Applied Ethics in Islamic Governance: Engaging Culture and Morality

Abstract

Modern human progress is a threat to future human progress – no other paradox in the 21st century can be more striking than this. Despite advances in science, technology, and knowledge, the world continues to be weighed down by a collision of crises in relation to economy, politics, social justice, environment, health, and morality. This paper suggests that laws, policies, and technologies (whether on their own or together) are not potent enough to define sustainable progress in the 21st century. Religious ethics is the missing piece in the puzzle; human creativity needs to be channelled, rather than bound, by ethical principles towards achieving moderation and wellbeing. In relation to Islamic Governance, the guiding light of ethics is inextricably woven into its operational framework. Much like the necessity of water for the human body, ethics is needed to “nourish” Islamic Governance from within to prevent the system from dysfunction and collapsing. As ethics needs to be grounded in action and defined for the present and the future, the dual tasks of “acting” and “defining” must be shared by both the government and the general citizens alike. It is the duty of the present to ensure a sustainable world for the future.