“Mohamad Jebara is the Chief Imam, resident scholar at the Cordova Spiritual Education Centre.” His claim that “Islam in its essence calls for a division between faith and state” is extraordinary, since throughout the history of Islam there never was a division between faith and state until the advent of secular Turkey in the twentieth century — and secular Turkey was founded upon an explicit rejection of political Islam, not a development within Islam that allowed for secular government. Jebara also says: “The closest to the notion of an ‘Islamic State’, if there were such a thing, would be humanist democracy” — and yet there never has been an Islamic humanist democracy in the history of the world. Here again, Turkey cannot be counted as one, as it was built upon a rejection of Islamic principles regarding the state, not an application of them.
Mohamad Jebara, Chief Imam, resident scholar, is, in other words, misleading his readers and giving them false information — unless we are to believe that Islam in its essence has never been realized in 1,400 years of Islam.
“The delusion of an ‘Islamic State,'” by Mohamad Jebara, Ottawa Sun, October 18, 2015:
Being ardent about languages, history and their psychological impact upon perspective, I cannot help but observe signs displayed in the background of news footage from within the “Islamic State” and put these signs and slogans in their religious, historical and linguistic contexts.
When I see signs and graffiti that translate, “Khilafah in accordance with Guidelines of Prophecy”, it is clear to me that ISIS is attempting to justify and legitimize their existence by exploiting a common misunderstanding of the concept of Khilafah.
In the Qur`an, Khilafah refers to personal responsibility for the upkeep of the world, not a form of government.
In fact, neither Qur`an nor Prophet Muhammad speak about Khilafah as a form of governance. The Prophetic model of leadership is one in which a proficient government is elected by, and representative of, the people; not a totalitarian system, based on hatred, cruelty and intolerance.
The objective of Khilafah is for each citizen to take personal responsibility for establishing a just and balanced society, wherein social justice, equality and inclusion are the norm.
Contrary to what many presume, Islam in its essence calls for a division between faith and state, for once faith is politicized it is inevitable that it will become corrupted and manipulated for political and economic gains.
When the Ottoman Empire was officially dissolved in 1924, several contenders sought to seize the opportunity to claim the exploited title of “Caliph”, including Egypt’s King Fuad.
In response, Islamic scholar, Ali Abdel-Raziq (1888-1966) wrote a book highlighting that Caliphate is not a religious requirement.
Arguing against it, he said: “We have absolutely no need for such a caliphate; neither for our religious matters nor our worldly affairs. I assert that the caliphate had been a great tribulation and source of misery for both Islam and Muslims; a fountain of anguish and corruption.”…
Tolerance, justice, benevolence and good citizenship are the foundation of Khilafah. Khilafah can be found and realized wherever these principles are established: This is the letter and spirit of Islam….
The closest to the notion of an “Islamic State”, if there were such a thing, would be humanist democracy.
Secular governance closes the door to the temptation to subjugate the populace with threats of divine retribution, thus engendering freedom of thought, tolerance, kindness and justice: a truly Islamic State.