September 13, 2012

Fethullah Gulen on "Islam and State"

Q: What is the Islamic understanding of “state”? What is the place of “state” in the Qur’an? Many contemporary Muslims have spoken out about the establishment of an Islamic state based on the principles of Shariah — could you kindly give me your thoughts on the subject.

Fethullah Gulen: Those who study and put forward opinions concerning the Islamic perspective of state and politics usually confuse Islam established by the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet with the Islam as constructed through the historical experiences of Muslims and of course based on shari’ah (legal) principles, and also the superficially observed Islam of the modern times. They come up with various shapes and forms in the name of Islam; sometimes using Qur’anic citations, a few selected sayings of the Prophet, or sometimes ideas and suggestions of one of our contemporary thinkers and they vow to make their interpretation reign if they have the opportunity.