It is the abstract of my final paper at university on:

 

Leo Strauss and Islamic Political Philosophy

 

Leo Strauss (1899-1973) is an Orientalist whose doctrines in the realm of Islamic Political Philosophy have not been developed. His main concerns pivot around rendering a brand new exposition of the place of Islamic Political Philosophy. According to him, the phenomenon of “Esotericism” brought about a case in which we have not come up with a correct understanding of Islamic Political Philosophy. This indicates that it would not suffice to apply methods of “Progressivism” and “Historicism” to appreciate political classic texts; rather, one must take up method of “True Historical Understanding”. This means that political classic texts must be appreciated exactly as their authors understood them.
    
By applying this method in the realm of Islamic Political Philosophy we come up with two results: Firstly, Islamic Political Philosophy stands in a quite different position with regard to that of Christian Political Philosophy for its benefits from a religious perspective as well as making use of ancient Greek Sources. Secondly, its position has some affinities and harmonies with the position of Platonic Political Philosophy for its historical and epistemological grounds.
    
According to Strauss, this harmony must be sought on the one hand in the nature of the Divine revelation and Islamic Law (Shari ‘a) and on the other hand in the political teachings of Plato. Rendering an excellent political system is a requirement of Islamic Law and revelation. This is true especially with regard to a faith, which invites all human beings to think over and contemplate on each and every phenomenon. Accordingly, Islamic Political Philosophy tried to come up with a philosophical appreciation of revelation, hence trying to change their faith into cognition. As Plato’s teachings, especially those embodied in his book Laws have many similarities with the Islamic Law, Islamic Political Philosophers tried to take models of it so as to render philosophical expositions of the phenomena of revelation, prophet hood and a excellent system.
    
Hence, according to Strauss who holds that the revelation and Islamic Law are commingled with politics and governing state, the Islamic line of philosophy, which concerns faith and the Islamic Law, is a “Political Philosophy”, not a “Philosophy of Religion”, as is in Christianity.