Contemporary Islam and Nationalism a Case Study of Egypt

Abstract

One of the most striking features of Islamic socio-political thought in contemporary Egypt (and in fact, in the whole of the Islamic world except, perhaps, Turkey) is that it has not undergone any basic changes. No radical reformulation of Islamic attitudes has so far taken place. Indeed, the efforts to bring about such a reformulation have been only a few, and these efforts too were not vigorous enough to influence the general tenor of Islamic socio-political thought. The outlook of Islam on life, its sources of guidance and inspiration, its vision of social and political life-all these remain very much the same. Islam still clings to its traditional interpretations. It is for this reason that the predominant Islamic attitudes in Egypt are typically represented by the Azhar and the Ikhwdn, rather than by people like Khilid Muhammad Khalid and Taha Husayn. In matters of detail undoubtedly Islamic socio-political thought does exhibit a number of modifications. For instance, democratic concepts and values are persistently stressed as an integral part of the scheme of political life envisaged by Islam. This is done on the plea that democratic ideas and institutions embody the Qur'anic principle of Shiira 1. In the same way, some change in the attitude towards non-Muslims is also noticeable. Leaders of contemporary Islamic thought, for instance, repeatedly stress that non-Muslims share equal rights and responsibilities with their Muslim compatriots 2. Certain aspects of inequality and discrimination with