Non-Muslim Minorities in a Wasaṭī Perspective

Given the classical framework regulating the position of non-Muslims in Islamic States, this paper focuses on the evolution of the interpretations of those norms, following the thought of wasaṭiyya scholars. In contemporary Islamic thought, a balanced and moderate attitude is proposed by several authors as an attempt to oppose the extremist movements that claim to represent the true Islam. One of the areas in which the wasaṭī approach has found a way to express itself more effectively is in the status of minorities. These thinkers consider that the birth of modern states has produced consequences in the application of the rules governing the relations between citizens of different religions. They have adopted a renewal in terminology that may prefigure a different application of classical Islamic rules.