An Assessment of Managing Juristic Differences among Muslim Scholars in the Contemporary World

Abstract

The various juristic schools of thought in Islam that exist today is an attestant to the skills enjoyed by the ancient Muslim jurists in managing religious differences. The gradual fading-out of such skills among Muslim scholars is responsible for the mutual hostility that has greeted virtually all juristic discourses in the contemporary world. Against this backdrop, this study assesses the interaction among contemporary Muslim scholars over controversial juristic matters. The study adopts the analytical method of research. It discovers that there is ample example of positive display of ethics of disagreement by some contemporary scholars. It also submits that the lack of such ethics is apparent mostly in the modern Salafi school of thought. The study recommends periodic organization of workshops for Muslim preachers and scholars on the ethics of juristic disagreement.