TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Critical Analysis of Taha Jabir al-Alwani’s Concept of Fiqh al-Aqalliyyāt
AB  - The issues concerning the legality of residing in non-Muslim territories havedirect and indirect ramifications for many Muslims who live in non-Muslimcountries including American Muslims. The term non-Muslim country refersto places where Islam is neither the dominant religion nor the determiner ofthe legal system or the political power. The applicability of Islamic law in nonMuslim countries, the territoriality of Islamic law, the obligations of Muslimresidents in non-Muslim societies, and the obedience to non-Muslim territories’laws can be regarded as the dimensions related to the status of Muslimminorities. All of these are evaluated to provide detailed legal opinions andinterpretations that govern the conduct of Muslim minorities. From the twentieth century onward, the incremental appearance ofMuslims in the non-Muslim environments, particularly in Europe and NorthAmerica, reinvigorated the discussion and evaluation of issues related toMuslim minorities. Within the North American and European contexts, manyMuslim scholars have intended to provide practicable and applicable Islamiclegal opinions (fatwās) to exigencies and problems that Muslim residentsencounter in these continents. In this regard, the primary religious questionthat American and European Muslims face is conceivable whether they can livetheir lives pursuant to relevant Islamic legal provisions in these continents.Potential answers to this question presumably result in Muslim scholars,notably American and European ones, in germinating the concept of Islamicjurisprudence of Muslim minorities (fiqh al-aqalliyyāt). It is therefore possibleto assert that the concept of fiqh al-aqalliyyāt is a response of Muslim scholars tothe immigration flow of Muslims to the West. The scholars have started to paymore attention to the problems of Muslim minorities and Taha Jabir al-Alwaniobtained reputation among them regarding his fiqh al-aqalliyyāt concept.Taha Alwani became well cognisant of the current divergence between themodern world and the traditional representation of Islamic law in the UnitedStates. Alwani’s fiqh al-aqalliyyāt concept can be identified as to envisage anintegrative method in which scientific discoveries, technological developments,economic systems, and social transformations are addressed through adoptingan originative approach towards fiqh. He calls for a collective ijtihād informulating new Islamic legal opinions and invites experts from various fieldsof social, physical, medical, and technological sciences to reach his purpose. Alwani’s method, therefore, takes into consideration present challenges,exigencies, and constraints that Muslim minorities encounter.The article specifically focuses upon Alwani’s life and his concept of fiqhal-aqalliyyāt intending to provide insight into his contributions to Islamiclaw in the twentieth century. In the first instance, his biography is succinctlypresented to demonstrate how the turning points in his life exerted influencesupon his concept of fiqh al-aqalliyyāt. In the second instance, attention turnsto his theory and opinions regarding the concept of fiqh al-aqalliyyāt. Some ofhis Islamic legal opinions that address controversial issues are engaged andanalysed with the intention of evidencing how Alwani operated the conceptof fiqh al-aqalliyyāt in solving problems that arise from the minority status ofMuslims. His opinions related to the depiction of the Prophet’s picture on theUnited States Supreme Court’s wall and the prescribed punishment for apostasyprovide insight into the concept of fiqh al-aqalliyyāt. By applying descriptive,analytical, and critical content analysis methods, the article sheds light onhis evaluation of the sunna as a source of legislation and clarifies the place ofsunna in his methodology. The article aims to examine the questionable statusof sunna in Alwani’s fiqh al-aqalliyyāt concept with his own interpretations.
AU  - Yakar, Emine Enise
AU  - Yakar, Sumeyra
DO  - 10.14395/hid.865002
PY  - 2021
JO  - Hitit ilahiyat dergisi
VL  - 20
IS  - 1
SN  - 2757-6957
SP  - 377
EP  - 404
DB  - TRDizin
UR  - http://search/yayin/detay/437936
ER  -