Status of Religious Minorities in a Modern Islamic State as Discoursed in the Works of Yusuf al-Qaradawi

Abstract

Participation religious minorities in the political process of a contemporary Islamic state, and to what extent they can be a part of this, is a debatable issue in Muslim intellectual discourse, and, as well as one of the main points of difference between west and Islam because western values of modernity, democracy and equality are not compatible with Islamic ones in some aspects. Muslim intellectual class has responded this issue in different ways. This article at intended to identify approach of famous Muslim scholar Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1926-2022) in regards to equality of religious minorities, in the political sphere of an Islamic state of modern world, on the one hand, and the studies critical to his approach, on the other hand. From the large body of literature produced by Shaikh al-Qaradawi, we have, mainly, consulted four of his prominent publications relevant to the topic; Al-Deenu WA al-syaasatu, Ta’seelun WA Raddu Shubhaatin. Min Fiqh al-Daulah fil-Islam. Al-Waṭanu wal-Muwāṭana fī Ḍawʾ al-Uṣūl al-Aqadiyya wal-Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿiyya. And, Musalman Muashron me Ghair Muslmon k Huquq o Faraiz (translated).