Political Character of Islam - Assignment Example

Introduction The growth of Political Islam is considered as one of the most important aspects of Political history of the world. The rise of radical Muslims to power and the subsequent rift with West indicated the consequences of how the conflict between Political Islam and the West can affect the whole world. What is also critical to note that this rise of Political Islam also created a kind of voluntary anger and hate for anyone who is non-Muslim owing to the reasons which have probably no direct link with Islam as a religion. (Baswedan, 2004). Islam is considered as a complete philosophy offering guidance to its adherents for almost every area of life. It is because of this reason that Islam also provides guidance in terms of how to live a political life while strictly remaining under the rules prescribed by the religion. The major principles of Politics in Islam come from Quran- the holy scripture of the religion as well as the Sunnah (the acts and saying of Prophet (p.b.u.h)) while also borrowing heavily from the Muslim history. Whether there is a political Islam and it is a new methodology which is separate from the Orthodox religion is one of the debatable issues. The current environment and potential uneasiness between West and Islam is mostly rooted into the political aspects of Muslims. The question therefore arises as to whether is there a political Islam or it’s a radical rupture from the orthodox principles of the religion and a new phenomenon which emerged as a result of political ambitions of few. This paper will therefore attempt to discuss the political Islam from this perspective. Muslim History A closer look at the Islamic history would suggest that it emerged in two different strands i.e. the growth of Islam as a religion and growth of Islam as a social institution. The evolution of Muslim governments over the period of time and the spread of Islam in many geographical areas of the world has resulted into the deep changes not only at the personal level but at political, social as well as economic level. Early Muslim history indicates that just after the death of Prophet, Islamic empire started to flourish at great speed. During its peak period, Islamic empire spread over a large geographical area and its rule extended up to countries like Spain. This rapid increase in the way Islam influenced the ordinary lives of so many individuals across the different geographical regions also based on the commonly shared principles. Since Islam binds its disciplines in a quasi political community – Ummah therefore its political dimensions advocates no geographical boundaries. The central authority which controlled ruled and provided the spiritual guidance to the Ummah was Caliphate. However, due to weakening of governance, spread of Colonialism, last Caliphate seat of the Muslim world ended after the First World War when Ottoman empire was disintegrated and final central political authority in Islam vanished.( Beinin, & Stork, 1997). The period after that presents a unique and somewhat interesting rise of new face of Islamic Politics and will be discussed. Political Characteristics of Islam In order to understand the political roots of Islam, it is important to explore its early history and its fundamental teachings which are outlined in Quran and Sunnah. Quran was revealed both in Mecca as well as Medina and apparently the message which has been conveyed in both the revelations is relatively contradictory as the part of Quran which was revealed during Prophet’s stay in Mecca contain more fundamental and core teachings of Islam whereas part which was revealed in Medina contain relatively different message. This contradiction however is perfectly logical because of the change in the status of Muslims when they migrated from Mecca to Medina and established their own Government and negotiated power with opponents. (Kepel, 2004). Dualistic logic suggests that any two things which are potentially opposite to each other can be true and this exactly what the teaching of Quran are as at some points it advocates the religious and political tolerance whereas at some points it orders its followers to chop off the heads of the enemies of the religion. If one views these two contradictory beliefs based on the scientific method, it may look absurd however, from a dualistic logic perspective this seem perfectly correct as both the verses of Quran are true with equal enforcement. It is also important to note that the teachings of Quran and Islam as a religion are potentially divided into two subsets of instructions for Muslims as well as instructions for non Muslims and how should Muslims deal with them. There potential duality in the message of Quran therefore presents a significant challenge to anyone regarding evaluating and understanding the essential nature of Islam and how it evolved and what exactly it demands from its adherents. There are various examples in Prophet’s life where it was demonstrated that the Islam has significant powerful roots in terms of its political characteristics are concerned however, there are also instances wherein a whole conquered city of Mecca was pardoned and a very unique example was set. A closer look at the history of Islam however, would suggest that the Islam carried two different messages with regards to dealing with the worldly matters. One was basically as to how to live the life like an ordinary Muslim and secondly how to actually perform and engage into issues like Politics and governance. The early history of Islam therefore indicates that Prophet hardly attacked anyone when Muslim State was established in Medina and almost all of the conversion to Islam was done purely on voluntary basis. There are however, some very visible differences between the Islamic mode of governance and the current notions of Democracy in the Western World. The Islamic mode of governance therefore its overall political structure is not based on democracy in its true sense and its because of this reason that there is a constant conflict between the West and Islam. This has been also mostly due to the fact that West has probably always tried to view Islam from its own perspective. The kind of governance mechanism which was established just after the death of Prophet was not based upon the principles of Democracy however, rulers were appointed through a consultative process and Caliphate was established in order to run the overall affairs