The Unity of the Sacred and Profane: The Foundation of Power in Islam
Islam is a total system that, from its inception, has not recognized the Western separation between the spiritual and secular spheres. The key concept is the umma—the community of believers, where law, morality, and politics form an inseparable fabric. In this civilization, power is multidimensional, combining religious legitimacy with practical state management.
Understanding this specificity allows for a grasp of not only historical caliphates but also the contemporary political dynamics of the Middle East. This article analyzes how traditional institutions have evolved into unique models of governance in Morocco, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Caliph, Sultan, and Emir: Religious Sources of Leadership
The historical foundation of leadership was the caliph—the successor to Muhammad, whose mission was to administer the umma and guard the revealed law. Over time, secular functions developed alongside religious authority. The sultan embodied real military and political power, while the emir served as a local commander, often transforming his provinces into hereditary principalities.
Administration was supported by the vizier, acting as an advisor and the equivalent of today’s prime minister. The legal system rested on two pillars: the mufti, who interpreted Sharia through fatwas, and the qadi—a judge settling property and family disputes. These institutions prove that in Islam, religious law has always been the foundation of public order.
The Moroccan Monarchy and Egypt's Hybrid Model
Morocco represents a unique sacred monarchy. The King, as the "Commander of the Faithful" from the Alawite dynasty, derives his legitimacy directly from the Prophet. This status allows him to monopolize the interpretation of the sacred and effectively neutralize Islamist opposition by integrating it into the system (so-called co-optative authoritarianism).
The situation is entirely different in Egypt, which operates under a hybrid model. The state instrumentalizes religion, subordinating institutions such as Al-Azhar University. There, the ulema have become officials legitimizing the regime's political line. This sacralized authoritarianism serves to discipline society, manifesting in the legal marginalization of women and strict control over civil organizations.
Theocratic Legalism and Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a model example of an absolute monarchy based on theocratic legalism. The Quran and Sunnah serve as the constitution, precluding secular legislation. The foundation of the state is the alliance between the House of Saud and Wahhabism—an ultraconservative doctrine that suppresses pluralism and enforces strict social discipline.
Driven by oil revenues, the state created the phenomenon of petro-Islam, exporting its vision of religion to the world. Currently, this system faces internal reformist pressure and the Sahwa movement, which combines Islamist thought with political activism. The government attempts to balance traditional dogmatics with the necessity of modernization, while maintaining full control over the process of legal interpretation.
Summary: An Alternative Political Cosmology
Western political science categories often fail to describe the Islamic world because they are based on the assumption of secularism. Meanwhile, the umma represents an alternative political cosmology in which law, ethics, and politics constitute an axiological unity. As Clifford Geertz noted, the worlds created by people are as diverse as the languages they speak.
Power in Islam is not a "democracy deficit" but a foreign symbolic code that demands to be read with the passion of a translator, not a missionary. It is a system in which the individual and society remain in an inseparable bond with the divine order, creating a structure resistant to simple attempts at Western modernization.
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