Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

182 Conclusion
public [al-'amma] and closes the door to the latter or opens it
depending on the rank of the visitor, and does this at hours fixed
by the prince.' 4
There are some very beautiful passages in Arab history about the
lonely situation of pious caliphs - caliphs like 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-
'Aziz, who wanted at all costs to stop the violence and have a
dialogue with the rebels. He spent his time receiving them and
writing them long letters to explain himself and try to understand
them. 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz died - alas! - too soon. Too soon
to institutionalize dialogue with an opponent instead of cutting off
his head. The pious caliph suffered from being separated from the
people by the hijab. He was conscious that it was impossible for
him to fulfil his duties, which, according to the ideal, required him
to be head of state and head of government, minister of justice,
minister of finance, and commander of the army. 5 The job of qadi
was one of the functions included in the caliphate. It was the qadi's
duty to decide between litigants in order to put an end to disputes
and cut short court cases, but only by applying the prescriptions of
divine law drawn from the Koran and the Sunna. This is the reason
why this office was part of the duties of the caliph. 6 However, very
quickly it became impossible for the caliph to carry out every duty
that required face-to-face contact with the people: 'In the first years
of Islam the caliphs exercised it [the function of qadi] themselves
and did not delegate it to someone else. The first to delegate it to
another person, to whom he gave complete powers, was 'Umar
(may God agree to it).' 7 So much for justice.
'Umar, the second orthodox caliph, died in year 13 of the Hejira
(634), and since then Muslim justice has not been administered by
the one who is responsible for it according to the divine plan -
namely, the caliph himself. As we have seen, Harun al-Rashid was
the first to delegate the function of imam, sending someone to lead
the prayer service in his place. From that time on, the caliph and
the people, who no longer had any opportunity to engage in dialogue,
were locked into a cycle of violence and sedition followed
by execution. The caliph barricaded himself in his palace, to which
the people were denied entry. He only saw the world through the
hijab. An elitist court, made up of viziers, high officials, 'ulama
(religious authorities), and army generals, surrounded him and
obstructed his view.
The 'amma followed whoever made himself their leader, without
differentiating between talent and incompetence, without dis-