An Examining Orientalists’ Doubts Regarding the Competence of Religion Regarding the Theorization in Governance

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 . Graduated from the Department of Quranic and Hadith Studies, University of Islamic Education, Qom, Iran (Corresponding Author)

2 Full Professor and Faculty Member of the Quran and Hadith Higher Education Complex, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran

10.22034/jqopv.2024.9430

Abstract

Since the Enlightenment, Western academia has consistently adopted a critical stance towards the role of religion in theoretical and practical politics, often marginalizing religion from scientific and major decision-making arenas. Consequently, Orientalists, when analyzing Islamic sources, particularly the Holy Quran, have raised several significant criticisms, including: 1. The purported absence of a governance model within the Quran; 2. The Quran’s alleged dependence on previous, ineffective models; 3. The perceived temporal limitations of the Quran’s political rulings; 4. The view that the Quran’s political approach is idealistic and impractical; 5. The assertion that the Quran’s political model represents an unsuccessful experiment. Given the importance of this discourse and its impact on contemporary Muslim intellectuals, this paper employs library research and a descriptive-analytical methodology to review and assess these theories. The findings of the research demonstrate that, in light of numerous Quranic references to political and governance issues, the Quran’s validity as an independent divine revelation, the enduring relevance of its rulings, the practicality and enforceability of its political directives and the existence of successful governance models based on the Quran throughout Islamic history, none of the aforementioned criticisms holds. Therefore, the foundational principles of religious governance derived from the Quran, as a superior political framework, merit serious consideration in contemporary contexts.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 03 January 2024
  • Revise Date: 15 March 2024
  • Accept Date: 21 May 2024

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