| This dissertation examines the development of an internal debate among Muslim minorities living in Western Europe and North America in contemporary time to establish a specific form of Islamic jurisprudence, fiqh al-aqalliyyat , that strikes a balance between Muslim's religious commitments and their civic identity as citizens in Western liberal states. Three key trends are identified in this debate. The puritan literalist trend, which is represented by the Wahhabi discourse, argues that Muslims should not reside in a non-Muslim polity. Moreover, Muslim minorities should disassociate themselves from non-Muslims and confine their loyalty to their fellow Muslims. The traditionalist trend, which is represented by the discourse of al-Azhar scholars, maintains that modern Muslim minorities can live in non-Muslim lands but they require exceptional rules and conditional fatwas to meet the requirement of their place and time. The renewal trend asserts the need for a new category of jurisprudence with a new methodological framework that normalizes and empowers Muslim minority life in non-Muslim society.;The study delineates these trends in detail and investigates their background, development and current conditions with special focus on the renewal trend and the discourse of fiqh al-aqalliyyat, since it has become the prevailing trend in the last decade. The study explores the jurists and institutions behind the production of this fiqh and examines factors that account for its production, dissemination and limitations. In particular, the study investigates the studies and thought of the pioneers of this discourse, sheikh Yusuf al-Qarad&dotbelow;awi and Dr. T&dotbelow;aha Jabir al-`Alwani, and explains the connection between their discourse on fiqh al-aqalliyyat and the discourse of legal reform of Muslim tradition in modern times. To move from theory to practice, the study presents a case study of how the discourse of fiqh al-aqalliyyat re-examined notions of world dichotomy to dar al-Islam and dar al-h&dotbelow;arb, loyalty and citizenship. |
