Abstract:

The following article deals with the place of the other in Islamic sources and law. It first elaborates general Qur‘anic principles and precedents from the early history of Islam that might serve as a theoretical basis for co-existence in Islam.
Those include co-existence as God‘s will, supremacy of justice over religious formalism, separation of legitimacy of the other, and belief in the correctness of his/her views, and less-known examples of cooperation and mutual support between the Prophet Muhammad and pagans of Mecca. The second part surveys norms of Islamic law that provide for protection of non-Muslims‘ life, property, religious freedom, legal autonomy, and social justice and security. The overall aim of the study is to show that even classical Islamic law provides solid foundation for normal functioning of multi-religious societies.

Author: Ahmet AliIbasic