Reconstructing Fiqh al-Aqalliyyāt for Muslim Minorities in Europe Islamic Legal Responses to Islamophobia and Religious Freedom Challenges
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Abstract
Muslim communities in Europe increasingly face complex tensions between religious identity, citizenship, social integration, and the protection of religious freedom. Islamophobia, discrimination, contestation over religious symbols, and debates concerning Muslim integration have exposed limitations in approaches that frame minority Muslim life solely through the binary of assimilation and religious preservation. This study examines how fiqh al-tasāmuḥ (jurisprudence of tolerance) and fiqh al-aqalliyyāt (minority jurisprudence) can be reconstructed to address these challenges while maintaining Islamic normative commitments. Employing qualitative library research, the study analyses classical and contemporary Islamic legal literature alongside scholarly studies on Muslim minorities, religious pluralism, Islamophobia, and citizenship in Europe. A normative-sociological approach is combined with Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah to assess the compatibility of minority jurisprudence with the objectives of justice, human dignity, religious freedom, social coexistence, and communal welfare. The findings demonstrate that fiqh al-tasāmuḥ provides an ethical-legal framework for managing religious and social diversity, whereas fiqh al-aqalliyyāt offers contextual legal mechanisms for Muslims living under non-Muslim majority jurisdictions. Their integration enables a shift from defensive minority adaptation toward an active jurisprudence of coexistence, citizenship, and mutual recognition. The study argues that a maqāṣid-oriented reconstruction of these two fiqh paradigms can strengthen Muslim religious identity while simultaneously supporting social integration and equal citizenship in contemporary Europe.
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