An introduction to the public and private debate in Islam - Part I: public/private: the distinction

Social Research, Fall, 2003 by Mohsen Kadivar

Should the interest of the state (maslehat-e nezam) be deemed more sacrosanct than religious principles (Kadivar, 1379: 111-135), an Islamic state would justify the temporary suspension of Sharia with the express aim of preserving the interest of the state. Should prying into the personal affairs and private lives of individuals ever be necessary, it will be permissible and even mandatory. Maslahat (Interest) is the catalyst that turns copper into gold (Kadivar, 1379: 560-571). Recognition of such interests for the state, without limitation or granting absolute authority to the Islamic state, is tantamount to providing the state the absolute right to penetrate the very fabric of the private sphere. Limitations to state authority under exigent circumstances must be specified to the letter of the law, and it should be guaranteed that such measures can be resorted to only for brief periods. Unscrupulous resort to exigent measures, particularly by Islamic rulers, poses the gravest danger to private life and legitimate individual freedoms.

To safeguard against the unbridled corruption that necessarily stems from absolute authority, strict legal limitations must be imposed--namely absolute fights should be the prerogative of all citizens, with the understanding that the state cannot undermine this fight under any circumstance. Religious limitations should be delineated so that they cannot be violated or curtailed under any circumstance, at any time or place, and in the name of any institution. Determination of exigency (maslahat) must not be the prerogative of the state for it would mean that religion has become a handmaiden of political power. Analysis and interpretation of religion cannot be left to the state, or else religion will be seriously threatened. Determination of interest (maslahat) should he conducted by an elective institution that is itself responsible to an appropriate legislative body, and that functions under civil auspices. Last but not least, centralizing power in a fallible individual and relegating absolute powers to that individual is bound to beget corruption and will have the end result of obliterating religious principles (Kadivar, 1379: 254-256).

9. Elevating Religious Conscience

The principle of "commending good and prohibiting evil" does not suffice in and of itself without exact measures for its implementation. The institution of a compliance circuit, and the relegation of absolute powers to the Islamic state--and putting the interest of the state above and beyond all religious principles--may have been devised with the good intention of strengthening Islamic and implementing Islamic laws (Sharia). With such approaches, however, a religious facade could at best be forced upon society. Even if the believers or the Islamic state may thus succeed in uprooting what is prohibited and erecting what is commanded, the true essence of Islam will have been weakened among the public. Deceit, duplicity, and maintaining appearances are only some of the pitfalls of imposed religiosity. What good is it to maintain an outwardly Islam-abiding public sphere while in their private spheres--homes--the citizens have nothing but contempt for it?