Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of low and Politics,SR.C ,Islamic Azad University,Tehran.Iran
2
Departmentof Law and Political Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3
Departmentf Law and Political Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22126/mps.2025.12707.1086
Abstract
The concept of public good and common interest holds a fundamental significance, such that in defining the characteristics and indicators of the modern state, the extent of its realization is considered a measure of the efficiency and effectiveness of the political system. The perspective of political schools of thought and the logic by which policymakers interpret public goods and interests serve as guiding frameworks for policymaking. The realization of the public good and common interest in the Middle East likewise depends on the solidarity of all ethnic and religious groups as well as the strengthening of the rule of law.
The concept of the public interest in Islam overlaps in certain practical and ethical dimensions with some modern Western approaches. This overlap can provide grounds for dialogue and theoretical convergence between Islamic and Western intellectual traditions. This study, employing a qualitative meta-analysis method, examines the concept of public interest in 32 selected articles out of 37 academic works published between 2014 and 2025. The aim is to identify the patterns, foundations, and conceptual challenges of public interest within Islamic discourse and to compare it with certain Western perspectives.
Findings indicate that although the concept of maslaha in the Islamic tradition is rooted in Sharia, the objectives of the law , it nonetheless exhibits significant conceptual overlaps with Western understandings of public interest( theories of Rawls, Habermas, and communitarian thinkers), particularly in areas such as its critique of individualistic liberalism and its emphasis on community, tradition, and shared values. Furthermore, the results reveal that a central challenge in both traditions lies in determining the boundariesof public interest and its relationship to individual freedom and the rule of law. At the same time, the existing capacities within Islamic thought for reinterpreting the concept of public interest in light of contemporary social transformations,
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