Sahin, Abdullah (2020) Islam, social work and common good in the Muslim-minority context of Europe : rethinking ‘shariah’ as relational ethics. In: Schmid, Hansjörg , (ed.) Exploring Islamic Social Work Between Community and the Common Good’. Muslims in Global Societies . Cham: Springer, pp. 2-35. (In Press)

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Abstract

This study explores the interface between Islam, social work and the common good within the Muslim minority context of Europe. The ethics-law nexus in Muslim tradition is examined to argue for a transformative Islamic engagement with the secular public space. The literature on Islam and social work is limited to providing basic information about Islam to frontline practitioners. Studies developing Islamic perspectives on social work and wellbeing are scarce. The current inquiry intends to fill this lacuna within the literature. Increasing association of Muslims with extremism forms a negative public perception, if not an irrational fear, of Islam in Europe. Within this discourse of suspicion Islam is coded as a cause of public harm and ‘shariah law’ is often associated with human rights violation. Moreover, Muslims active in the public space are perceived as having an ulterior agenda of ‘Islamisation’. For some Muslims, engaging with the secular public space poses the risk of secularisation. This study argues that a critical dialogue among the faith-embedded and secular traditions of social ethics in Europe remains vital to foster a shared sense of common good. Contemporary discussions on social ethics in Islam are dominated by ‘maqasid alshariah (objectives of Islamic law) and ‘fiqh alaqalliyyat (Muslim minority law). Whilst the former is purported to be a metaethical discourse and the latter implying a contextualising intent, both operate within strict juristic hermeneutics. Alternatively, this inquiry rethinks shariah as relational ethics and practical wisdom (hikmah), closer to the concept of phronesis in ancient Greek philosophy, guiding human relations as imagined in the Qur’anic anthropology and its vision of a balanced, just society. Shariah is framed within Islam’s transformative educational view of human flourishing, tarbiyah. The notion of relational ethics is further grounded in a dialogue with phenomenology-informed discussions on ethics, particularly in the work of Levinas, and Habermas’s ‘theory of communicative action’. The research and policy implications of the inquiry are discussed in the conclusion section.

Item Type:	Book Item
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Centre for Education Studies (2013- ) Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Series Name:	Muslims in Global Societies
Publisher:	Springer
Place of Publication:	Cham
Book Title:	Exploring Islamic Social Work Between Community and the Common Good’
Editor:	Schmid, Hansjörg
Official Date:	December 2020
Dates:	Date Event December 2020 UNSPECIFIED
Page Range:	pp. 2-35
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	In Press

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