Islam and the Drive to Global Justice: Principles of Justice Beyond Dominant Ethnic and Religious Communities (Faith and Politics: Political Theology in a New Key)

Islam and the Drive to Global Justice: Principles of Justice Beyond Dominant Ethnic and Religious Communities contributes to the current debate over Islam in a globalizing world by drawing on the contemporary and historical justice discourse within the Islamic traditions, and by examining policies and practices of global powers towards Muslim populations in the Global South. The discussions aim at bringing insights from Islamic authoritative sources and scholarly literature, and to enrich the current deliberation on the universality of modern values and the relevance of the Islamic traditions to advancing more inclusive notion of global justice. The book examines in particular several models rooted in the monotheistic traditions, crucial for overcoming three interrelated challenges facing the dispensation of justice in contemporary society: inclusivity, disparity, and selectivity. The book uses the normative framework it outlines to analyze the connection between European powers and the autocratic regimes in the MENA region. Several chapters in the book illustrate how supporting Arab autocracy contributes to the rise of religious extremism and has already produced failed states in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen that undermine both national and global peace and stability. Contents Introduction REEVALUATING THE GROUNDS FOR A JUST GLOBAL ORDER Islamic Rational Idealism and the Universalization of Justice Justice in the Qur’an Sensory Aesthetics of Belief and Unbelief in the Qur'an and Its Impact on Interreligious and Intersocietal Relations The Islamic Inflection of Connective Justice Sharia and Freedom Toward a Civilizational Ethos GLOBAL CONFLUENCE IN THE MUSLIM SOUTH Muslim Intellectuals and Global Justice Toward a Justice-Based Foreign Policy Religious Diversity in Arab Society Arab Authoritarianism and Western Complacency Conclusion Index About the Contributors