Rethinking neo-Salafism through an Emerging Fiqh of Citizenship: The Changing Status of Minorities in the Discourse of Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the ‘School of the Middle Way’

Abstract

This quick study will trace on-going evolutions in the thought of the Egyptian Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and his “School of the Middle Way” or al-Madrasa al-Wasaṭiyya over the period 1985 to 2010. While al-Qaradawi’s early work on the citizenship status of non-Muslims was neo-traditionalist in that it advocated retaining the dhimma system, a minority citizenship model based on differential rights and responsibilities which emphasises communal autonomy for minorities within a sharīʿa regime for the Muslim majority, we will show that he has since moved away from this position and is actively engaged in the process of developing an innovative and inclusive theory of “Islamic Citizenship” that endows non-Muslims with equal civil and political rights and responsibilities.