ABSTRACT
In a world in which the degree of interdependence and interconnection among nations, cultures and civilisations is ever-increasing, the necessity of creating efficient global institutions for managing global affairs has become more urgent than ever. The problems we are faced with are exaggerated types of the age-old universal-particular or global-local dichotomy and the apparent incommensurability of rival paradigms. To be able to create efficient global institutions, in this case a well-functioning global civil society, we ought to take into account diverse concerns and sensitivities of local communities and cultures. For Muslim countries to be able to contribute meaningfully to the construction of such a global civil society, a prior condition is the establishment of effective local models of civil society which are in tune with the sensitivities of these communities. The introduction of such indigenous models of civil society is of particular significance at a time when Muslim societies, by and large, are suffering from acute forms of ‘identity crisis’ syndrome. The aim of the last chapter of the book is to propose the outline of a dual-purpose model of civil society, which while fulfils the usual standard functions of civil societies, could also, in principle, prepare the ground for the participation of the societies which have adopted it in the creation of efficient global civil society.
