Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a.

• Author: Akhtar, Rajnaara C.
• Position: Book review

Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a (2008) by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

Professor Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim is an internationally renowned scholar of Islam and human rights and much of his work focuses on cross-cultural perspectives. Currently Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory Law School in the USA, Professor An-Na'im is also Global Legal Scholar at the University of Warwick School of Law.

Islam and the Secular State is a groundbreaking, if somewhat controversial book, which challenges many traditional Muslim views and beliefs relating to the correlation between 'Shari'a' and the state. As such, An-Na'im expected, and indeed received, a great deal of criticism of this work. However, having been present within at least one such public presentation of his theory, the reviewer feels compelled to commend An-Na'im on his confident prose and informed confutation of many opposing arguments.

Much of An-Na'im's theory balances on the belief that Islam is a religion that requires voluntary acceptance and voluntary compliance. While not many Muslims would refute the former, it is the latter which gives rise to debate. An-Nai'im suggests that reform is necessary in the very basic understanding of Shari'a by Muslims and challenges the prevalent conception that the state has the ability to enforce Shari'a. He offers examples from historic Islamic societies in order to persuade the readers of his opinion and utilises such histories in order to reinforce the premises of his theory that the notion of Shari'a by its very nature must remain separate from the state.

Islam and the Secular State is divided into seven chapters, the first three of which are dedicated to advancing An-Na'im's theory in the context of Islamic history and human rights standards including constitutionalism and citizenship. Chapters' four to six focus on specific examples of Shari'a and the state in history, covering three immensely diverse accounts: India, Turkey and Indonesia. The book is rounded up in Chapter seven with a comprehensive conclusion re-asserting the proposal that ' negotiating the future of Shariah' requires a separation of Islam and the state.

An-Na'im's introductory Chapter is titled 'Why Muslims need a Secular state' and presents a potent reminder to the reader that this book intends to challenge conventional thinking. Modern examples of secular states have presented Muslims with challenges to their religious identities, such as France and Turkey, and thus any reference to...