Political Islam Research Articles

The Safavid EmpireThe Degradation of Political Islam

Background. After the end of the khulafaur rasyidin period, the history of Islamic civilization has been marked by the establishment of Islamic dynasties that played a role in the spread of Islam. However, after the Abbasid dynasty was destroyed by the Mongols, the light of Islam was dimmed.
 Purpose. Wars and struggles for Islamic power took place everywhere. Even the books of Islamic science were destroyed.
 Method. The political situation of Muslims as a whole only progressed again after the development of three major empires, namely the Ottoman Empire in Turkey, the Safawi Empire in Persia, and the Mughal Empire in India.
 Results. The name Safawiyah is known in Islamic history as the name of the kingdom located in Iran, before becoming the Safawiyah kingdom this kingdom originated from the tariqah movement in Ardabil, Azerbaijan (Russian territory) which was established simultaneously with the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. Named Safawiyah because it was taken from the name of its founder, Safi al-Din, the Safawiyah kingdom adheres to the Shia school as its state school.
 ConclusionThe founder of the safawiyah kingdom descended from the sixth Shia Imam. The fanaticism of the followers of the safawiyah order who opposed groups other than shia encouraged this movement to enter the political movement. The tendency towards politics emerged during the leadership of Junaid, who added political movements in addition to religious ones

Spiritual but Not Religious? French Muslim Discourses on Spirituality

This article explores the possibility of a spiritual Islam in the West as a viable alternative to traditionalist and political Islam. It looks at the capabilities and limitations of two French Muslim voices, Abdennour Bidar and Éric Geoffroy, who are the most vocal Muslim intellectuals in favor of spiritual Islam in France. A careful examination of their writings reveals that post-modernism, French secularism, and religious freedom all support the spread of spiritual Islam. However, because of its elitism, overemphasis on individualism, and lack of formal religious institutions for knowledge and practice, spiritual Islam struggles. Overall, spiritual Islam flourishes in a secular society, but it is too intellectual to truly oppose political and conservative Islam.

Naqshbandīs and the Muslim Brotherhood: Diaspora and the Rise of the Political Islam in Modern Turkey

Abstract The secularizing reforms of the republican elites in modern Turkey encountered Islamic resistance orchestrated by Naqshbandīs, who were declared enemies of the regime, repressed, and banned. The literature on how Turkish Islamists and the Naqshbandiyya have responded to republicans predominantly deals with either how they withdrew into a sort of diaspora or how they submitted and/or adapted to the republican regime. The consensus has been that Naqshbandīs played a role in inhibiting the infiltration of radical Islamic ideologies in modern Turkey. However, there is a lacuna in the literature on the Naqshbandī diaspora outside Turkey and its cooperation with transnational Islamic movements in building networks of resistance to secularism. Addressing this gap, this paper argues that some Naqshbandīs evaded republican surveillance and bans by creating an Egypt-based diasporic community, developing an Islamic cadre intended to eventually re-Islamize the Turkish state, its politics and society. Based on the memoirs and biographies of the prominent figures of the diaspora in Cairo, the study uncovers the connection between the Naqshbandiyya and other Islamic transnational movements, principally the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, at the ideological and institutional levels from the 1920s to the 1980s, to show how this cadre emerged and subsequently shaped the character of Islamism in modern Turkey.

Rached Ghannouchi and his Political Discourses between Tunisian and Global Islamism

Abstract Rached Ghannouchi and his Islamic movement Ennahda had received a popular mandate to write a post-revolution constitution for Tunisia. However, Ghannouchi preferred national consensus over using his party’s political strength. Ennahda relinquished power in 2014 and announced to abandon religious activism in 2016. The paper explains Ghannouchi’s politics of Islam, which he now calls, “Muslim Democracy (Ghannouchi, 2016),” and his thoughts on key modern political concepts. Ghannouchi, instead of a Sharia state, advanced the agenda of Dawla Madniya or Civilian State (Zidan, 2014). Ghannouchi, in his pre-uprising writings, has widely discussed ‘state,’ ‘secularism,’ ‘democracy,’ ‘civilization,’ and fundamental human rights. Ghannouchi sought national consensus by sharing a common viewpoint for Tunisia’s transition from dictatorship to a civilian state. The article analyses Ghannouchi’s writings and his opinion on key Islamic issues on which he differs from contemporary Islamic groups of Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, or elsewhere.

