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As some events such as corruption and abuse of pcver which take place in most of the countries (including most of the socalled developed ones) show, the question of authority, its source, legitimization and control remain unsolved. Islamic societies are not free from this problem, and a confusion prevails all over the Islamic world. In this study I would like to elaborate on the concept of authority in Islam, and relevant questions such as its delegation, content, extent, application, manifestation and implications. However as this is a vast area and since there are several approaches by various schools, we shall restrict ourselves with two schools which developed more comprehensive and clearer political systems. These two approaches namely the juridical and the philosophical will be represented by al-Mawardi and al-Farabi respectively. The reason for my selection of these two scholars is as follows: Al-Mawardi (974-1058), the near contemporary of al-Baqillani and al-Baghdadi was a more important figure in the development of the juristic theory. Kis Ahkam al-Sultaniya is a key document for the theory of rule which came to be accepted by the jurists of the fifth century and after. Little advance was made on it by later theorists.1 "it has been generally accepted as the most 1Ann K.S Lambton, State and Government in Medieval Islam, Oxford University Press, New York 1985, p. 83. 2 authoritative exposition of uhe Sunni Islamic political theory"2. It is "the first comprehensive and systematic treatment of the Islamic system of government known as siyasa sharciyya {government in accordance with the revealed Law)".3 As for al-Farabi, his place in the Islamic philosophy is unquestionable. He was "one of the most eminent philosophers of the first formative centuries of Islamic thought".4 He constructed "an elaborate metaphysical system of great complexity". 5 "He was more than a pioneer" and profoundly influenced all subsequent Muslim philosophers, in particular Ibn Bajja and Ibn Rushd in Spain, and Ibn Sina in the East".6 In the Introduction I shall give a brief analysis of the concept of authority and some relevant concepts such as power and legitimacy as they are used in the present day literature, and later clarify in what sense I employ them. In Chapter I and II, we will discuss the meanings of our key concepts linguistically, and then textually, that is, as they are exploited by the two authors. Chapter III and IV will deal with the elaboration of the doctrines of our authors, and the place of the concept of authority in each of them.

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This thesis proposes to study the views of the most significant positions held by Islamists in the contemporary Arab world on dissent and opposition. In other words, the thesis ventures to investigate the question whether there is any reason to believe that the Muslim world would be any better off in terms of freedom under Islamic rule than it is now. In writing this thesis I have departed from the currently prevalent conviction that one of the root causes of the presently encompassing predicament of the Ummah is its failure to manage social conflict and deal successfully with dissent. My aim has been to identify positions, arguments, trends, and the main features of contemporary Islamic discourse on opposition, dissent and political pluralism. To accomplish that task I have used the comparative historical approach with elements of the normative approach. Among the findings of the study is the confirmation of the assumption we started with. If ambiguity is the main feature of the Islamic historical heritage on the issue of opposition, then the rapid evolution towards its validation and diversity, if not contradiction and inconsistency, are the main characteristics of the contemporary Islamic discourse on opposition. On the one hand we identified positive evidence including: `freedom of religion` (lai ikrah fi al-din), the commitment to independent judgment and reasoning (ijtihad), the principle of diversity and disagreement (ikhtilaf), mutual consultation (shura), the concept of public interest (maslahah), and some maxims of Islamic law. On the other hand we identified negative evidence in the form of moral restrictions, legal norms regarding apostasy, blasphemy, rebellion,pledge of allegiance, giving of advice, and the unity of Muslims. Three well established Islamic concepts, namely .Hisbah, sovereignty of God and fitnah are often legitimately invoked as positive and negative evidence simultaneously. The difficult and painful process of reinterpreting the ambivalent sources and heritage is taking place in conditions of unenviable realities at home, foreign pressure and intervention from outside, and continued uncertainty about outcome. Most contemporary Islamic thinkers and movements look with favor upon pluralism under the roof of the shariah. I named them `shariatocrats.` An ever diminishing group of `Islamic authoritarians` believe that theological absolutism should be paralleled by political authoritarianism embedded in a single party and an unquestionable single leader. A completely opposite perspective is favored by `Islamic pluralists/liberals` who, though rejecting agnosticism, secularism, moral relativism and religious indifference strongly believe that diversity of opinion and beliefs was primordially vested by God in Man and should accordingly be welcomed not merely allowed to exist. There is also a growing understanding among this group that freedom from the state like that from colonizers does not come free of charge; that it is seldom, if ever awarded, and that it has to be won. Only a few appear to support the establishment of a `pious tyranny.` However, wavering between pluralism and shariatocracy is common. It is fair to say that the gap between Western and Islamic positions on opposition is somewhat exaggerated and that Western liberals often demand from Islamists what they themselves are not ready to concede or undertake. We found sufficient evidence to believe that provided the right conditions - such as genuine democratization of Muslim states are maintained - Islamic thought will develop further in the direction of a vigorous Islamic pluralism/liberalism.

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Mainstream academic account of the origins and rise of philosophy and science in Greek civilization emphasises explanations in terms of internal components and causal factors, despite glaring inconsistencies with generally known and accepted facts of Greek intellectual and cultural history. These inconsistencies expose the explanatory inadequacy of the mainstream account, and thus demand an intellectually more satisfying one. In this regard, the purpose of this dissertation is to articulate lucidly an outline of the arguments for the revisionist viewpoint which gives due credit to both internal and external causal factors, and thus draws a much more coherent and plausible picture of the beginnings of rational inquiry in the intellectual adventure of Greek civilization. Specifically, the revisionist viewpoint is articulated within the analytical framework provided by the world system model which serves to suggest the most plausible explanation for the abrupt blossoming of Greek philosophy and science by reference to cultural and intellectual changes brought about through dynamic intercivilizational or transcultural interact10ns over long periods of time Given the archaeological and documentary data of Greek history accepted as such by mainstream and revisionist scholars, the world system model then proceeds to demonstrate its explanatory superiority by the method of inference to the best explanation. By this method, the conclusion reached is that· all things considered, the best explanation of the data is that ancient Egyptian and Levantine learning was initially acquired by the Greeks who then proceeded to preserve and enhance it through their own creative contribution. In other words, the world system model argues that the data point to it and tend to confirm it as a more plausible explanation than the mainstream hellenocentric model. As a scientific hypothesis, the world system model opens new, empirically fruitful avenues of research into uncovering the origins of Greek philosophy and science that should not be overlooked by any interested scholars and students of world intellectual history.