The Islamists

M. Nafi

Description

Today's Islamists are not a reproduction of an ancient legacy, but are modern political actors defined by modern discourses, argues Basheer Nafiin The Islamists. He examines the emergence and development of political Islam in the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, discussing the historical context within which political Islam arose, and relating it to the social movements and political parties that lead the phenomenon today. On questions concerning the state, economics and law, the differences among Islamists are no less than their agreements. Nafit eases out some of these agreements and differences relating to governance, citizenship, pluralism, unity, revivalism, and truth. This very accessible work, intended for both an academic and general audience, highlights these matters by examining the groups and individuals that constitute the broad category of political Islam, considering how they have developed over time, and how they have impacted on the countries in which they operate.

Sujets

• Islam

Informations

• Publié par: Afro-Middle East Centre
• Date de parution: 09 août 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780992199814
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

T H E ISLAMISTS A CONTEXTUAL HISTORY OF POLITICAL ISLAM

BASHEER M NAFI TRANSLATED BY ASLAM FAROUK-ALLI

ALJAZEERA CENTRE FOR STUDIES

First published in Arabic asal-Islamiyunin 2010 by Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Doha. The second Arabic edition was published in 2014.

First published in English in 2017 by the Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC), PO Box 411494, Craighall 2024, Johannesburg, South Africa. http://www.amec.org.za ISBN: 978-0-9946825-3-6

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC).

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not necessarily UHÀHFW WKH YLHZV RI $0(& RU LQGLFDWH WKDW $0(& HQGRUVHV WKH YLHZV RI WKH DXWKRU ,Q quoting from this publication, readers are advised to attribute the source of the information to the author and not to AMEC.

Cover photograph by Aslam Farouk-Alli: Tinmel Mosque in Morocco, built by the Caliph µ$EG DO0X¶PLQ LEQ µ$OL LQ  LQ KRQRXU RI ,EQ 7XPDUW WKH VSLULWXDO IDWKHU RI WKH Muwwahid Dynasty.

Copy edited by Mary Ralphs Cover design by Karen Graphics Text design and layout by Karen Graphics Printed in South Africa by Impress Printers.

Contents

Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................. v Introduction to the English edition ............................................... vii

 2 3 4 5  7 8 9 10 11   14   17 

,VODP DQG SROLWLFV....................................................................... 1 The early reformists ................................................................... 13 Hasan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood .......................... 31 The Muslim Brotherhood and the 1952 Egyptian Revolution.. 51 Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani and Hizb al-Tahrir................................ 65 $O0DZGXGL DQG WKH -DPDDWL,VODPL........................................ 79 The revenge of the intellectual................................................... 97 Closing of the circle ................................................................... 115 The revolution of the jurist and the people................................ 129 Crisis in the kingdom of plenty.................................................. 151 The spread of violence ............................................................... 169 ,VODPLVW UHVLVWDQFH ¿JKWHUV......................................................... 193 7KH ,VODPLVW PLOLWDU\ FRXS......................................................... 215 Transcontinental violence .......................................................... 233 5LVH RI UHIRUPLVW ,VODPLVWV......................................................... 255 &ULVLV RI UHIRUPLVW ,VODPLVWV....................................................... 273 The limits of the reformist victory............................................. 295 &RQFOXVLRQ ,VODPLVWV DQG WKH IXWXUH.......................................... 315

Notes ............................................................................................. Glossary ........................................................................................ References .....................................................................................

329 337 339

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Acronyms and abbreviations

Justice and Development Party (Turkey) DO4D¶LGD LQ ,UDT European Union ,VODPLF 6DOYDWLRQ )URQW ,VODPLF 5HYROXWLRQDU\ *XDUG &RUSV Justice and Development Party (Morocco) 3DQ0DOD\ ,VODPLF 3DUW\ Palestine Liberation Organization 2UJDQL]DWLRQ RI ,QWHOOLJHQFH DQG 1DWLRQDO 6HFXULW\ Sudan People’s Liberation Movement United States of America Young Muslim Men’s Association

