The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament Paperback – September 16, 2014

In the time of ISIS, the reformation of the Saudi state, and the perpetual ‘war on terror, questions of Islamic governance are ever present yet clouded in the spectre of violent extremism. Though, as is often argued, this form of violent extremism has always had its partners in Western Thought. Though not mentioned here, anarchist thinking most screams out to me.Nonetheless, this book represents a thorough and well-referenced analysis of the modern state, its ills, and why the Sharia represents an opposite. Some points are tedious, as I was never truly convinced by a radical difference between the Sultanate and the modern executive, they occupy a rather minor role in the overall argument.The thrust of the work is that the moral is something which has been abandoned in the positivist enterprise of the modern state. The State, as a locus of economic and political relations, is but an entity of order and domination, which asserts positivist truths as a means to achieving such ends. Hallaq’s analysis of Sharia, for me, points to what is distinctly lacking in modernity and looks to alternate ways of being to see how we can reclaim it.Overall, it is an incredible piece of academia and moral philosophy. I recommend it for anyone who has ever felt the modern world to be insufficient, yet are not seeking deeper metaphysical truths in anything but a simple desire for morality and community.

Thus is a great book and explains the difference between Shariah and the modern and why they are incompatible. They are incompatible because the modern state lacks moral foundations needed for Islamic governance. There are a few issues in the final chapter which I have criticised. For a comprehensive review, visit my blog (islamnext dot com) and where you can find my review in the politics section.

This is a book that takes courage to understand because it challenges all that we take for granted. For those who have a sense of discomfort this books will articulate your predicament. For those who feel the modern world is their oister

Still Reading it but so far it is a very well written and informative book about both the Modern state and the Islamic state.

A very interesting analysis on the western concept of State and the flaws on its applicability to the political realities of the Middle East

The book is a brief comparison of the role of Sharia in a state versus the state's rationale for existence.

A challenging book. Well worth the read, and an excellent critique of modernity from an Islamic perspective.

Scary