Political Theology and Islam: From the Birth of Empire to the Modern State

Paul L. Heck's Political Theology and Islam offers a comprehensive analysis of sovereignty in Islamic society, tracing its origins to the Prophet Muhammad and extending to the present. It argues that politics in Islam is a struggle for a moral order between ruling powers and pious communities, with sovereignty split between them. The book demonstrates how Islamic conceptions of sovereignty are constructed and negotiated through these interactions, and provides a touchstone of scholarship in the field of Muslim politics and intellectual thought.

Format: Hardback
Length: 530 pages
Publication date: 15 November 2023
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press

Paul L. Heck's Political Theology and Islam provides a thorough and comprehensive examination of sovereignty in Islamic society, spanning from its origins to the present. This extensive study aims to address the deceptively complex question: What is politics in Islam? Heck's response takes the shape of a meticulous analysis of sovereignty throughout Islamic history, approached from the perspective of political theology. As he elucidates, the history of politics in Islam can be best understood as an ongoing struggle for a moral order between those who hold positions of rulership and religious voices that convey the ethics of Islam and educate the public in their religious and moral devotions. In this sense, sovereignty in Islam is divided between ruling powers and pious communities, whose interactions range from close cooperation to outright competition. Heck demonstrates that it is precisely through these interactions that Islamic conceptions of sovereignty are constructed and negotiated.

Political Theology and Islam's first section outlines the concepts and methods for studying politics in Islam as a struggle for a moral order, encompassing diverse claims to sovereignty and a collective determination to uphold the righteousness of Islam, which forms the core of the Prophet Muhammad's message to his society in seventh-century Arabia. The subsequent sections showcase, through examples from both the past and the contemporary global Muslim community, the diverse ways in which the umma, the Muslim community, has strived for a moral order that resonates with its prophetic message. Skillfully navigating various political arenas and traversing a wide range of intellectual traditions, Heck's book will emerge as a significant contribution to the field of Islamic studies.

Weight: 914g
Dimension: 236 x 161 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780268207359