[Zam]

I think Saudi Arabia and Iran are both Islamic states in the outward sense based on their respective schools. They establish what is outwardly required of an Islamic state, in terms of their laws.

Whether overall there is 'justice' or not is more difficult to establish, and in truth, the word 'Islamic' should first denotate justice before it denotates any practices of the Shariah that exist to establish justice. Even if the laws are good, the people in power can subvert the purpose of those laws through wrong and insincere judgments.

I think if we require perfection from an Islamic state then there were never any and will never be any, except for the time of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salam), the Khulafa Ar-Rashidun, and the time of Isa (alayhi salam) that will come.

We also have to define what we mean by 'state'. If we just mean the pieces of paper which define the laws and the institutions which are set up to uphold those laws, then what problem is there in defining any country that has Shariah rulings and courts as being Islamic, at least in its judicial system?

In terms of by what system the country is ruled, there is no specific Islamic injunction that you have to have a monarchy or a republic or any specific government type, so I don't know how to define what is Islamic or not in that context.

Overall though, I think a true and holistic Islamic state will have justice established through the Shariah, no matter what style of ruling whether monarchy or republic.