Citizenship Rights of Non-Muslims in the Islamic State of H # kimiyya Espoused by Sayyid Qutb

Abstract

In the late twentieth century, the ultimate goal of the Egyptian thinker and activist Sayyid Qutb was to establish an Islamic order; that is, an Islamic state supervised and guided by h # kimiyya . For him, h # kimiyya, practically, is the Shar I 'a (Islamic Code). It comprises the clear-cut commands and prohibitions conveyed in the Qur' # n and the traditions (Hadith) of the Prophet of Islam. With those commands, the h # kimiyya deals with the individuals and groups, links them to the society and defines the individual's rights within the limits of the community. In Qutb's view, the non-Muslim minority in the Islamic state is not outside of the jurisdiction of the ' h # kimiyya ', which regulates the relationship between the state and its citizens, Muslims and non-Muslims and individuals and groups. Thus the rights of non-Muslim minorities in the Islamic state of h # kimiyya, how they should be treated and the question of whether they should enjoy equal citizenship rights and responsibilities with Muslims have increasingly come to be one of the pressing and 'sensitive' issues in the debate. Contributing to the debate, this paper intends to investigate the issue of citizenship rights of non-Muslim minorities in the Islamic state of h # kimiyya espoused by the Egyptian Islamist Sayyid Qutb, the key figure of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose works were considered as the manual of the Islamic groups, al-Jam # ' # t al-Isl # miyya, in Egypt and abroad. In so doing, the paper will begin with some background to the issue, and then outline the essential points of Qutb's concept of justice as central to his view on citizenship rights and responsibilities. It follows that the right to freedom of belief for non-Muslims, and also for Muslims who want to change their religion, will be examined. Equality between Muslims and non-Muslims in matters related to finance, benefits and amenities with the focus on taxation will be outlined. The rights of non-Muslims to hold public office will also be investigated. It will be seen at the end that Qutb's concept of citizenship rights is centered on the concepts of justice, complete human equality and firm social solidarity in their broadest sense. His discussion stresses the notion of universality and humanism as one of the characteristics of the Islamic system. Qutb's views on the subject were grounded in the authoritative texts, namely the Qur' # n and the traditions of the Prophet, but in essence they were an attempt to assuage the concerns of the non-Muslim minorities themselves. In the light of the aim of Islamic activism for which Qutb was and perhaps continues to be the ideologue, Qutb's view on the status of non-Muslims in an Islamic state, specifically through the prism of h # kimiyya, lends this study special importance.