Beyond Literalism: What Should the Most Just Islamic Society Look Like?
I've been thinking about a question that goes much deeper than whether one particular interpretation of Islam is right or wrong. The question is: If Islam is meant to guide human beings toward justice, morality and a good society, what should the most just Islamic society actually look like? And when I say "Islamic," I don't mean simply reproducing every rule found in a medieval fiqh manual. Nor do I mean taking modern liberalism as the standard and then trying to make Islam fit it. I mean something more fundamental: If we begin with what we can reasonably establish as Allah's revelation and the Prophet's guidance, distinguish that from later interpretation and historical practice, and then ask how those principles should be understood and implemented in our circumstances, what kind of society follows? This question matters because I increasingly see a gap between the Islam many Muslims are taught and the kind of society that many Muslims actually have to live...