Spring 2014 POS 353 Islamic Ideology Presented to Dr. Elie El Hindy By Jimmy Matar 2012-1972 Introduction Throughout the 20th century, the rise of political Islam has been one of the major events. The Islamic religion is followed by more than 1.5 billion people worldwide; however, it has become an ideological project for some. Because of the important role that political Islam plays in the world today, a careful examination into the roots of these ideologies, how they evolved into the current form, how they are similar or different from each other, in addition to their perspectives for today and the future will shed light on their actions and way of thinking. Historical Background In the 16th century, there were three Islamic powers: Ottoman Empire, Central Asian Empire, and Mughal Empire. All three vanished from the face of the earth leaving behind multitude of Muslim aspirations longing for the glories of the past. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated in 1922, the Central Asian Empire was taken over by the Russian Empire, and the Mughal Empire’s last gasp was in 1857 when their rebellion was defeated by the British. This has caused an absence of a core state for the Islamic world. There have been individual revolutions in several countries such as Omar Al Mukhtar in Libya, the Million Martyrs Revolution in Algeria…against Western colonization but the strategic centre of gravity had already shifted. The continuous military defeats of the Arab countries against Israel (1948, 1967, and 1973) have caused a heavy burden in the psychology of the Arab Muslims. These defeats confirmed the loss of Muslim power. This led to abandoning the idea of secularism and going back towards the commitment to Islam to regain the former ... ... middle of paper ... ...led by the US as legitimate targets for jihad. Salafists believe that “Muslims should emulate the first three generations of Islam referred to as the pious forefathers (al salaf al salih) as much as possible in all areas of life” (Evans, 2011, 820). Although the Salafists differ on the issue of jihad, apostasy, and activism priorities, they strictly believe in the oneness of God, and in following the rules of the Qur’an in a strict manner so that the bias of human subjectivity and self interest will be eliminated. There are three major groups: the purists who believe that they should use nonviolent methods to spread education and purification, the politicos who believe that the Salafi beliefs have to be implemented politically because God is the only source of legislation, and the jihadis who believe that change can only come from revolution and violence. Sufism
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror is a book written by Bernard Lewis that ‘in particular charts the key events of the twentieth century leading up to the violent confrontations of today.’(Lewis) Lewis clearly and entirely pointed out key events explaining the choices to be made by the people of the Islamic faith. They must determine whether their religion takes its place alongside other religions in a global community, or whether it will revert back into conflict with non-Muslim nations.
Since “Islamic beliefs constitute the vocabulary of political action” , this part of the paper will focus on the Islamic roots of this pluralist and toleration-based system. The principle of toleration is clearly pronounced in the Qur’an. For example in Sûrat al-hujurât (The Dwellings, verse 49:3) we can read “O’ Mankind [...] made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another” which implies the need for a common respect. Indeed, despite the absence of literal term for the word “tolerance” in the Qu’ran, Hadith and ‘Fiqh, show that religious coercion (“‘ikrâh”) ...
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
In Islam, the close association of political power, moral authority, and religious beliefs made authority its biggest issue. (Page 43)
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
The failure of defensive development in Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia had a large and long-lasting effect on the Muslim world. The original goal of the reforms was to end European intervention, revive the weakening empires, and to be on equal standing with Europe. Yet, all three empires over-utilized the wealth and knowledge of Europe, leading to their ultimate demise. The empires wished to impose reforms in the military, economics, education, and law which the region had not experienced previously. This resulted in backlash, violence, and division within the empires eventually leading to bankruptcy, ironically, to those which they wished to separate themselves.
Lewis, Bernard (1996). Islam and Liberal Democracy: A Historical Overview. Journal of Democracy, Volume 7, Issue 2, 52-63.
Nigosan, Solomon. Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices. ed. Vol. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. Xvi-129.
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
Qutb’s involvement with Egyptian religious politics caused him to come into conflict with the Nasser government of 1950s’ Egypt and Qutb spent a decade in prison. It was during this period he produced many of his seminal writings on the establishment of a truly Islamic society. By drawing on early Islamic thinkers and on direct interpretation of the Qur’an, Qutb advocated violence in establishing an Islamic state. The thinking behind and the implications of these interpretations are discussed at length in this essay to demonstrate how they have informed the belief of many Islamic fundamentalists, especially with regard to the use of violence to achieve their aims. The latter part of the essay focuses on the legacy of Qutb’s ideas and how these have been manifest in various fundamentalist groups. However, because academic literature is often a few paces behind the present it has not been possible to explore some recent developmenst of Islam inspired violence in any detail, namely the emergence of fundamentalist groups within the Muslim diaspora of the West.
There is and has been a clash between Islam and the Western nations which has been becoming more and more apparent, increasingly so in in the 21st century. The clash is based on a fallacious understanding that has shaped the worldview of generations of Europeans and Americans that has progressively found its way into Western scholarship. This worldview’s roots were developed early on in the European-Christian ethos and its ideological tree now produces fruits that are fed mouth to mouth by the talking heads of modern political movements. This paper will attempt to present the recent perception of Islam in the West and how it developed and effected American society.
“The Islamic doctrine of violent religious Jihad fuels the fires of terrorism worldwide. Do not minimize the significance of that statement. All of Islam, including Islam associated with America and Plainfield, Indiana holds to a doctrine known as Jihad, and the doctrine of Jihad fuels the fires of terrorism worldwide,” (cite).
Rather, this terrorism was a product that was pushed and accelerated through significant historical events using the religion of Islam as a tool to “perpetuate power” . These historical events that accelerated terrorism, include that of the United States intervention in the 1980’s, and propagandist ideologies like that of Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabism. Thus, before attempting to analyze and understand the influences behind these events, one must first understand how this religion was used to perpetuate power, by approaching to understand religion in a more philosophical manner.
- Uli Schamiloglu (July 2011-present) Amy Stambach (September 2008-May 2010) B. Venkat Mani (March 2008-August 2008; June 2010-June 2011)”inside Islam: dialogue and debates”
Muslims have to renew their Islamic tradition so that it is practicable and suitable for the modern age. However, the modernization made should not break down and deviate from the ‘ideal type’ of Islamic norms and standards. There are some failures that can be clearly seen in the aspects of politics, economy, social and also education and culture.