THE CONCEPTS OF STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN ISLAMIC AND MUSLIM SOCIETIES: A HISTORICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study focuses on governmental institution in Islamic and Muslim societies and the role of civil societies in them. In the period from the early years of Islam until today's nation-state structures, the stance of the civilian people as an organization against the state has previously differed to a certain extent, but these differences have largely disappeared today. In the Islamic tradition, placing the state and power discourses on sacred ground and the measures taken by the groups holding political power from the past to the present to protect the survival of state have led civil society to remain more passive compared to the Western societies of today. Therefore, in Islamic and Muslim societies, the foundations, which can be defined as civil society, are different from the civil organizations that occur in Western societies. In these societies, although some groups such as clergy and merchants gained partial autonomy before nation-state structures, today they are able to find space for movement only to the extent that they are allowed by the government in power. In this context, this study seeks to reach a causeand-effect relationship in the light of historical events by analyzing the debates about how civil society is positioned in İslamic and Muslim societies where the states and government in power have acquired a sacred image in general.