Democracy under God
Constitutions, Islam and Human Rights in the Muslim World

Empirically analyzes Islam and human rights in constitutions of Muslim-majority states and theorizes why some adopted Islam in their constitutions.

Dawood Ahmed (Author), Muhammad Zubair Abbasi (Author)

9781316610572, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 March 2023

225 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.35 kg

'In this wide-ranging book, Ahmed and Abbasi closely analyse the role of religious faith in the crafting of constitutions of diverse Muslim-majority countries. Taking nothing for granted while exploring the critical tension between human rights and Islam, the authors provide a profound insightful take that compels readers to question their assumptions. As a broad comparative study, the book is essential reading for scholars of law and religion, legal historians and constitutional law.' Nurfadzilah Yahaya, Yale University

State recognition of Islam in Muslim countries invites ?erce debate from scholars and politicians alike, some of whom assume an inherent con?ict between Islam and liberal democracy. Analyzing case studies and empirical data from several Muslim-majority countries, Ahmed and Abbasi ?nd, counterintuitively, that in many Muslim countries, constitutional recognition of Islam often occurs during moments of democratization. Indeed, the insertion of Islam in a constitution is frequently accompanied by an expansion, not a reduction, in constitutional human rights, with case law from higher courts in Egypt and Pakistan demonstrating that potential tensions between the constitutional pursuit of human rights, liberal democracy and Islam are capable of judicial resolution. The authors also argue that colonial history was pivotal in determining whether a country adopted the constitutional path of Islam or secularism partly explaining why Islam in constitutional politics survived and became more prevalent in Muslim countries that were colonized by the British, and not those colonized by the French or Soviets.

Introduction
Part I. 1. Islamic constitutionalism: origins and present
2. What is an Islamic constitution?
Part II. 3. Constitutional Islamisation and Islamic supremacy clauses
4. Case studies
Part III. 5. Islamic supremacy clauses and rights – Islamic review in practice
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Public international law [LBB], Islamic law [LAFS], Comparative politics [JPB], Islam [HRH]