ABSTRACT
Humanitarian intervention in the contemporary Western discourse on international law and ethics has emerged as the exception that confirms the rule. This chapter elaborates the problematic status of the nation-state in modern Islamic thought and considers various arguments on how humanitarian intervention may be considered legitimate in an Islamic framework. It looks at practical measures that have been or may be undertaken by Muslim states to implement the ethical injunctions of intervention. The Qur'an suggests a two-step course of action. The first is physical removal of the Muslims from the territory of the oppressors. The second is a collective response of the Muslim community in support of the grievances of the oppressed community. As the world community evolves toward a more universalist ethics based on the reevaluation of traditional concepts of state sovereignty, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and Muslim peoples generally are well positioned by virtue of the Qur'an's universalist ethics to contribute to a new international society.
