Islam, Politics and Foreign Policy_essay (original) (raw)
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religions Editorial Political Islam: More than Islamism
Religions, 2021
In this introductory paper to the issue on Political Islam in World Politics, I argue for a distinction between political Islam and Islamism. The latter refers to Islamic parties while the former includes state actions vis-a-vis Islam and more generally describes diverse forms of Islamic governmentality.
Political Islam and International Relations Theory
Handbook of International Relations and Religion, 2021
Scholars of political science tend to address religion as either an independent or dependent variable. The goal of the chapter is to offer an alternative to this polarized approach in order to reflect the fluidity and the diversity of the roles of religion in politics and vice versa. The key question is: when and how does religion play a role in politics? I contend that the role of religion in politics is better understood as a continuous set of inter- actions between institutions, actors, and ideas in different national and international contexts. The scale to conduct this investigation is not the individual but the community level. In this respect, I suggest going back to the basics of sociology to approach religion as a societal community. It is then easier to capture tensions or alliances between religious communities and the modern political community, i.e. the nation. I apply this approach to the understanding of political Islam in international relations through the examples of Turkey and Egypt.
Islam, Politics and Government
The relationship between Islam and politics has attracted considerable attention in recent years, and especially since the September 11 attacks. This paper examines this relationship and comprises an extensive review of the main sources of Islam. The principal aim is to assess arguments regarding the political nature of Islam, and it seeks to investigate whether or not Islam is inherently political. Islamists have used Islam as an ideological tool and also as a weapon to obtain power when they are in opposition. They also have given their authority a religious gloss when they are in government. Therefore, the second objective of the paper is to investigate the authenticity of their claims of the political nature of Islam. The paper asserts that the Qur’an and the Sunnah are concerned mainly with ethical and moral issues and have little to say about politics and governance.
Middle-Eastern Politics Term Paper How Political Islam Emerged and Evolved in the Middle-East
Political Islam, 2016
Islam is one of the three monotheistic religions founded in the Middle East. In the 21st century, Islam has become an important political force in the hands of state and non-state actors. The major concern of Islam as a political force has been the establishment of secularized, Western style nation-states in the Middle East. The rise of political Islam is a direct result of the Arab defeat in 1967’s six-day Arab-Israel War. This paper examine the Political Islam’s root and questioned the effectiveness in region by region taking refer to real time events and actors.
The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World
The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World by Mohammed Ayoob is an introductory book on political Islam. Main objective of Ayoob in writing the book, as he puts, was to provide an introductory text for the non-specialist reader while trying to highlight the complexity of the issue and avoid oversimplification of the subject. The book achieved more than it aimed, and filled the gap for an introductory book for students of different studies such as international relations, religion, sociology and history.
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.
An Assessment of Religion and Politics in the Islamic World
International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Studies, 2020
This paper investigates the relationship between Islam and politics in Islamic world and assesses how compatible they are. Through secularist theory, the paper establishes that the religion of Islam basically is a source of ethics and morality, and it should not be used as a political force on the citizens of any given state. The paper therefore considers divergent opinions of scholars on what supposed to be the stand of Islamic religion to democracy and how far a Muslim can apply the dictates of Quran to political activities in a state. Based on this, the paper investigates the roles being played by Islam in politics in some Islamic countries of the world and therefore concludes that there is no uniformity in their views on politics and religion of Islam.
World Sociopolitical Studies, 2018
This study attempts to assess the different ways through which Islam as a religion can impact politics. In fact, the notion that is collectively labeled as Islam and its re-interpretation as an escalating presence of religion in politics in today's world has deep layers. To distinguish a variety of these layers, each with different characteristics, they should be defined, and the type of contributions they can make to politics should be examined one by one. Mixing up the layers with each other and employing characteristics of one for another can result, and in fact has resulted in many misunderstandings in political discussions. In order to show how to distinguish the layers and how to find the dominant layer of religion in each case, the role played by Islam in three important Islamic countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will be examined. Comparing and contrasting these cases, this paper will conclude that only through identifying layers of religion in force and distinguishing the dominant ones can the actual role of religion be examined in each case study.