Middle East Politics - Essay Example

Middle East Politics The intrinsic relationship between religion and politics is greatly exposed by the developments in the Middle Eastern Politics and it is widely accepted that religious ideologies have been the basic factors affecting political ideologies in the region. There has been a long-lasting conflict in the Middle Eastern Politics between the ideology of Arab nationalism and the ideology of Islamic revival, which has incongruously added fuel on to the burning fire in the politics of this region.

Significantly, the ideology of Arab nationalism was developed in the 1950s and 60s under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and the Ba’ath Parties of Syria and Iraq. It is a nationalist ideology that celebrates the splendor of Arab civilization, Arabic language and literature, and it demands transformation and political union in the Arab world. It also demands a united effort by the Arab nations of the world to put an end to Western influence in the Arab World. “The reign of ideology began with the spread of Arab nationalism… As Western influence grew, the ideas of national self determination began to make inroads… Thus was born Arab nationalism – the idea that the far-flung speakers of Arabic constituted a distinct nation, entitled from ‘foreign’ Turkish rule.

Its enthusiastic called this the Nahda, the ‘Arab awakening’: the stirring of the Arabs to their own vast potential…” (Kramer, 3) In conflict with the ideology of Arab nationalism is the ideology of Islamic revival which emerged in the 1970s under the leadership of the Islamic republic Party of Iran. It is important to recognize that the Islamic revival started roughly in 1970s and promulgated the need for a revitalization of the Islamic religion all through the Islamic world. According to the ideologies of Islamic revival, it is important to emphasize religious piety, community feeling, the philosophies and values of the Islamic culture and religion, etc.

Significantly, it is widely perceived that the Islamic revival movements played an immense role in the establishment of Middle Eastern governments, and this paper makes a reflective analysis of the ideology of Arab nationalism and the ideology of Islamic revival. The ideology of Arab nationalism, as aforementioned, is a nationalist ideology to unite the people belonging to Arab civilization and it maintains that the various peoples of the Arab World make up a single nation as they are bound together by a common language, culture, religion and history.

Started as a liberal ideology, Arab nationalism became radical, both politically and socially, at the end of the World War I and the partition of the Ottoman Empire by the European powers. “In the end, Arab nationalism produced very little liberty, equality, or revenge. Its heroes were military dictators who promised salvation, but Nasser, its great champion, was defeated in 1967. The appeal of Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism has been on the wane ever since…” (Kramer, 3) It is fundamental to realize that the Islamic revival movements came to being in the Middle Eastern Politics during the 1970s to take up the very space once occupied by Arab nationalism and this brought about inevitable conflict between both the ideologies.

Islamic revival is mainly concerned with the revival of ‘growing universalistic Islamic identity’ and the political demonstration of the Islamic resurgence is illustrated by the Middle Eastern governments in Iran, Sudan, etc. Significantly, Islamic revival reflects the longer-term structures of the Islamic history and it works as an organizing principle in several parts of the Islamic nations. As Ira Marvin Lapidus, “the increased integration of world societies as a result of enhanced communications, media, travel, and migration makes meaningful the concept of a single Islam practiced everywhere in similar ways, and an Islam which transcends national and ethnic customs.

” (Lapidus, 828) Most essentially, Islamic revival has been closely associated with Islamic religious radicalism and it is important to maintain that this movement has shown the latest examples of fundamentalism. Thus, the revival has given rise to various types of religious attacks on civilians, etc. and the political display of the Islamic revival in Iran and Sudan gives an essential illustration of the religious fundamentalism associated with this movement. In conclusion, the ideology of Arab nationalism and the ideology of Islamic revival have been in conflict in the Middle Eastern Politics, and these ideologies have played a crucial role in the socio-political issues in the region.

Whereas the reign of ideology in the Middle Eastern Politics started with the spread of Arab nationalism, it culminated in the emergence of the ideology of Islamic revival. Significantly, it is widely perceived that the Islamic revival movements played an immense role in the establishment of Middle Eastern governments, such as Iran and Sudan. In short, the intrinsic relationship between religion and politics in the Middle East is further established by the conflict between the ideology of Arab nationalism and the ideology of Islamic revival.

Works Cited Kramer, Martin. Arab Awakening and Islamic Revival: The Politics of Ideas in the Middle East. Transaction Publishers. 2008. P 3. Lapidus, Ira Marvin. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2002. P 828.