Thefact that its message is forcefully egalitarian and anti-elitist could never have allowed the early caliphs to claim any absolute authority. Rather, rulers were always seen as “representatives” and “employees” of the Community. They had legitimate authorityof both law and political power but only because they represented the Community. This essential structure of Islam and the content of the Qur’an are what make theocracy impossible in Islam. It is not an historical accident. Nor is it “disenchantment” with the idealism of the early caliphate, or the development of multiple legal schools, or the rise of private jurists as the sole source of normative authority.

Spring-2008 On page 37 Sunday, December 15, 2013 @ 5:18am