of the State. What is however, significant to note that as the overall divisions within Islam started to widened and different Muslim factions started to emerge, the overall political character of Islam started to change radically. The emergence of organizations like Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaida therefore shall largely been seen within this perspective of how the rise of Wahabi faction of Islam started to dominate it and how it merged and combined with organizations like Muslim Brotherhood to give rise to the organizations like Al-Qaida. Political Islam- Recent Phenomenon The debate on the political side of Islam became more intense after America was attacked and the gruesome events of 9/11 which shocked the world. It has been argued by likes of Kepel that the purpose of these attacks was two fold i.e. to terrorize the masses and gain the support and sympathy of Muslims across the globe. However, this could not probably proved as correct assessment by those who triggered the events of 9/11 and most of the Muslim support went with US. What followed after 9/11 is something which is really debatable and requires separate discussion but what followed is something really interesting regarding the renewed spotlight on the true nature of Islam and its influence on the Political lives of ordinary Muslims. The events of 9/11 also brought the spotlight back on Islam and its role as a political force also and as such different debates started to emerge regarding the true nature of Islam and its role in Politics. These events also raised the serious doubts over the traditional interpretation of Islam and questions were raised regarding the true nature of Islam. What is Islam and whether it has any political roots or not is a debate which needs to be viewed from a very diverse perspective in order to establish a link between the two if there is any? (Mahmood 2005). The subsequent sections will therefore explore and discuss some of the emerging themes which shed light on the political characteristics of Islam. Salafi Movement Probably one of the strongest factors which influenced the development of the current form of Political Islam is based upon the so called Salafiyah movement in Islam. Salafi Movement advocated the purging of religion from all the historical developments and restore it to the original and thus implementing all the instructions and rules and regulations of the Islam in their true sense. It is also because of this reason that the term fundamentalism is often used in order to denote an underlying movement within Muslims which focused on the restoration of the religion in accordance with the true teachings of Islam and which are based upon Quran and Sunnah as the major source of guidance. Salafis – the followers of the Salafi movement in Islam follow the lives of the first four rulers of Islam and two later generations in the first part of Islam. According to them, they were the model of Islam and as such all should follow them in their strict sense including following them strictly in all areas of their lives including political. Since the first two generations after the death of Prophet were mostly involved in the expansion of Islam’s geographical boundaries therefore the notion of war and Jihad come naturally to those who belong to Salafi movement.( Kepel, 2002). The current line of thinking in West regarding the Salafi movement however, is based on a very radical view that it emerged during 19th century as a result of the increasing influence of the European values and systems in Western countries. As such this movement was an internal reaction from within Muslim community to restore Islam to its original contents and thus purging it from impurities brought due to cultural changes which took place over the period of time. What is also significant to note that the Salafi movement became more attractive to the Younger generations in Muslim countries because it provided them a distinct identity which was even above their own national identity? This appeal and attraction of the Salafi movement and its influence in the ordinary Muslim society therefore forced many Muslim countries to accommodate the fundamental principles of Salafis into the domain of public policy and politics and thus religion started to take more political roots within Muslim societies. Conclusion To understand the political character of Islam it is important to understand the apparent conflict within Islam because of its relatively ambiguous message to its followers. As discussed above that Islam offers two different strands of thinking and instructions. One aspect is related with living the life in ordinary course of life according to the guiding principles of religion however, the second set of Instructions includes also includes the means of using Jihad in order to achieve the religious objectives by Muslims. This fundamental duality in Islam therefore shall be taken into consideration while discussing the question of Political Islam. The current direction of research on finding the political roots of Islam is focusing upon the Salafi movement as the major influence on shaping the current political face of the religion. Organizations like Al-Qaida are considered as the result of direct belief in the principles laid down by Salafi movement. Salafi movement in Islam is relatively recent phenomenon and emerged as a result of the influence of the increasing Western values in Muslim societies. Salafi’s put emphasis on the following of Islam in true sense and demand from its follower to follow the lives of first three generations of Islam in very strict sense. As such the current Political Islam is the direct offspring of the more recent thinking in Islam and may not be directly related with the true teachings of Islam because Islam, in its true sense, does not advocate any particular form of government or political ideas. References 1. Baswedan, A (2004). Political Islam in Indonesia: Present and Future Trajectory. Asian Survey. 44 (5), pp.669-690. 2. Beinin, J & Stork, J (1997). Political Islam: essays from Middle East Report. Illustrated. ed. London: I.B.Tauris. 3. Kepel, G (2002). Jihad: the trail of political Islam. Illustrated. ed. New York: Harvard University Press. 4. Kepel, G (2004). The war for Muslim minds: Islam and the West. Illustrated. ed. New York: Harvard University Press. 5. Mahmood M (2005). Whither Political Islam? [online]. [Accessed 29 November 2010]. Available from: . Read More