Taha Jaber
This paper, which examines the four legal tools and sources used by fiqh al-aqaliyyat, namely, ijtihad, maslahah, taysir, and urf (custom), is a critical study of one of them: public interest (al-maslahah al-‘ammah). It seeks to determine to what extent the public interest should prevail vis-á-vis fiqh al-aqaliyyat and analyze the role that institutes, organizations, and Muslim leaders should shoulder to realize the public interest of Muslim minorities living in America. In addition, it investigates the various social, political, and economic activities that should be considered when dealing with America’s majority and minority communities and examines how fiqh al-aqaliyyat is a framework for political and social interaction between these two communities and within the Muslim community itself