The article presents the concept of maslaha, i.e. public good, as well as its historical evolution and scope of application in law and politics. Throughout the centuries the scope and definition of maslaha has been changing, thus it became both a tool used in the Islamic law, Shariah, as well as a philosophical concept. Due to its essence – its reference to the public good – it was now and again used in politics to legitimise the deeds of the rulers, sometimes flavoured with religion, sometimes based on national reasoning. All these pieces are presented in the following article.
The Indonesian province of Aceh is considered to be the „gateway to Mecca”, as first Arab traders arrived there and in a peaceful way convinced Acehnese to adopt Islam as their religion. Many years of civil war and social consequences of tsunami in December 2004 meant that Aceh began to radicalize religiously. Implemented in the early twenty-first century Shariah law initially appeared to be tolerant, liberal version of Islam, but after 2004 it turned out to be completely different. Non-governmental organizations have begun to alarm about increasing cases of human rights violations in Aceh, as a direct consequence of the introduction of Shariah.
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