Governing Diversity: Reflections on the Doctrine and Tradition of Religious Accommodation in Islam
Abstract
Abstract Views: 363
The problématique of governing diversity has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention but literature has largely overlooked the challenges appertaining to growing religious diversity in many places. The contemporary power sharing models and multicultural policies which are of a secular nature fall short of the expectations to foster peaceful coexistence in multi-religious societies. The primary concern of this paper is to manifest how religion can help us to lessen faith based violence. It is argued that religious traditions may offer valuable insights to design more inclusive governance. In this backdrop, the current paper evaluates the Islamic values of religious accommodation to gauge how helpful they are for designing inclusive policies in religiously diverse societies. The analysis illustrates that Islamic doctrine contemplates the politics of accommodation and forbearance. The pluralistic approach of Islam offered religious autonomy to non-Muslims in the state of Madinah. The ‘millet system’ established by the Ottoman Empire is widely admired for granting non-territorial autonomy in the matters related to religion, culture, and personal laws to non-Muslims. This display of an Islamic pluralistic approach at different junctures of Muslim history attests the capacity of the Islamic values of accommodation to nurture peaceful coexistence in modern societies. However, it requires a more unbiased and rigorous analysis to convince the global audience in this regard.
Downloads
References
Abu-Munshar, Maher Younes. "A Historical Study of Muslim Treatment of Christians in Islamic Jerusalem at the Time of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab and Salah Al-Din with Special Reference to Islamic Value of Justice." Un Published PhD Thesis, Dundee:University of Abertay, UK, 2003.
Abu Yusuf, Yaʿqūb Ibrāhīm al-Anṣārī al-Kūfī. Kitab ul Kharāj. Beruit: Dar ul Maarifa, 1996.
Adeney, Katharine."How can We Model Ethnic Democracy? An Application to Contemporary India." Nations and Nationalism, 2020. Accessed 08 08, 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12654. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12654
Al-Asfahani, Abu Nuyam. Hilya tul Aoliya wa Tabqatul Asfiya Vol. 4. Beruit: Dar ul Fikar ul Arabi, 1992.
Al-Bukhari, Muhammad b Ismail. Al-Jamai Al- Sahih. Beruit: Dar ul Maarifa, 2015.
Al-Buladhari, Ahmad ibn-e-Yahya. Ansaab ul Ashraaf Vol. 3. Egypt: Dar ul Muarif, 2016.
Ali, Kalbe. Construction of Hindu Temple Opposed. DAWN, 2020.7 02. Accessed 7 20, 2020. https://www.dawn.com/news/1566418/construction-of-hindu-temple-opposed.
Arnold, Thomas Walker. The Preaching of Islam. Lahore: Idara Islamiat, 1995.
Ataman, Muhittin. "Islamic Perspective on Ethnicity and Nationalism: Diversity or Uniformity?" Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 23, no.1 (2003): 89-102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13602000305929
Baderin, Mashood."Islamic Law and International Protection of Minority Rights in Context." In Marie-Luisa Frick, and Andreas Th Müller, (Eds.), Islam and International Law: Engaging Self-Centrism from a Plurality of Perspectives, 309-348., Leiden: Brill, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004233362_016
Barq, Ghulam Jilani. Europe per Islam kay Ihsan. Lahore: Sheikh Ghulam Nabi and Sons, 2005.
al-Bayhaqi, Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Ḥusayn Ibn 'Alī ibn Mūsa al-Khosrojerdi. Al-Sunan Vo.4. Beruit: Dar ul Kutab Al-Ilmia, 1990.
Bouma, Gary D. "From Hegemony to Pluralism: Managing Religious Diversity in Modernity and Post-Modernity." Australian Religion Studies Review 12, no. 2 (1999): 7-27.
Considine, Craig. Pluralism and the Najran Christians: How Prophet Muhammad Went Beyond Tolerance. ( 2017) Accessed 7 12, 2020. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pluralism-and-the-najran-christians_b_9235554.
Esman, Milton J. "The Politics of Official Bilingualism in Canada." Political Science Quarterly 97, no. 2 (1982): 233-253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2149477
Gagnon, Alain-G., and Richard Simeon."Canada." In Luis Moreno and César Colino, (Eds.), Diversity and Unity in Federal Countries, 110-138., Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010.
Halafoff, Anna. , and Paul Hedges. "Globalisation and multifaith societies." Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 25, no.2 (2015): 135-161.
Hassan, Ibrahim. Musalmano ka Nazm–e-Mamlikat, Translated by Molvi Aleem Ullah, Vol. 2. Karachi: Dar ul Isha’at, 1995.
Hitti, Philip K. History of the Arabs. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1970. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15402-9
Ibn-e-Abdul Barr, Ysuf ibn Abd Allah. Al-Istiab fi Marifatul Ashaab. Vol. 3. Egypt: Maktaba tul Kuliyat ul Azharia, 1990.
