One of the main problem areas of contemporary Islamic thought is the relationship between religionand state. This relationship in Islamic societies is a highly controversial issue. As we know, both religion andstate are the two most important social institutions for a healthy social order and social life. After the death ofthe Prophet Mohammad, the first dispute in Islamic history is the issue of the Caliphate, namely how will therelationship between religion and state be established. It is possible to say that this dispute still continues tosome extent. Today, the most useful instrument produced in the context of the relationship between religionand state in modern society is the principle of secularism (laicite). In 1923, the Republic of Turkey with Muslimmajority, founded as a modern nation state by Ataturk and his patriotic friends, has also adopted the principleof secularism, as well as constitution, republic, law, and human rights. As it is known, many states have emerged in the Islamic world by achieving political independenceas of the middle of the 20th century. In this period, these states have adopted the development patternsborrowed from the West and much affected by the secular paradigm, while building nations. Even if religionand politics have not completely separated in these states, by applying secular policies, the role of Islam inthe state and society as a source of legitimating states, and governmental institutions has been severelylimited. Apart from this, many governments have gained a moderate Islamic appearance by making somereferences to Islam in their constitutions. Thus, in the Muslim societies or states, the relationship betweenreligion and state could not be perfectly built on a sound balance. Even today, such issues as the role of Islamin the modern world, particularly in a secular state, and its views of democracy, pluralism and religiousfreedom, have remained on the agenda for a century. In the context of this debate, some names such as SayyidBey, A. an-Naim A. Abd al-Raziq, A. Sachedina, N. Madjid, al-Qaradavi, al-Ghannouchi, Tariq Ramadan,Mustafa Ceric, etc. can be counted. In this study, the relationship between religion and state will be examined in the context of thecontemporary Islamic thought by the example of Ali Abd al-Raziq (1887-1966). His book al-Islâm and Uṣûl alHukm published in 1925, a year after the abolition of the Caliphate in Turkey, has contained some informationand analyses about the nature of political authority in Islam, and about the following subjects such as religion,state, caliphate, reign, and politics. In 1927, this book translated into Turkish by Omer Rıza Dogrul, with thename of Islam and Government. According to Abd al-Raziq, Islam does not foresee a state model, left it tosociety; Islam wants social power, not political power, and the role of the Prophet is not a political leader buthe is a religious authority. He lies entirely against the traditional understanding of Caliphate by claiming theargument that there is no religious and rational foundation of the Caliphate, which is regarded as a necessityof Shari’a in the classical literature. It is the main debate of this study that what do these views mean for today’s world, especially forradical and Salafi movements trying to manipulate the understanding the relationship between religion andstate in the name of the Sharia state.