The Possibility or Impossibility of Social movements against the Government in Islamic Political thought

In spite of Quranic teachings concerning the free nature of human to change his fate and the theoretical possibility of social movements in Islamic teachings, social protest and rebellion against the government was considered as heinous and reprehensible in the political thought of Muslim intellectuals and also in the history of Islamic societies with the exception of Shiite political thought and some Kharijite communions. This prevalent perception in Islamic societies contained similarities to the traditions of various societies, particularly Christian and Jewish communities and it was also affected by Arabic and deep-rooted, oriental and Mesopotamian despotic traditions. In addition to these outside influences and cross-civilizational heritage, debates about allowing or refusing uprisings against the government and its granting or declining permission requires an understanding of the principles of Islamic political knowledge in inter-religious fields and from the perspective of experiences within the Islamic political system. In the process of the formation of Islamic political thought, texts known as Ahkam as-sultaniyyah and also political jurisprudence texts played a major role in reforming the idea of caliphate as the most fundamental texts, and contrary to common perception, they were not interpretations of texts, but a demonstration of the government’s attempt to provide legitimizing theories. In these texts, the concept of prophetic mission as the continuation of its political function, and unlike the tradition formed in the first decades of the first century which recognized the right of criticizing and protesting against the ruler, in this more recent thought, movement and uprising against the ruler was regarded as lacking legal basis and considered a religious crime and rebellion. In this paper, the concept of social movements or revolt against the political ruler in Muslims’ political thought throughout the early and middle centuries of Islam (from the beginning to the end of the Caliphate) is studied and a major question will be discussed as well: In the Islamic political thought particularly in Sunni Islam which flourished in the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, how and through what process did the theoretical possibility of a revolution against the government gradually lead to its refusal? In response to this question, the attitude of the predominant political thought in Sunni Islam regarding the possibility or impossibility of social movements (popular revolutions) against the political establishment is explained, and Shiite and Kharijite opposition ideas are also briefly surveyed alongside the main topic for the sake of comparison.