This study seeks to reassess and evaluate the feasibility of the concept of political theology within the political thought of Muslim thinkers through the theoretical framework developed by Carl Schmitt. Adopting a sociological approach to political theology, Schmitt maintains that the fundamental concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized versions of Christian theological concepts. In his view, modern politics derives its theological-political character from the transfer and transformation of theological categories into the realm of sovereignty, authority, and statehood. Consequently, the modern state can be understood as a secularized continuation of theological structures that originally emerged within the Christian tradition.



The central question of this research is whether, based on Schmitt’s conception of political theology, it is possible to speak of the realization of this concept within the political thought of Muslim thinkers. The study hypothesizes that, due to the structural differences between Islamic and Christian theology, the absence of an institutional separation between religion and politics in the Islamic tradition, and the predominance of faith-based foundations over secular rationality in much of Islamic political thought, political theology in the Schmittian sense cannot be fully realized within the Islamic intellectual context.



Employing a phenomenological method and interpretive analysis, the article reexamines and evaluates the political ideas of Muslim thinkers according to the principal components and criteria of Schmitt’s theory of political theology. The findings indicate that although certain elements associated with political theology can be identified in Islamic political thought, the profound theological, historical, and conceptual differences between Islam and Christianity limit the applicability of Schmitt’s model. Therefore, the concept of political theology requires critical reconsideration, contextual reinterpretation, and theoretical reformulation when applied to the Islamic intellectual and political tradition.