Islam and the foundations of political power / Ali Abdel Razek ; translated by Maryam Loutfi ; edited by Abdou Filali-Ansary.

'The publication of this essay in Egypt in 1925 took the contemporaries of Ali Abdel Razek by storm. Challenging fundamental ideas about political power, it was the focus of much attention and the seed of a heated debate. It was especially potent as at this time the Muslim world was in great turmoil over the questiion of the abolition of the caliphate by Mustapha Kemal Ataturk in Turkey. The essay gave rise to a series of'refutations' and unleashed the Arab world's first great public debate with polemics supporting or refuting Ali Abdel Razek's ideas published all over the press. Eventually he was tried by the al-Azhar court, denounced, stripped of his title of'alim and barred from future employment in education and the judiciary.'--jacket.

Introduction --The nature of the caliphate --The status of the caliphate --The caliphate from the social point of view --The system of power at the time of the Prophet --Prophecy and power --Islam : a message from God rather than a system of government; a religion rather than a state --Religious unity and the Arab people --The Arab state --The nature of the caliphate.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-122) and index

Original title : al-Islam wa usul al-hukm : bahth fi al-khilafah wa al-hukumah fi al-Islam