Introduction (Islam as Political Religion) (original) (raw)

Muslims in the West and their attitudes to full participation in western societies: some reflections

2009

The resurgence of political Islam in the mid twentieth century, the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the terrorist attacks of recent decades have ignited a debate in the West that had been dormant for some time. Some western commentators, such as the Oriana Fallaci (2002), have argued that there is a fundamental divide between 'Muslim' values and 'western' values. They project an image of an Islam that is violent, fanatical and extremist, and intent on destroying western civilisation. For them, Muslims are engaged in a struggle for global dominance, control and subjugation of the religious 'Other'. Their views are reflected by numerous journalists, commentators and poli­ ticians: Le Pen in France, Jorg Haider in Austria and the late Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands; Hiryse Ali also in the Netherlands, for example. Similarly there are certain Muslims who argue that Islam and the West are on a collision course and there is no way that a coexist­ ence is possible. W...

Islam and the Trajectory of Globalization

2021

The book examines the growing tension between social movements that embrace egalitarian and inclusivist views of national and global politics, most notably classical liberalism, and those that advance social hierarchy and national exclusivism, such as neoliberalism, neoconservatism, and national populism. In exploring issues relating to tensions and conf licts around globalization, the book identifies historical patterns of convergence and divergence rooted in the monotheistic traditions, beginning with the ancient Israelites who dominated the Near East during the Axial Age, through Islamic civilization, and finally by considering the idealism-realism tensions in modern times. One thing remained constant throughout the various historical stages that preceded our current moment of global convergence: a recurring tension between transcendental idealism and various forms of realism. Transcendental idealism, which prioritizes egalitarian and universal values, pushed periodically against the forces of realism that privilege established law and power structure. Equipped with the idealism-realism framework, the book examines the consequences of European realism that justified the imperialistic venture into Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America in the name of liberation and liberalization. The ill-conceived strategy has, ironically, engendered the very dysfunctional societies that produce the waves of immigrants in constant motion from the South to the North, simultaneously as it fostered the social hierarchy that transferred external tensions into identity politics within the countries of the North. The book focuses particularly on the role played historically by Islamic rationalism in translating the monotheistic egalitarian outlook into the institutions of religious pluralism, legislative and legal autonomy, and the scientific enterprise at the foundation of modern society. It concludes by shedding light on the significance of the Muslim presence in Western cultures as humanity draws slowly but consistently towards what we may come to recognize as the Global Age.

Review Essay: The Perpetual Politics of Islam

Post-Islamism: The Changing Faces of Political Islam. Edited by Asef Bayet. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013, xiv + 351 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-976606-2 Salafism in Yemen: Transnationalism and Religious Identity. By Laurent Bonnefoy. London: Hurst and Company, 2011, xxii + 313 pp. ISBN 978-1-849-04131-7 Whatever Happened to the Islamists? Salafis, Heavy Metal Muslims and the Lure of Consumer Islam. Edited by Amel Boubekeur and Olivier Roy. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012, ix + 333 pp. ISBN 978-0-231-15426-0 When Victory is not an Option: Islamist Movements in Arab Politics. By Nathan J. Brown. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012, xii + 260 pp. ISBN 978-0-8014-7772-0 The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America’s War in Arabia. By Gregory D. Johnsen. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2012, xv + 326 pp. ISBN 978-0- 393-08242-5 The Missing Martyrs: Why There Are So Few Muslim Terrorists. By Charles Kurzman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, v + 248 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-976687-1 Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement. Edited by Roel Meijer. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009, xix + 463 pp. ISBN 978-0-231-15420-8 Europe and the Islamic World: A History. By John Tolan, Gilles Veinstein and Henry Laurens, Translated by Jane Marie Todd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, xi + 478 pp. ISBN 978-0=691-14705-5 Political Islam: A Critical Reader. Edited by Frédéric Volpi. New York: Routledge, 2011, xv + 471 pp. ISBN 978-0-415-56028-3

Islam and Ideology in World Politics

Ideologies in World Politics, 2020

This chapter offers a broad perspective on the ideological use of Islam in a global context. It begins by challenging the perception of the political use of religion in the Muslim world as an Islamic resurgence, because this obscures the continued and continuing political relevance of religion to Muslims throughout history. The chapter surveys the political significance of Islam's universality claim, both institutionally and symbolically; the conflation and deconflation of religion and statehood; and the post-Cold War role of Islamism on the global stage. To capture the wide variety in which Islam features in public life and international relations, the chapter introduces an alternative taxonomy for categorizing different ways of engaging politically with religion, distinguishing between traditional, reactionary and progressive approaches. It also examines how Sunni-Shi'a polarization features in the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran for control of the Persian Gulf and wider Middle East. The chapter's scope extends beyond the Middle East to include the most populous Muslim country in the world: Indonesia and the unique dynamics of Islam in this second largest democracy in Asia. It also addresses counter-narratives, such as Post-Islamism and Moderatism.