v

,QWURGXFWLRQ WR WKH English edition

ork on the manuscript for this book was completed in 2006. W 0LQRU DGGLWLRQV DQG FRUUHFWLRQV ZHUH PDGH EHIRUH WKH ¿UVW $U- DELF HGLWLRQ ZDV SXEOLVKHG LQ  ,Q  D 7XUNLVK HGLWLRQ ZHQW WR WKH SUHVV LQ ,VWDQEXO DQG LQ  WKH VHFRQG $UDELF HGLWLRQ ZDV SXE- OLVKHG , DP SOHDVHG WKDW WKH ERRN LV UHDFKLQJ D EURDG UDQJH RI LQWHUHVWHG readers. This introduction has given me an opportunity to test the ve- racity of my arguments in light of the subsequent Arab revolutions and counter-revolutions, which have incited profound and comprehensive political and intellectual change in most Arab countries. ,W LV LPSRUWDQW WR QRWH WKDW WKLV ZRUN ZDV QHYHU LQWHQGHG WR RIIHU D KLVWRU\ RI ,VODP RU WKH ,VODPLF ZRUOG LQ WKH PRGHUQ HUD ,W LV D OLPLWHG DW- tempt to understand a single aspect of Muslim history, namely the emer- JHQFH DQG GHYHORSPHQW RI SROLWLFDO ,VODP LQ WKH PLGWZHQWLHWK DQG HDUO\ WZHQW\¿UVW FHQWXULHV )XUWKHUPRUH VLQFH LW ZDV ZULWWHQ ZLWK WKH REMHF- tive of reaching a broad audience, the book does not target academics DQG VSHFLDOLVWV DOWKRXJK , DP KRSHIXO WKDW FROOHDJXHV LQ WKH ¿HOGV RI PRGHUQ KLVWRU\ SROLWLFV DQG ,VODPLF VWXGLHV PD\ ¿QG LW XVHIXO IRU XQ- dergraduate students. , KDYH DYRLGHG HODERUDWH UHIHUHQFLQJ RI VRXUFHV and have tried to keep the footnoting as sparse as possible. However, a detailed bibliography is provided for those interested in further reading. , ZULWH WKLV LQWURGXFWLRQ DV WKH LQLWLDO HIIHFWV RI WKH PDMRU SROLWLFDO transformations initiated in the Arab world at the onset of 2011 are FRPLQJ LQWR YLHZ ,Q WKH LPPHGLDWH DIWHUPDWK RI WKH $UDE UHYROXWLRQV

vii

T I HE SLAMISTS

,VODPLVW SROLWLFDO IRUFHV PDGH VLJQL¿FDQW JDLQV LQ SDUOLDPHQWDU\ HOHF- tions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Yemen. However, the wave of counter-revolution that has swept through the Arab world since  KDV OHG WR WKH RXVWLQJ RI ,VODPLVW PRYHPHQWV LQ D QXPEHU RI $UDE countries while others have descended into civil war. Not surprisingly, many who initially saw the Arab revolutions as signalling the rise of SROLWLFDO ,VODP KDYH VLQFH EHFRPH PRUH FLUFXPVSHFW 6RPH KDYH HYHQ described the reversal in the fortunes of the Muslim Brotherhood in (J\SW DQG (QQDKGD LQ 7XQLVLD DV WKH GHFOLQH DQG IDOO RI SROLWLFDO ,VODP 6XFK DQ DQDO\VLV LV QRW ZLWKRXW SUHFHGHQW ,Q  DJDLQVW WKH EDFN- GURS RI WKH EORRG\ LQWHUQHFLQH FRQÀLFW LQ $IJKDQLVWDQ DIWHU WKH 6RYLHW occupation and the degeneration of the Algerian transition into a civ- il war, the eminent French political scientist Olivier Roy published a book entitledThe Failure of Political Islam 6LQFH ,VODPLVW JURXSV KDG SOD\HG D VLJQL¿FDQW UROH LQ WKH HYHQWV WKDW HQJXOIHG $IJKDQLVWDQ DQG Algeria in the early 1990s, the collapse of post-Soviet Afghanistan and $OJHULD¶V VKRUWOLYHG GHPRFUDF\ ZHUH UHJDUGHG DV WKH IDLOXUH RI WKH ,V- lamist movement. $OWKRXJK SROLWLFDO ,VODP KDV H[LVWHG LQ RQH IRUP RU DQRWKHU VLQFH WKH 1920s, it was not until the 1970s that it was seen as a force to be reck- oned with in Muslim-majority societies. This era witnessed the triumph RI ,UDQ¶V ,VODPLF UHYROXWLRQ WKH VSHDUKHDGLQJ RI UHVLVWDQFH WR 6RYLHW occupation by the Afghan mujahidin, and the re-emergence of the Mus- lim Brotherhood in Egypt as a mass movement. The sometimes-violent EDFNODVK DJDLQVW SROLWLFDO ,VODP LQ WKH V DQG V FRPELQHG ZLWK WKH ,VODPLVWV¶ LQDELOLW\ WR JUDVS WKH QDWXUH RI WKH PRGHUQ VWDWH KDV PDGH LW GLI¿FXOW WR SUHGLFW WKH WUDMHFWRU\ RI WKH ,VODPLVW SKHQRPHQRQ +RZHY- er, the truth is that there is no ‘ideal type’ against which to measure its SURJUHVV ± SROLWLFDO ,VODP ZDV DQG VWLOO LV DQ LQFRPSOHWH SURMHFW DQG LW is still far too early to write it off as a failure. :LWK WKH RQVHW RI WKH WZHQW\¿UVW FHQWXU\ LW ZDV FOHDU WKDW WKH ,VOD- PLVWV ZHUH PDNLQJ D FRPHEDFN ,Q 7XUNH\ WKUHDWV SRVHG E\ WKH FRUUXSW

