Ahmed Al-Raissouniâs Minimalist Political Theory: Freedom at the Nexus of Human Fiá¹­ra, Public Morality, and State Power

Mohamed Lamallam

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Chapter 16 Ahmed Al-Raissouniâs Minimalist Political Theory: Freedom at the Nexus of Human Fiá¹ra, Public Morality, and State Power

In: Contemporary Moroccan Thought

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Mohamed Lamallam

Mohamed Lamallam
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 435â459

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004519534_017

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Abstract

Ahmed Al-Raissouni (b. 1953) is a Moroccan jurisprudent who has risen to the global stage as a political theologian and commentator on Islamic issues. Al-Raissouni is well-known to Muslim scholars and the Arabic-speaking general public alike, largely owing to his involvement in, and leadership of, a major Islamist movement in his country, his frequent and sometimes controversial presence in the media, as well as his role as the ex-president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) from 2018 to 2022. One of the frequent themes in Al-Raissouniâs works and discourse â a generally evolving topic in contemporary Islamic thought â is the question of freedom. This chapter argues that Al-Raissouni invokes freedom to present his view of the relationship between individual liberties, public morality, and state power. This three-dimensional character of his concept of freedom raises internal tensions in his socio-political discourse. However, it is argued that the apparent incoherence of Al-Raissouniâs conception of freedom can be eased when we examine what I term the immediate purpose of his invocation of the term, which is twofold: (a) an attempt to counter what he views as the despotic tendencies of the state, which he mostly equates with the state monopoly of both religious and social affairs; and (b) an urgent quest to reform the Islamist movement from within, especially in light of the rise of violent and extremist trends such as ISIS. To achieve this double purpose, Al-Raissouni taps into his expertise in legal theory and maqÄá¹£id (the higher purposes of sharÄ«Ê¿a) to develop a minimalist political theory, in which the state plays critical, yet minimal, roles in Muslim life. By advancing his minimalist political theory, Al-Raissouni reflects (and also contributes to enacting) a new phase in the development of the Islamist movement and its view of the nation-state, which some literature terms âpost-Islamism.â

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Contemporary Moroccan Thought

On Philosophy, Theology, Society, and Culture

Series:Â Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East, Volume: 186

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004519534

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 24 Oct 2024

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Part 1 Projects in Philosophy and Philosophical Thought

Part 2 Projects in Theology, Theological Politics, and Sufism

Part 3 Projects in the Social Sciences and Cultural Studies

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Chapter 16 Ahmed Al-Raissouniâs Minimalist Political Theory: Freedom at the Nexus of Human Fiá¹­ra, Public Morality, and State Power

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Contemporary Moroccan Thought

On Philosophy, Theology, Society, and Culture

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Chapter 16 Ahmed Al-Raissouniâs Minimalist Political Theory: Freedom at the Nexus of Human Fiá¹ra, Public Morality, and State Power