Rights Renewed as Obligatory Necessities: Consultation, Opposition, and Revolution in the Thought of the Egyptian Thinker Muhammad Imara (1931–2020)

ABSTRACT: Muhammad Imara moves beyond much of Islamist thought on the unity of religion and politics to consider how power would be structured in an Islamic state. Imara argues that human rights in Islam are not rights but obligations. Rights are more vulnerable than obligations since the community has the right to forgo the exercise of rights, but it cannot forgo obligations. While these obligations include the necessity to call those in power to account, this paper focuses on the obligation of rulers to consult (shura) with those they rule. Engaging with Islamic tradition, Imara shows how the Prophet Muhammad changed his mind after consulting with others. Thus, consultation, which Imara links to the importance of religious and political doubt, is an obligation for all Muslims. In discussing Imara's thoughts on consultation, this paper also illustrates how Imara steps outside the Sunni tradition and utilizes Zaydi, Mutazilite, and Shia sources.