Ottoman Turkey the Sorrowful Period of Islam's Political Journey

Background. Talking about Islam cannot be separated from the long history of the struggle of Muslims in the world. Purpose. History is strong evidence that a civilization can be seen to exist and the fragrance of its name. Method. According to the literature, history is an event or event that really happened in the past, science, knowledge, lesson stories about events or events that have really happened. Results. Since Islam was born until now, there have been many dynamics of civilization that can be learned as lessons and encouragement for the people afterwards. Conclusion. From this history, Muslims are increasingly aware that their predecessors left a scientific and civilizational legacy that can be emulated for the people after them in the future

Unity through Division: Political Islam, Representation and Democracy in Indonesia by Diego Fossati

Unity through Division: Political Islam, Representation and Democracy in Indonesia by <i>Diego Fossati</i>

Unjust Treatment and Intolerance: The Dynamic of Religious Politics and Christianity in Türkiye

Türkiye was the centre of Christianity until the Ottoman Empire invaded Constantinople in the 15th century. The Ottoman Empire granted rights and protection to the Orthodox Christians, but major conversions to Moslems with political purposes occurred during this period. In 1924, Türkiye became a modern state based on the secularism of Kemal Ataturk and then controlled religious affairs. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has held power since 2003, amended the constitution and strengthened Islamic politics in Türkiye in the last decade, benefiting conservative Muslims. Therefore, this study aimed to elaborate on the impact of religious political dynamics in Türkiye from the Roman Empire to the Erdogan regime on Christianity in the country. The theory of religious politics and a qualitative methodology with a historical comparative approach was adopted. The result showed that the political transformation in Türkiye, from the Ottoman Era and Kemal’s secularism to Erdogan’s Islamism, did not change the political attitude of the Turkish government towards Christianity. Regrettably, Christians continue to experience unpleasant and discriminatory treatment from the government, particularly after the failed 2016 coup, due to the perception that Christians are often associated with the interests of the US and Western countries.

Влияние фактора политического ислама в современном мире

The article is devoted to the problem of the influence of the factor of political Islam in the modern conditions. In order to reveal such influence, the author examines the situation in 45 UN member stat es, where more than 50% of the population adheres to Islam, tentatively subdividing these states into Islamic, quasi-Islamic and secular. His analysis shows that the influence of the factor of political Islam in the field of politics of the Muslim world, and, consequently, in the global political space, is limited. The direct impact of political Islam on political processes is visible only in 12 Islamic states with stable political regimes and secular Turkey. In all these states, except for theocratic Islamic dictatorships Afghanistan and Iran, as well as Qatar, the authorities severely suppress any manifestations of radical political Islam. The interreligious Sunni-Shia conflict exerts a significant impact on the political situation in a number of Islamic states. In 20 quasi-Islamic and secular Muslim states with stable political regimes, political Islam, if present, is only on the periphery of the political field. At the same time, in some of the states in this group, the authorities have to fight cross-border terrorist activity of radical Islamic organizations. In almost a quarter of the states of the Muslim world, the political situation is currently unstable. Herewith, one of the factors of political turbulence in these states, along with ethnic and clan conflicts, is the terrorist activities of both international and national radical Islamic groups and movements.

Allah, Bread, Freedom: Turkey’s Muslim others and transnational mosques in Europe

AbstractScholarship on political Islam has often addressed settings where Islamist movements and political parties operate as anti-colonial and oppositional entities. On the other hand, this article focuses on a less explored aspect of Islamist governmentalities in a case when Islamism becomes a part of the governing canon and rules over its Muslim others. I investigate situations where Islamist politics incorporates neo-imperial, nationalist, and colonial practices in creating a desired Muslim ummah at home and abroad. I explore marginalized critical discourses and praxes within this imagined Muslim ummah in Turkey and examine its transnational reverberations among the Kurdish and Turkish communities and mosques in Europe. In other words, I examine the dialectical relation between the formation of the Turkish Islamist canon and its non-Western critiques that comes from within and the margins through protests and critiques of Anti-capitalist Muslims in Turkey; examples of Civil Friday prayers (Sivil Cuma namazları) of the Kurdish imams; and the reconfiguration of Kurdish mosques of liberation in Europe. In doing so, I present how religious practices and discourses are instrumentalized for Islamist colonial governmentalities on the one hand but also serve as a decolonial critique to deconstruct contemporary Muslimness and open room for a plurality of Muslim perspectives excluded from the overly militarized and nationalist rhetoric espoused in Turkish Islamist discourses and practices.

