الفلسفة والنقد الثقافي للفكر السياسي العربي

Abstract

The importance of politics in our Arab history is paramount. Nowhere in Islam has a sword been drawn as often as over disputes or disagreements concerning the caliphate or imamate in the past, or over the nature of the state, the source of its legitimacy, and its right to obedience and loyalty in modern times. If this has any significance, it is the symbolic and moral weight of politics, and its preeminent position in human and worldly affairs. Consequently, if the state, as a set of laws and legislation, is the institution of institutions, then, as a role and function, it possesses symbolic power, making it embody the highest and noblest values. Thus, it is a symbol of perfection, transcendence, and spiritual and moral elevation on the one hand, and worldly glory on the other. This further amplifies its personality and intensifies its dominance over the social and cultural consciousness of the society it governs. Here, the issue of conflict and consensus within this society becomes governed by consideration of the political authority that must be obeyed. Every idea or value, whether religious, moral, or scientific, finds itself connected to the political. This is what gives politics a fundamental role in determining the fate of other dimensions of human life. It can be a catalyst for the flourishing and development of human life, or it can be an obstacle and impediment to any progress and liberation of consciousness. So, what is the nature of the political presence in our history and Arab culture?