The Concept of an “Islamic State” and Its Applicability in the 21st Century: An Appraisal of Muhammad Asad’s Model

Year 2016, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 175 - 186, 15.06.2016

Showkat Ahmad Dar

Abstract

The Concept of an “Islamic State” and Its Applicability in the 21st Century: An Appraisal of Muhammad Asad’s Model

Abstract

With the evolution of statecraft in the West and before Kemal Ataturk’s abolition of the caliphate (khilāfah) in 1924, pro-Islamic scholars worldwide endeavored to formulate a political system that would be in conformity with the Shariah’s norms. The reactions to the conspiracies against the caliphate and the Muslim world’s fragmentation into nationstates were witnessed throughout the Muslim world, but especially in Egypt and the Indian subcontinent. Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) was the first person from the Indian subcontinent to take up this concept. He wrote Mas’alah Khilāfah (The Issue of the Caliphate, 1920), disseminated his ideas through his magazines al-Hilāl and al-Balāgh and founded the organization Hizbullah to establish God’s kingdom on Earth (Hukūmat-e-Ilāhiyyah). This was followed by the Khilāfah Movement (1919-1924), which sought to restore the caliphate.

Keywords

Islamic State, 21st century, Muhammad Asad

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