The Caliph’s Qurayshism in the Context of the Majority Principle the Constitutive Legitimacy Basis of Political Power Cover Image

Siyasal İktidarın Kurucu Meşruiyet Temeli Olan Çoğunluk İlkesi Bağlamında Halifenin Kureyşliliği
The Caliph’s Qurayshism in the Context of the Majority Principle the Constitutive Legitimacy Basis of Political Power

Author(s): Fatih Mehmet ALBAYRAK
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, Politics and religion, History and theory of political science, History of Islam, Contemporary Islamic Thought, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Tekirdağ Namık Kemal Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi
Keywords: Majority; Caliph; Quraysh; Legitimacy; Political Power; Means of Coercion;

Summary/Abstract: The principle of majority, which is an indispensable tool of election and decision-making in today's democracies, is one of the main indicators of its legitimacy, as well as having a superior position in the establishment and maintenance of political power. The aim of this research is to determine the relationship of the condition of “the caliph’s Quraysh” with this principle by revealing the analysis of the Islamic scholars on the importance of the majority principle in terms of establishing political power and using the authority to order and prohibit. In the grounding of this aim, firstly, the dominant role of the majority in determining the political power was emphasized and the organic relationship between them was tried to be revealed, and the nature of the support provided by the majority to the administration in the use of political power authority and its effect on the possession of the means of coercion that sustain the state apparatus were examined in the light of the views of Fiqh and Kalam scholars. Then, the condition that the caliph should be from the Quraysh lineage, which has been the subject of debate since the 9th century, when the influence of non-Arab elements on the political administration became evident, was examined within the framework of the majority principle, and the evaluations of Islamic scholars about the widespread rumor that formed the basis of this were briefly examined. At the end of the study, it was concluded that Islamic scholars adopted the principle of “majority” in the establishment and maintenance of political power, and that they accepted the requirement that the caliph be Quraysh as a qualification condition, and that the narration, which is the basis of this, shows a historical and socio-political reality brought about by the conditions that emerged in a certain time period.

  • Issue Year: 8/2022
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 1329-1362
  • Page Count: 34
  • Language: Turkish