West Asia At War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games

by Talmiz Ahmad

They found their solution in the doctrines of Islam. The central aspect of their advocacy was for good government, which meant that it would be in accord with Sharia, which, being influenced by considerations of masalaha (public interest), would lead to a just political order. They envisaged rulership as a ‘just despotism’; shura (consultation) would be at the heart of the system, though it would be limited to the nobility in al-Kawakibi’s plan of ‘democratic administration’. They envisaged a ‘Rule of Law’, which, though based on Sharia, would be reformed through ijtihad (independent reasoning). They viewed liberty and justice as intrinsic to Islam.11 Thus, this first generation of Arab reformers accepted the need for change; they supported peaceful opposition to despotism; they advocated consultation; and, above all, maintained the central importance of public welfare in the reformed political order. The difference between them and the liberals was only one of degree in that the latter used the same Islamic principles to call for more far-reaching changes in society.