Degree
BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)
Faculty / School
School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)
Department
Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts
Date of Award
Spring 2024
Date of Submission
2024-09-12
Advisor
Abdul Wahab Suri, Visiting Faculty, Department of Social Sciences
Project Type
SSLA Culminating Experience
Access Type
Open Access
Keywords
Islamism, Democracy, Islam, Politics, Religion
Abstract
Political Islam or Islamism was a rising ideology during the latter half of the 20th century. 9/11 lent a fatal blow to Islamism and damaged the reputation of the Islamists, resulting in the global war on terror enacted by the US. US-funded military dictatorships repressed Islamists as an extension of the policy in most of the Arab world for most of the first decade of 2000. The Arab Uprisings of 2011 brought the dictators to their knees and Islamists rose with popular support again with Ennahda of Tunisia and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt gaining electoral victories. The next decade marked a fall in their popularity owing to several reasons. With the global political order currently undergoing a shift, democratic states struggling with upholding democratic ideals moving towards hybridization, and authoritarian states such as China gaining global prominence, the question that arises is whether Islamism is still relevant. This study will look at the political trajectory of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and conduct a deep reading of selected chapters from “Islami Riyasat” (Islamic State) Syed Abul A’la Maududi to understand the phenomenon. Both are trailblazers of modern revivalist political Islam and will be studied using democratization as a theoretical framework. The Muslim Brotherhood’s activity, policy, literature, and organizational structure will help us identify the viability of the Islamist method for survival and success in today’s political order. The chapters will be a guide towards understanding the basic ideological underpinnings of the movement. As a result of this research, we will be able to conclude that Muslim societies and their relationship with religion need a rereading, as a result of which the role of religion in the public sphere must be redefined. This will allow us to conclude that religion will always remain an influential part of society in Muslim communities, and thus Islamism, as defined by its ideologues, cannot be irrelevant, especially with its democratic tendencies.
Pages
79
Recommended Citation
Wajih, S. (2024). Are the Islamists Still Relevant? An In-Depth Study of the Ideology and Methodology of the Phenomenon (Unpublished undergraduate project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/sslace/318
