Islamic Ideology Of Islam

1326 Words3 Pages

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

Open Document