Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Part I THE MAKING OF ISLAM AS A MODERN RELIGION
- 1 Modernization and Politicization of Religion
- 2 Nation-State Building and the Inclusion of Muslim Polities within the Westphalian Order
- 3 Islam in the Constitution
- 4 Nationalization of Islamic Institutions and Clerics
- 5 Islam in the Legal System
- 6 Teaching Islam in Public Schools
- Part II ISLAMISM AS THE PREEMINENT POLITICAL FORCE PRE– AND POST–ARAB SPRING
- Part III THE DISJUNCTION OF DEMOCRACY AND SECULARISM – LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE ARAB SPRING
- Appendix I Religious Violence Index
- Appendix II Egyptian Constitution, Ratified on December 26, 2012. Suspended on July 3, 2013
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
3 - Islam in the Constitution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Part I THE MAKING OF ISLAM AS A MODERN RELIGION
- 1 Modernization and Politicization of Religion
- 2 Nation-State Building and the Inclusion of Muslim Polities within the Westphalian Order
- 3 Islam in the Constitution
- 4 Nationalization of Islamic Institutions and Clerics
- 5 Islam in the Legal System
- 6 Teaching Islam in Public Schools
- Part II ISLAMISM AS THE PREEMINENT POLITICAL FORCE PRE– AND POST–ARAB SPRING
- Part III THE DISJUNCTION OF DEMOCRACY AND SECULARISM – LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE ARAB SPRING
- Appendix I Religious Violence Index
- Appendix II Egyptian Constitution, Ratified on December 26, 2012. Suspended on July 3, 2013
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
The phrasings that define Islam at the constitutional level can differ slightly from one country to another: “Islam is the religion of the state” or “Islam is the religion of the country.” They all lead, however, to the same outcome: the creation of Islam as a foundational element of the modern nation. As already mentioned, this is also the case for a country like Turkey that does not mention Islam in the constitution but has nevertheless included Islam in the homogenization process of nation building.
“ISLAM IS THE RELIGION OF THE STATE”
References to Islam in a state’s constitution often reinforce the negation or minimization of religious and/or ethnic diversity, as has occurred in modern Egypt. After the Free Officers’ coup turned into a revolution in 1952, the monarchy and the 1923 constitution were abolished under the new president, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Despite the secular Arab nationalist orientation of the new regime, Article 3 of the 1956 constitution declared that “Islam is the religion of the State, and the Arabic language is its official language.” In the 1971 constitution introduced by Anwar al-Sadat (1970–81), Article 2 reiterated that Islam was the religion of the state and added, “The principles of Islamic Shariʿa are a main source of legislation.” This article was amended on May 22, 1980, to state: “The principles of Islamic Shariʿa are the main source of legislation.” As a result, sources outside of Shariʿa supposedly no longer influenced legislation.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Awakening of Muslim DemocracyReligion, Modernity, and the State, pp. 31 - 48Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014