The major problem in these newly formed Muslim nation-states has been the lack of a healthy political sphere whose legitimacy is grounded in the ethical system of society. There is a deep-seated mistrust of government and politics in these societies. This mistrust, which has made it difficult for Muslim societies to recover from the colonial onslaught, is a result of a long-standing “cultural memory.” Since the golden age of the Prophet and the early caliphate and a few rare historical exceptions, the Muslim statehas not legitimately represented the Muslim Community, and hence, has not been grounded in the

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