ABSTRACT
The intellectual polemics around the notion of the secular as well as identification of Islam as a state religion lend credence to the argument that Islam has become too mixed up with politics, making the religion neither completely religious nor sincerely lay. The conception that several Islamic governments have made of their states is communitarian. The Islamic state should rather translate, at least to some extent, the spirit of the people, its communal beliefs and values. Generally speaking, the state exchanges the obedience of their subjects for its allegiance towards Islam. It increases its power by multiplying the signs of its loyalty towards Islam. A state may proclaim that its religion is Islam and its legislation follows Sharia, but it is not enough that the head of state is a Muslim, because Sharia requires other essential conditions, such as that he be just and knowledgeable in religious matters.
