Tolerance and Religious Pluralism in Islamic Legal Thought: Boundaries of Regulated Coexistence in Classical and Modern Fiqh

Abstract

This paper examines the development of tolerance under the Islamic juridical theory, with special interest to the theological and juridical boundaries of it as expressed in classical fiqh and re-expressed in modern Islamic legal discourses. The paper argues that Islamic law traditionally developed elaborate systems to manage religious diversity, such as the concepts of ahl al-kitab, dhimma, and the territorial distinction between Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb. These systems were embedded in a hierarchical, communitarian legal framework. Within this framework, tolerance was understood as regulated coexistence rather than equal status for all communities. By critically analyzing the works of classical jurists, such as al-Mawardi, Abu-Yusuf, al-Shafi, and Ibn-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, this paper will illustrate how tolerance was used as a juridico-political solution to the needs of imperialism and sovereignty and as an expression of communal uniqueness. The paper then compares these formulations to the contemporary Islamic legal arguments, where both reformist and traditionalist scholars are struggling with ideas of religious pluralism, minority rights, freedom of conscience, and the relationships between religions under the pressures of the nation-state, international human-rights standards, and world religious pluralism. The article draws on both primary juristic texts and modern scholarship to trace continuities and changes in defining the limits of tolerance. It argues that contemporary reinterpretations reflect not only a transformation of legal doctrine, but also a deeper shift in the ontology of law. The system is moving away from a status-based hierarchy toward a model that emphasizes universal citizenship and moral equality. Yet, it continues to negotiate the normative authority of the classical tradition.