PENGARUH POLA MENONTON CERAMAH USTAD FELIX SIAUW MELALUI INSTAGRAM TERHADAP TOLERANSI PERBEDAAN PENDAPAT UMAT ISLAM (STUDI PADA FOLLOWERS AKUN @FELIXSIAUW)

There are many people, especially Muslim people who carry out da'wah activities using the Instagram application. This is evidenced by the emergence of many da'wah accounts in the Instagram application that contain video content and writings for preaching. These contents contain discussion of monotheism, fiqh, Islamic politics, and others. Researchers used quantitative research techniques pre experimental design (Non Design). The population in this study are all @Felixsiauw Account Followers. research sample of 100 respondents. The method used to collect information in this research is using a questionnaire or questionnaire and documentation. In accordance with the results of this study, it can be concluded that there is an impact from the pattern of watching Ustad Felix Siauw's lectures through Instagram on tolerance for differences in Muslim opinion (Stussi on Account Followers @Felixsiauw. This can be seen in the hypothesis test with the t-test, this finding is proven through the magnitude of the beta coefficient is 0.729 and the significant coefficient is 0.000 which is smaller than 0.05.

A Caliphate of Ideas? Islamic Politics in Dialogue with Contemporary Marxism

This article deconstructs the conceptual framework of the social theorist Salman Sayyid by critically examining his work on the political and hegemony in relation to the thought of the post-Marxist philosopher Ernesto Laclau. Sayyid elaborates a theory of the political that necessitates a communal break with existing society, a move very similar to Laclau and post-Marxist thought more generally. In analyzing Sayyid’s theories of the caliphate with Laclau’s conception of hegemonic struggle, the author suggests that the construction of any caliphate should think about the question of solidarity with “plebs” or those discarded from the system of capitalism. The article concludes with an analysis of how Sayyid’s theoretical praxis can be applied in American Muslim political activism through the concept of the counterpublic.

Şule Yüksel Şenler: An Islamist Vernacular Intellectual

This article is not a contemplation on women and politics. Neither is it a discussion on Muslim women, the hijab, and Islamism. Instead, this is a testimony to and a remark on Şule Yüksel Şenler, an Islamist vernacular intellectual who blazed a trail in the Islamist politics of Türkiye commencing in the 1960s but existed in the Islamism literature rather through her absence. Şenler vernacularised Islamism by mobilising the hijab, public talks, cinema, literature, journalism, and womanhood, amongst other things such as charities, organisations and politics. As a testimony, I begin with a depiction of the context by providing a chronicle of Turkish politics focusing on the 1960s with a biographical note on Şenler. Next, as a remark, I attempt to work her out as a vernacular intellectual who fashioned the context that concurrently moulded her. To this end, I present Grant Farred’s concept of vernacular intellectual. Farred coins the term to account for the particular intellectual figures who emerged from the anti/postcolonial struggles. Then, I narrate the story of Şenler by expanding the vernacular intellectual and vernacular beyond the conventional postcolonial setting.

Contested rights, unequal citizens: how the Constitution presents paradoxes and hopes of equality for India’s Muslim minority

ABSTRACT This article examines why the Indian Constitution is central to Muslim politics and political resistance. It examines the tensions and challenges the Indian Constitution and the political rise of Hindu nationalism present to the Muslim struggle for equality in India. The article underscores how the Indian Constitution’s paradoxical stance on governing religion places religious minorities, particularly Muslims, in a challenging position amid evolving state and political ideologies, resulting in underrepresentation, political focus on identity and marginalisation, and difficulties in addressing inequalities and discrimination. A case study of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (Ind) is employed to illustrate how constitutional paradoxes shaped advocacy efforts using the Constitution. However, these endeavours ultimately proved unsuccessful, shedding light on the challenges that lie ahead for advocates of Muslim rights.

