Negotiating Secular System with Shari’a System

Islam and state are interesting issues which invite many scholars to contribute debating how Islam correlates with the state. Issue has been focusing to the shari’a, as the framework of Islamic thinking about bases of Islamic state and the secular state as it opposes. For first glance, this issue is impossible to negotiate, because the bases ontology and epistemology are different. In this way, An-Naim lies, he argues that Islam has to negotiate with secular system for better Muslim in the future. He states Islamic countries must be “secular state”. This book is about paradigm and framework for his argumentation.
From this book I see An-Naim has strong argumentation to support his idea. As professor of law in Kartoum University and visiting professor at Emory and Harvard University his refutation is undoubted. I agree Islam is universal teaching, pure, but it has political dimension. Politic is not merely as consequence from Islamic teaching itself, but also from people who use it to get authorities under the Islamic law umbrella. Saving Islam as pure religious or joining to the mundane word in state is difficult choice indeed. The question how to elevate Muslim economies, to pursuit advance technology, and to manage Islamic societies from different Muslim countries, take care to world issues like human right etc. is challenges for many Muslim scholar. I know, accommodation secular thinking into state will emerge a rejection for many Muslim. However, An-Naim believe that be a secular is better than under shari’a, because under secular system, actually Muslim can practice shari’a, or can worship as well. He asserts, the state should not to attempt to enforce shari’a, in order that Muslims can run shari’a as a matter of religious obligation, not as the outcome of coercion by the state.
This book is very interesting because he try to elevate Muslim not by constant doctrine of shari’a. In the other hand, he argues that shari’a is ijtihad project, so Muslim today must make new ijtihad to find appropriate system to enforce Muslim live in all sector. Muslim countries cannot close the door from outer challenges, but respond it by creative way.[]