Shari'a and Muslim Minorities

About this book

"Based on a comparative analysis of several thousand religio-juristic treatises and fatwās (religious decisions), Sharīʻa and Muslim Minorities: The wasaṭi and salafī approaches to fiqh al-aqalliyyāt al-Muslima offers the most systematic and comprehensive study to date of the religious law of Muslim minorities - the field in Islamic jurisprudence that treats issues that are unique to Muslims living in majority non-Muslim societies. The book argues that two main contesting approaches to fiqh al-aqalliyyāt al-Muslima, the wasaṭī and salafī, have developed, in part dialectically. While both envision a a future Islamizing of the West as a main justification for Muslim residence in the West, the wasaṭī approach is pragmatic, facilitating, and integration-minded, whereas the salafī calls for strict application of religious norms and for introversion. The volume examines diverse and highly-debated juristic issues, including the permissibility of naturalizing in non-Muslim states, participating in their electoral systems, serving in their militaries and police forces, taking mortgages and student loans, accepting a Christmas cash bonus or congratulating Christians on their holiday, and working in professions that involve breaching of religio-legal prohibitions (e.g. serving pork). Discussions highlight the diversity within contemporary Islamic jurisprudence and introduce new nuances to highly-charged concepts such as proselytizing, integration, and multiculturalism"--Unedited summary from book jacket.