THE RE-EXPANSION OF THE ISLAMIC ORDERING PRINCIPLE IN A COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Ciro Sbailò

Abstract


In the 21st Century we are witnessing a re-expansion of the Islamic ordering principle, both on a global and a metropolitan scale, as a result of a combination of several social and cultural factors, like the growth of Islamic population, the renaissance of religious identities, and the crisis of the leading role of the Western Constitutional models.

When studying this expansion from a constitutional point of view the scholars are found themselves facing two hermeneutical problems.

First: the Islam is not merely a religious faith.

Originally it is characterized by the strong interrelation between political and religious affairs in the public sphere. At least no public sphere is possible, on a strictly Islamic way of thinking, without that interrelation. This feature is becoming more and more relevant in the so called “Western” – i.e. global and de-territorialized – Islam. Especially young and well educated Islamic people are more affected by the universal Islamic affiliation than by the national one. In general it is not possible for a Governmental official, like a Mayor or a Secretary, to deal with the Islamic community as if it were a simple religious community. In an Islamic way of thinking, religious faith is not a private matter at all: Islam should have a relevant role in the public sphere. This is one of the reasons why it is very difficult for the Italian Parliament to pass a bill ruling an agreement between the Italian Republic and the Islamic Community.

Second: the Islamic expansion undermines our understanding of the relationships between the different subjects of the public space.


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Department of Law - University of Perugia
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Comparative Law Review is registered at the Courthouse of Monza (Italy) - Nr. 1988 - May, 10th 2010.
Editors - Prof. Giovanni Marini, Prof. Pier Giuseppe Monateri, Prof. Tommaso Edoardo Frosini, Prof. Salvatore Sica, Prof. Alessandro Somma, Prof. Giuseppe Franco Ferrari, Prof. Massimiliano Granieri.

Direttore responsabile:Alessandro Somma