The Idea
The text states that the cosmic Islamic model is invoked as a reference capable of stripping existing systems of legitimacy. The appeal to a major Islamic city or an ideal example is not understood here as historical recollection alone, but as a tool for opposing the present. In this way, the imagined model becomes a criterion for judging political and social reality.
Concise Formulation
The cosmic Islamic model: operates as a reference for stripping existing systems of legitimacy
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim appears within Arkoun’s analysis of Islamist discourses when they derive their force from the image of a normative past. The argument is not about the history of the Islamic city itself, but about the way it is mobilized in contemporary discourse. From here emerges the idea’s role in explaining how religious reference is used to undermine the legitimacy of existing regimes and present a total alternative to them.
Why It Matters
Its importance lies in the fact that it explains one of the ways political opposition is constructed in the name of religion. The issue is not only rejection of reality, but the invocation of a comprehensive model that gives this rejection a strong and coherent language. In this way, the idea helps clarify the relationship between religious exemplarity and political legitimacy in Arkoun’s reading.
Brief Evidence
It reactivates the model of the major Islamic city as a universal reference to invalidate the legitimacy of regimes The activist discourse of fundamentalist/Islamist movements reactivates the model of the Islamic city
Reading Questions
- How does the historical model become a present political standard?
- What is the difference between drawing inspiration from the past and using it to strip legitimacy?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.