The Structure of the State and its Field in the Islamic Political Society: The One Nation and the Unifying State: Towards an original Approach

Abstract

This research aims to enrich the ongoing debates about the type of state that should govern Arab societies, and adopts an epistemological vision of the concept of the state that takes into account the societal environment that governs it, and its religious beliefs and reference values. The research stems from the hypothesis that centered on considering the "nation" in its Islamic sense, in terms of being a social and political entity on the one hand, and a system of values on the other hand, being the frame of reference for the state and the nation together. From this perspective, the essence of the state must necessarily emanate from the essence of the nation, and express its civilized vision. This central idea has been addressed through three integrated axes. The first deals with the concept of the unifying nation as a field for the formation of the state and its social incubator, and it contains an explanation of the elements of building the nation in its Qur’anic perspective, in both its doctrinal and political aspects. The second axis is devoted to the state as a field for embodying the unity of the nation. It presents the historical circumstances in which the first nucleus of the state was formed in the history of the emerging Islamic community, starting with the declaration of the Medina Document, which provided the legal framework for the emergence of the nascent state into existence. The third axis analyzes the unity of the state from jurisprudential and historical perspectives.