A religion not a state : Ali Abd al Raziqs Islamic justification of political secularism Contents: 1. Introduction: background and overview; 2. Classical juristic theories of the caliphate: from idealism to accomodation; 3. The caliphate in the colonial era; 4. Ali Abd al Raziqs intellectual formation and his place among the disciples of Muhammad Abduh; 5. The central argument; 6. The ruling system in the time of the Prophet; 7. Critiques of Abd al Raziqs position; 8. The implications of Abd al Raziqs study for the debate over Islam and politics