Islam and the Foundations of Political Power

Egypt, 1925: the Muslim world is in turmoil over Mustapha Kamal Ataturk's proposed abolition of the caliphate in Turkey. The tension surrounding Islam and politics re-ignites as traditional political systems dissolve under pressure from European powers and most Muslim countries lose their sovereignty. Into this debate enters Ali Abdel Razek, a religious cleric trained at Al-Azhar University, arguing in favour of secularism in his essay 'Islam and the Foundations of Political Power', translated here for the first time. This edition includes a contextualising introduction, Razek's original footnotes and new explanatory notes, additional notes about particular people, events and vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to modern readers, and an appendix with a list of Razek's sources and their full publication details.