Political Islam — Still in, or on its way out?

by Jason

The future of political Islam

 

World Politics Review | The End of Political Islam

Is the long-predicted decline of Political Islam about to occur?

Several French scholars, such as Gilles Keppel and Olivier Roy, have been making this argument since the early 1990s. The only trouble was a subsequent string of Islamist electoral victories that seemed to undermine their thesis.

But in light of Islamist losses in recent elections in Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Bahrain, talk of the decline of Political Islam is reemerging. Influential Washington Post journalist David Ignatius recently wrote of a region-wide, anti-Islamist backlash whose central theme, according to a specialist he cited from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, is that “the Muslim parties have failed to convince the public that they have any more answers than anyone else.”

To discuss Islamism or, Islam as a political movement, can get mushy. It can get predictable. Too many times it is often confused for Muslim nationalism (not entirely the same but interchangeable enough that it often blurs the lines and creates a bit of a paradox). But, to do that misses the whole point of Islamism as a movement and what it means to the Middle East. As the article linked later does a good job of explaining: Islamism should be judged more by its existence and impulse than from only its electoral successes.

Islamism, as the movement we have come to know today, resulted from the success of the Iranian Revolution, which later helped to mobilize many Islamic movements throughout the Middle East. The aftermath of 9/11 may have brought these movements and their leaders under scrutiny – mainly al-Qaeda and the Taliban — but they still inspire millions and have greatly transformed the region in recent decades.

Just after the Iranian Revolution, Islamic activist and militants founded Hizbullah for the security of the Shi’i community. They received permanent status after the successful engagement with Israel in 1982. Just a few short years later, Hamas, emerged in the Palestinian territories. Through the networks of Mosque and aid from Iran and sympathetic Muslims everywhere, they quickly formed themselves into potent political machine with a violent paramilitary wing that challenged the PLO and Israeli occupation. Other Islamic movements took place and won elections in Jordan, Turkey and Algeria. In Algeria, the government refused the results resulting in a quasi civil war in which thousands died. Since they were born out of violence and have been forced to operate underground, these groups have almost always used violence and terror in which they exclusively acknowledge as a Muslim obligation and duty to Allah. This is where nationalism fails to cover these groups adequately. At this point, it is exclusively Muslim and is derived solely from fundamental Islam as a form of resistance and as a means to conquer. 

Take, for example, an excerpt from The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or better known as Hamas from its Islamic acronym. 

Article Three: Structure and Essence
The basic structure of the Islamic Resistance Movement consists of Muslims who are devoted to Allah and worship Him verily [as it is written]: “I have created Man and Devil for the purpose of their worship” [of Allah]. Those Muslims are cognizant of their duty towards themselves, their families and country and they have been relying on Allah for all that. They have raised the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors in order to extricate the country and the people from the [oppressors’] desecration, filth and evil.

Article Four 
The Movement welcomes all Muslims who share its beliefs and thinking, commit themselves to its course of action, keep its secrets and aspire to join its ranks in order to carry out their duty. Allah will reward them.

Article Five: Dimensions of Time and Space of the Hamas
As the Movement adopts Islam as its way of life, its time dimension extends back as far as the birth of the Islamic Message and of the Righteous Ancestor. Its ultimate goal is Islam, the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution. Its special dimension extends wherever on earth there are Muslims, who adopt Islam as their way of life; thus, it penetrates to the deepest reaches of the land and to the highest spheres of Heavens.

Many Islamic political movements will differ in areas but they all promote a common agenda, and that is the Islamification, or re-Islamification of the Middle East and where ever else there are Muslims. This includes enforcing Islamic laws and virtues (dress codes, beards and segregation of men and women in public life). They seek out to destroy existing governments and setup a new one based off the Koran. In other words, they all confirm their foundation in Islam, which makes it all exclusively a Muslim undertaking.

As a result, the past quarter century has seen a fast steady march of an increased offensive of political Islam and its substantial popularity among the same people that supported the strong nationalist parties that dominated the region after WWI. The political establishment which once dismissed the Islamist now are forced to concede to their presence and fear their influence. Though these established regimes have done a very good job of suppressing them, as they have all opposition, they have failed to suppress the impulse, passion and belief in the movement itself. Middle Eastern countries are maintained by a form of regressive power. Their military’s are trained and equipped and specialized for internal security at least as much as external defense. They have used this power to band Islamic parties, imprison their leaders, limit their activities or deny them fundraising rights and media access during elections. Despite all of this, they have still scored electoral victories in Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine during a stretch from 2002 -2007. What exactly would the governments of the Middle East look like if the region really adopted the tenets of the National Endowment of Democracy?

Islamism as a movement isn’t waning. As mentioned earlier, it is interchangeable with Muslim nationalism and that frees it from stagnation and in times of crisis can deliver it a strong surge of support.

Article Twelve: Hamas in Palestine, Its Views on Homeland and Nationalism
Hamas regards Nationalism (Wataniyya) as part and parcel of the religious faith. Nothing is loftier or deeper in Nationalism than waging Jihad against the enemy and confronting him when he sets foot on the land of the Muslims.

Like all political parties and social movements, Islamism may have to adapt to changing times, events and regional outlook. But, it is rooted enough in Arab and Muslim history, nationalism and grievances that it is unlikely it will cease to be a force in the Muslim world. Islamism can adopt nationalism. Nationalism cannot adopt Islamism. And for that reason, Islamism will remain active and at times potent for years to come.