Towards a Fiqh for Minorities

Some Basic Reflections

Towards a Fiqh for Minorities is an important subject and a much needed contribution to an area of fiqh that has become essential for the wellbeing and development of Muslim communities living in the West. The author stresses that the problems of Muslim minorities can only be tackled with a fresh juristic vision based on the principles, objectives and higher values of the Qur’an in conjunction with the ultimate aims and intents (maqasid) of the Shariah. In essence Dr. Al-Alwani’s paper is a call for Muslim minorities to have a sense of themselves as citizens and develop a positive, confident view of their place and value in society, moving away from notions of immigrant status and governed by a humanistic vision focusing on the betterment of society.

Umm Salamah reported that Ja¢far ibn AbÏ >¥lib answered him and said: “O King, we were a people living in ignorance, worshipping idols, eating carrion meat, committing sins, forsaking our kinsfolk and abusing our neighbors.