Ibn-e-Athir, Ali. Al-Kāmil fit Tarīkh Vol. 5. Beruit: Dar-e-Sadar, 2014.
—.Usudul Ghaba Fi Maarifa Tus Sahaba Vol. 1. Egypt: Dar ul Kutab, 2016.
Jaffrelot, Christophe. "India’s Democracy at 70: Toward a Hindu State?" Journal of Democracy 28, no. 3 (2017): 52-63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2017.0044
Jupp, James."Religion and Integration in a Multifaith Society." In Michael Clyne and James Jupp, (Eds.), Multiculturalism and Integration: A Harmonious Relationship, 135-150., Canberra: The Australian National University, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22459/MI.07.2011.08
KanPuri, A. R. Al-Baramqa. Karachi: Nafees Academy, 1990.
Khuri, Richard."True and False Pluralism in Relation to the West and Islam." In Plamen Makariev, (Eds.), Islamic and Christian Cultures: Conflict or Dialogue, 225-244.,The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy: Washington, D.C.,2001.
Kishi, Katayoun. Key Findings on the Global Rise in Religious Restrictions. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. (2018). Accessed 07 27, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/21/key-findings-on-the-global-rise-in-religious-restrictions/.
Lane-Poole, Stanley. The Moors in Spain. London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1960.
Leake, William Martin. Travels in Northern Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511740206
Lewis, Bernard., and Benjamin Braude. Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1982.
Masters, Bruce. Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Arab World: The Roots of Sectarianism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Muir, William. The Life Mahomet. London: Smith Elder and Company, 1958.
Mushtaq, Muhammad. Consociationalism and Multiethnic States: Post-1971 Pakistan -A Case Study. Un-Published PhD Thesis. Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan, 2011. http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/2722/1/1232S.pdf.
Nadvi, Shah Mueen Ali. Tareekh e Islam [History of Islam, Urdu] Vol. 1. Idara Islamiat Lahore: Lahore, 2009.
O'Leary, Brendan. "Governing Diversity." In Steven Vertovec, (Eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Diversity Studies, 203-215., London and New York: Routledge,2015.
Patmawati. "Inter-Religious Relations in the Period of Prophet Muhammad." Al-Albāb 5, no. 2 (2016): 175-193. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v5i2.354
Pfaff-Czarnecka, Joanna. "Accommodating Religious Diversity in Switzerland." In Paul Bramadat and Matthias Koenig, (Eds.), International Migration and the Governance of Religious Diversity, 225-257., Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009.
Rehman, Javaid. "Accommodating Religious Identities in an Islamic State: International Law, Freedom of Religion and the Rights of Religious Minorities." International Journal on Minority and Group Rights 7, no. 2 (2000): 139-165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718110020907945
Sabaee, Mustafa. Islami Tehzeeb kay Chand Darakhshan Pehlu (translated by Maroof Shah Shirazi). [Few Prominent Features of Civilization]. Lahore: Islamic Publications, 1988.
al-San’ani, Abd al-Razzaq. Al-Musaanaf. Vol. 4. India: Al-Majlis ul Ilmi, 2016.
Shibli, Noumani. Al-Mamoon. Islamabad: National Book Foundation, 2005.
Sirry, Mun'im. "The Public Role of Dhimmīs During ʿAbbāsid Times." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 74, no. 2 (2011): 187-204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X11000024
Spencer, William. Turkey: Sarzameen aur Bashinday (Translated by Ghulam Rasool Mehar ). Lahore: Fiction House, 2000.
Tabari, Muhammad ibn-e-Jarīr. Tarīkh ul Ummam wal Mulook. Cairo : Matbaʻa al-Istikāma, 2017.
Tritton, Arthur Stanley. Caliphs and their Non-Muslim Subjects: A Critical Study of the Covenant of 'Umar. New York: Routledge, 2008.
Turner, Bryan S. "Managing Religions: State Responses." Contemporary Islam 1, no. 2 (2007): 123-137. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-007-0011-1
Wahab, Abdul. Al-Khulafa Al-Rashidoon. Beruit: Dar ul Kutab Al-Ilmiya, 2018.
Wasim, Amir. Real Issue Funding, not Construction of Hindu Temple: Noorul Haq Qadri. Edited by DAWN. (2020) 07 08. Accessed 07 18, 2020. https://www.dawn.com/news/1567777.
Wyler, Dina. "The Swiss Minaret Ban Referendum and Switzerland’s International Reputation: A Vote with an Impact." Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 37, no. 4 (2017): 413-425. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2017.1405506
Yildirim, Yetkin. "The Medina Charter: A Historical Case of Conflict Resolution." Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 20, no. 4 (2009): 439-450. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410903194894
Zia-ul-Haq, Muhammad. "Religious Diversity: An Islamic Perspective." Islamic Studies 49, no. 4 (2010): 493-519.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.