viii

I E NTRODUCTION TO THE NGLISH EDITION

DQG LQHI¿FLHQW UXOLQJ HOLWH WR WKH OLYHOLKRRGV RI WKH PLGGOH FODVVHV DQG the integrity of the country propelled the newly founded Justice and 'HYHORSPHQW 3DUW\ $.3 ± ZLWK LWV PLOGO\ VHFXODU DQG ,VODPLF YLHZV ± WR SRZHU ,Q PRVW RWKHU $UDE FRXQWULHV EUXWDO UXOLQJ HOLWHV FRPSHQ- VDWHG IRU WKHLU OHJLWLPDF\ GH¿FLW E\ PRQRSROLVLQJ SROLWLFDO DXWKRULW\ and national wealth, while turning state apparatuses into instruments of oppression. ,Q WKLV FRQWH[W WKH SROLWLFDO SRZHU RI WKH PLGGOH FODVVHV ODUJHO\ GLV- integrated. None of the nationalist, Arab nationalist or liberal political parties were able to provide credible opposition to the alliance between VWDWH LQVWLWXWLRQV DQG WKH UXOLQJ HOLWHV 2QO\ WKH ,VODPLVWV ZKR QRZ EH- gan to make their presence felt across the social spectrum, could claim to speak on behalf of the people. ,Q  WKH 0XVOLP %URWKHUKRRG PDGH KXJH JDLQV LQ (J\SW¶V SDU- OLDPHQWDU\ HOHFWLRQV GHVSLWH ÀDJUDQW PDQLSXODWLRQ RI WKH HOHFWRUDO SUR- FHVV E\ +RVQL 0XEDUDN¶V VWDWH VHFXULW\ VHUYLFHV ,Q WKH IROORZLQJ \HDU Hamas won an undisputed majority in the Palestinian elections for the :HVW %DQN DQG *D]D ,Q WKH QH[W IHZ \HDUV ,VODPLVWV PDGH VLJQL¿FDQW gains in almost every Arab country where relatively fair elections were held. Nevertheless, the confusion surrounding mainstream expressions RI SROLWLFDO ,VODP DQG ZKDW WKLV PHDQV IRU 0XVOLPV VHDUFKLQJ IRU IUHH- dom and justice in the modern world persisted. The outbreak of the Arab revolutions in 2011 thus represented a turning point in terms of WKH VWDWXV RI WKH ,VODPLVW PRYHPHQW LQ 0XVOLP VRFLHWLHV ,Q SROLWLFDO WHUPV WKHUH LV QR GRXEW WKDW WKH ,VODPLVWV ZHUH WKH PDLQ EHQH¿FLDULHV RI WKH $UDE UHYROXWLRQV +RZHYHU WKLV ZDV QRW EHFDXVH WKH\ ZHUH WKH VROH LQLWLDWRUV RI WKHVH UHYROXWLRQV ,Q UHDOLW\ WKH $UDE UHYROXWLRQV ZHUH QHLWKHU WKH SURGXFW RI D VSHFL¿F VRFLDO JURXS QRU WKH outcome of any organisation’s plans. They were mass uprisings in HYHU\ VHQVH RI WKH WHUP UHÀHFWLQJ ZLGHVSUHDG FRQFHUQ RYHU WKH IDLOXUH of the state and the persistence of corrupt and inept ruling elites. Yet, WKH ,VODPLVWV HPHUJHG DW WKLV FULWLFDO MXQFWXUH DV WKH RQO\ IRUFH FDSDEOH

ix