Religiosity and Political Islam: Divergent Influences on Support for Terrorism

AbstractThis study examines the intricate relationship between religion and attitudes towards terrorist violence, with a specific focus on individual sympathy for al-Qaeda and justification for suicide bombings. While religion has the capacity to promote both harmony and social cohesion, as well as division and conflict, it is crucial to explore the complex and contradictory nature of religious beliefs in relation to individuals’ attitudes towards terrorism. To address this paradox, the study differentiates between religion as a belief and religion as an ideology. Drawing from a subset of the 2011 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, encompassing countries with substantial Muslim populations (Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey), the research investigates how religiosity and political Islam influence public attitudes towards terrorism, considering political and economic grievances in these contexts. Multivariate statistical analysis suggests that religiosity and political Islam exhibit distinct associations with the justification of suicide bombings and support for al-Qaeda, and these dynamics vary across countries. Ultimately, the study underscores the importance of perceiving religiosity not as a threat but as a potential remedy to prevent extremism by fostering an educated and deeper understanding of religious principles.

The Role of Foreign Intervention in Prolonging the Libyan Conflict in the Post-Gaddafi Period

ABSTRACT: This briefing evaluates the role of international intervention in prolonging the Libyan conflict, from financial, logistical, and military support. The briefing concludes that foreign interference interest was not necessarily the direct reason for protracting the Libyan conflict but played an essential role in strengthening the presence of the parties in the field. The regional countries showed different interests related to the Libyan conflict, including the interests of Egypt and the UAE, which harmonized with the eastern side led by Haftar’s forces ideologically in their hostility to political Islam. Conversely, the interests of Qatar and Turkey with the western side and political Islam contributed to supporting this party. Accordingly, the international intervention did not take a unified position, whether supporting conflict or peace. This led to the dispersion of international support between the conflicting parties, creating an imbalance of power to settle the conflict militarily. Moreover, some foreign parties tried to spoil the peace by biasing mediations such as the Skhirat Agreement and broadcasting their goals through internal spoilers, such as Haftar when he started the Tripoli war .

The method of ensuring security in the three schools of thought: Islam, Realism, and Liberalism

The question that this article aims to answer is how the process of achieving security based on the principles of Islamic political jurisprudence is attainable and how it stands out in comparison to the methods of obtaining security in other schools of thought. Various schools of thought have their distinct approaches in ensuring security. This article endeavors to elucidate the superiority of the security methods from the perspective of Islamic jurisprudence compared to liberalism and realism. The research hypothesis posits that "Islamic principles exhibit superiority in the process of ensuring security compared to the other two schools." The research methodology employed in this study is descriptive-analytical.&#x0D; In the realm of ensuring security, different schools of thought employ their unique strategies, ranging from coercion and power to persuasion, based on diverse approaches. In the context of democratic approaches, the emphasis is on persuasion. However, within the liberal school of thought, a dual policy is observed. They employ persuasion against liberals and coercion against non-liberal states.&#x0D; The issue of security methods from the perspective of the chosen school of thought delves into various strategies, spanning from "coercion" and "power" to "persuasion" based on different approaches. In the realm of democracy, persuasion is generally emphasized. However, within the liberal school of thought, a dual policy is evident. They employ the component of "persuasion" against liberals, and the element of "coercion" against non-liberal countries.

Ahlussunnah Wal Jama'ah Communication Forum is an Islamic Political Organizational Movement in Legal Studies

