudes towards the Caliphate, I argue that conceptions of Islamic government have differed according to context, place and time, and in the modern era the public views the Caliphate as a vehicle for justice and welfare. This implies that Islamic government can still be broadly based on the principles of modern Islamic political thought while the exact institutional configurations may still be able to differ according to place, time and context. In conclusion, while March’s book carefully synthesizes the theoretical debates, it might not have far-reaching practical implications for Islamic democracy.

The Place of Politics in the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad: the History of the Issue from al-Karafi to the Ideologists of the Islamic revolution in Iran

The article analyzes one of the fundamental issues of Islamic political thought - the origin of the military-political actions of the Prophet Muhammad. This is an issue that has been the subject of serious debate and controversy among Muslim thinkers for many centuries. The author compares two opposing points of view of Muslim scholars of different eras on this issue. According to the first – the political decisions of the Prophet Muhammad must be perceived as the fruit of revelation, according to the second – they are still the result of a bright political talent. Having decided on the arguments of each of the parties and as an arbiter, the author turns to the Holy Quran. Various examples from the scriptures of Muslims lead to the conclusion that political and military decisions made as a result of revelation occupy a significant place in the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. However, the author cites the example of a case when the Prophet Muhammad made important military-political decisions at his own discretion or as a result of a meeting with his companions. Summarizing the examples, taking into account the lessons of Islamic history and the modern political process, the author comes to the conclusion that the fundamental principles of Islamic rule established by the Prophet Muhammad are of Quranic origin, and they are mandatory for Muslim leaders. Guided by these principles, Muslim leaders are free to make decisions in one form or another, depending on the prevailing circumstances. The Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad reflect the principles and essence of Islamic politics. External forms are seen as a changeable phenomenon, and in traditional Islamic discourse, the interest in understanding them is usually not so great.

The Concept of Al-Ta’ah (Obedience) To Muslim Leadership From The Islamic Political Thought

This article, as the title suggests, is to examine the ideas and concepts of obedience to Muslim leadership from Islamic Political Thought. Using qualitative methods and content analysis techniques, this article raises other issues involved such as the discussion of obedience to ideals and reality. it is certain that Islam has asserted that those who are entitled to be obeyed are Allah SWT, Prophet Muhammad SAW and the best and pious Muslim leaders (uli al-amr, Imam, Khalifah, Wali, Wasi, 'Alim). and Amir) at any time. Islam also states that following such a leader means following the truth.

Islam and State: A Study on Al-Mawardi and An-Nabhani’s thought and its Compatibility in Indonesian Context

Even though study concerning Islam and politics has been conducted by many researchers, few of them investigating about compatibility of Islamic political thoughts, which originated from the classical and medieval periods that have been influencing Islamic political movements and thoughts in Indonesia, with Indonesian context. Thoughts of Imam al-Mawardi (lived in the 12th Century) and Taqiyuddin al-Nabhani (lived in the 20th Century) are some of them that should be mentioned in this regard. Islamic political thoughts of al-Mawardi become the main reference for Sunni Muslims who are majority in Indonesia, while Islamic political thought of al-Nabhani become the main guidance of HTI (Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia) movement of which its members and followers are many in Indonesia. This article investigates about the political thoughts of al-Mawardi and al-Nabhani concerning the relationship between Islam and state as well as their compatibility with Indonesian context. This study uses the library research in which its primary resources are books written by al-Mawardi entitled Al-Ahkam al-Sulthaniyah and al-Nabhani entitled Ad-Daulah al-Islamiyah. By utilizing qualitative content analysis, data were collected and analyzed. This article argues that the Islamic political thought of al-Mawardi has been adopted by majority of Indonesian Sunni Muslims with some adjustments with Indonesian context, so that his thoughts become compatible with the concept of modern nation-state of Indonesia. On the other side, Islamic political thought of al-Nabhani which developed within a spirit of resistance to Western (European) colonialism has been adopted and campaigned by HTI without adjustment with Indonesian context. This causes al-Nabhani’s thought clashes with the concept of modern nation-state of Indonesia.

Saeculum-Mundus Politik Indonesia: Satu Kajian Filosofis dalam Perspektif Nurcholish Madjid

This article suggests some common opinions on Muslim’s worldview, which became the center of contention. This gives rise to perspective which states that the religion participation in government will bring the world of politics into the arena of theo-centrism that ends in authoritarianism. The research is qualitative, based on library research. The approach used is descriptive critical analysis. It aims to describe factual dynamics on Indonesian social-politic from philosophical point of view. The research finds that, on the second half of twentieth century, Nurcholish Madjid’s renewal idea on Islamic political thought (secularization) gets a variety of responses. Madjid suggested the need to separate religion from social-politic arena with his slogan, ‘Islam Yes, Islamic party No’. The basis of the idea is built on the concept of rationality as the main authority in the social science paradigm. Ideas or dogma, meanwhile, is part of historical development which has to be submissive to conditions that always change. Everything that “exist” has to change, the only absolute one is the change itself.

STATE IDEALISM AND THE EMERGING DEMOCRATIZATION CHALLENGES OF INDONESIA POST-POLITICAL ELECTION IN ABU NASR AL-FARABI’S PARADIGM OF QUR’ANIC EXEGESIS

Over 11 centuries, Abu Nasr al-Farabi (d. 950) is well-known as a great philosopher and political scientist. Few studies have examined al-Mu'allim al-Ṡani’s capacity as a Qur’anic interpreter. Even though Al-Farabi has never written a complete Qur’anic exegesis book, he is noticed consistently paraphrasing verses of the Qur’an into political statements to justify the interrelatedness between Islamic political thought with Ancient Greek’s one which inspired from Plato and Aristotle. This characteristic is seen in some of his masterpieces as Arāyat Ahl al-Madīnah al-Faḍīlah and al-Siyāsah al-Madīnah. This paper seeks the potential adaptation of al-Farabi's idea about the ideal society, based on his alteration of Qur’anic verses into political concepts, as an alternative to fulfill the shortfall of Indonesian democracy. The article reflects al-Farabi's thoughts in the context of democratization challenges in Indonesia post-political campaign and suggested that its practice of democration is still considered as a "green" and imperfect form. Keywords: Abu Nasr al-Farabi; madīnah al-fadhīlah al-sa’ādah, Democratization Challenges. Qur’anic Exegesis

Sufi Nasionalis dalam Al-Qur’an: Potret Intelektual Islam Nasionalis Berkepribadian Wasathiyah

The determination of Pancasila as the basis of the state is fundamental to the state. Because the basis of the state can be positioned as a reference for the compilation of a constitution. Since being positioned as the basis of the state, its position has been shaken due to the feud between Islamic intellectuals in responding to problems with the form and system of government in Indonesia. In fact, for a country, building the foundation of the state or the basis of state philosophy (philosofische grondslog) is a fundamental thing. In these three disputes, there are paradigm patterns, namely the fundamentalist paradigm (intending to implement Islamic law as an Islamic state), the reform paradigm (only inserting substantial religious values into the government system), and the accommodationist paradigm (cooperative with existing governments). These three paradigms have always adorned the zones of Islamic political thought in Indonesia. This paper aims to produce Islamic thinkers who accept the position of Pancasila with the nationalist Sufi initials. Because a Sufi is a Muslim who is more deeply Islamic. Through the exploration of the verses of the Al-Qur'an on humanity and unity, the writer finds this nationalist Sufi portrait as a human being who deserves to be the caliph of Allah Ta'ala on earth.Keywords: Al-Qur'an, Sufi, Nationalist, Humanity, Pancasila