Empire-building forced a de facto separation of religious and political power in Islam.

Evidence

This section sets out to demonstrate why this is an erroneous reading of the history of Islam. While Islam came into being as both a political and religious ideology, since at least the eighth century it has had a de facto separation of political and religious power. Furthermore, there is nothing unique in Islam’s political potential. When the papacy sought to unite Europe under the banner of Christianity, it unleashed the Crusades in the name of God. Christianity too has been political since at least the fourth century (when Rome adopted Christianity as its official religion), if not since its founding. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 284 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

It provided a revered and permanent political constitution, and it limited political prerogatives. It supplied the law for all Muslim states. It imposed a fascinating example of the separation of powers: legislation was separated from the executive, being pre-empted by the deity. The content of divine legislation was in the keeping of the scholars. No overt legislative innovation was possible, except by analogy and interpretation of the existing legal corpus. If the deity pre-empts legislation, the executive cannot usurp it. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2052 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

It is by now a truism that in Islam there is no distinction between church and state. In Christendom the existence of two authorities goes back to the founder of Christianity, who enjoined his followers to render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s. There are two powers: God and Caesar. They may be associated, they may be separated; they may be in harmony, they may be in conflict; one or the other may dominate; one may interfere, the other may protest, as we have recently been reminded. But always there are two; God and Caesar, Church and state. In classical Islam, that is to say in pre- Westernized Islam, there is no such distinction. There were not two powers but one, and the question of separation did not therefore arise. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1474 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Early Islamic empire required separating clerical from political authority — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 322; Political and religious authority separated de facto within the early Muslim empires — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 318; Muslim empires separated religious from political authority from their start. (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Islam has practiced de facto separation of religion and politics since the eighth century #corroborates (0.90) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 284
• Islamic high religion structurally separated legislation from executive power. #corroborates (0.85) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2052
• Classical Islam recognized one religious-political power rather than a church-state division #contradicts (0.80) — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1474
• Sharia law arose from the administrative needs of empire-building #expands (0.75)
• Islam’s fusion of religion with state makes holy war inherently political #contradicts (0.75)
• Islam’s merged religion-politics absolutism raises friction with all other civilizations #contradicts (0.75)