Indonesia's democratic transition post-reformation has changed the pattern of Indonesian politics. There were fluctuations and dynamics of Islamic political power during the New Order era. At the beginning of the New Order, Islam was marginalized from the state. Meanwhile, Islam encountered difficulties developing socio-political ideas because of the repressive New Order regime. It is interesting to note that although the majority of Indonesia's population is Muslim, nationalist political parties dominate every election. This article discusses complex unifying issues causing political turmoil: religion and the state. Much of Indonesia's current research on political Islam focuses on the rise of Islam-based political parties in domestic politics and the significant role of long-standing Islamic organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. This topic is interesting to discuss because it is relatively new, discussing the fundamental issue, in this case, the problem of different understandings of the relationship between religion and the state. The research method used in this study is library research. Data obtained from literature research is used to understand the background, history, goals, and vision of FKAWJ and the political context of Islam in Indonesia.How to cite item: Nugraha, Ridhoni Mirza, and Gilang Sandhubaya. “Ahlussunnah Wal Jama'ah Communication Forum is an Islamic Political Organizational Movement in Legal Studies.” Jurnal Cakrawala Hukum 14 no. 2 (2023): 212-222. DOI: doi.org/10.26905/idjch.v14i2.10174.

Queering Jihad in South Africa: Islam, Queerness, and Liberative Praxis

This essay examines the theology and politics of queer Muslims in South Africa. Through a queering of the analytical lens of “struggle and praxis” or jihad, this essay traces the deployment of the term jihad by a collective of queer Muslims in Cape Town. In this articulation, queer Muslims play with their inherited traditions of liberation, challenging its presuppositions, and expanding its contours. This essay argues that these queer Muslims read liberation traditions through their experience and praxis which guide their orientations toward theological meaning-making and community practice. By doing so, they challenge the regulatory nature of hegemonic forms of queerness, which emerged in the Global North, resonating in the local posturing of South Africa as a safe space for queer people, ignoring the disparity between the law and public practice, and erasing the experiences of the margins of the queer community. By embracing this marginality, queer Muslims “reimagine” tradition by presenting an inclusive alternative theology and praxis, suggesting a queer possibility within Islam.

Multi Patronage and Melting-Pot Social Cleavage: Secularist Political Parties Defeat Islamist Political Parties in Muslim Society

A partisan affiliation built from social basic and social cleavage in a relationsip of political parties and civil society as mostly discussed, found its new trend to be endshown by local political practices. This study examined why secularist political parties defeat Islamic political parties in muslim society. This study applicate phenomenology to investigate patronage and clientelism relationship between political parties and societies in research area of Probolinggo, East Java. This study had explored four findings, firstly, weakening of support from traditional Muslim societies with Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) affiliated, called nahdhiyyin, to Islamic parties and the tendency to support secularist parties particularly to PDIP. Secondly, multi patronage phenomena and diversed clientelism which weakens nahdliyin support to Islamic party and crossing over of political support to secularist parties. Thirdly, personal politics from local strong man effect shaped multi patronage and divergent clientelism as well as ends partisan affiliation. Fourthly, social basic had no longer a linear relationship to political parties hence social cleavage faded into new shape, is a melting-pot social cleavage. These findings point out weakening of social basic of Islamic political parties, as irrelevantly political party relationship with social basic to support electoral capacity.

Windscreens as sites of competing Turkish nationalisms: Kemalists vs. Islamists

In Turkey, the dominant political ideology is nationalism, but there are different variants competing for influence. Kemalism, the philosophy that laid the foundations for modern Turkey, advocated for a top-down modernization and secularisation of society, but also crucially involved creating a modern western-style nation state. The decades of the 1920s and 1930s saw the establishment of Kemalism as the official state ideology. Until the late 1990s, Kemalism remained as the state ideology, despite being challenged by a wide range of political tendencies. The greatest and most serious threat has come from political Islam, which rejects key tenets of the Kemalist ideology, namely western modernization and secularism. Conflict between Kemalists and Islamists on the national level has simmered since the 1970s, but a defining moment occurred in 2002 with the electoral victory of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). Over a period of 20 years in power, the AKP has eliminated much of the Kemalist improvements to Turkey's state institutions, society and culture. The result of the AKP’s Islamic nationalist policies has been increased political polarisation and friction in Turkish politics and society. This political polarisation led to an unusual practice in everyday politics; supporters on both sides manifest their respective ideologies via stickers with political messages displayed on the rear windscreens of cars as a challenge to the opposing ideology. Based on the findings of interviews conducted with owners of cars displaying these messages, this study aims to analyse the meaning of this practice in relation to everyday nationalism, and its implications for Turkish politics at large.