Routledge

Chapter Resources

Chapter 19: The Rise of Political Islam, 1928–2000

Debates

Debating the state strategies and responses to the Islamist challenge

Maps

The Muslim world

Discussion Questions

  1. Why did the modernists such as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abdu and Rashid Rida believe that Islam had to modernize in order to be able to compete with the West and how did they envisage this modernization?
  2. What were Sayyed Qutb's ideas of jahiliyya and perpetual revolution and to what extent are these ideas still relevant today?
  3. Was the 1979 Iranian Revolution Islamic?
  4. What are the differences between Sunni and Shi'a conceptions of what constitutes an Islamic state?
  5. What role did the American CIA and Pakistani ISI play in the Soviet–Mujahedin war and to what extent did this lay the foundations for the emergence of al-Qaeda?
  6. Assess the Algerian military's decision to cancel the 1991 elections.
  7. To what extent has Hizb'allah moderated since its establishment in 1992?
  8. How far can Malaysia serve as a model of an economically successful and politically stable yet democratic state for the rest of the Muslim world?
  9. To what extent are militant Islamists the product of authoritarian regimes rather than radical ideology?
  10. To what extent has Islamic radicalization been driven by poverty?

Weblinks

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/
By far the most comprehensive website on Islam, especially for those interested in primary sources, is the University of Southern California's Compendium of Muslim Texts. This site covers the fundamentals of Islam as well as special subjects including history, politics, law, human relations and misperceptions about Islam. It also has a Quran search and Hadith search.

http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
The website to keep an eye on for the latest developments and statements from al-Qaeda and other Middle Eastern Islamist groups is that of the Arab satellite television station Al-Jazeera.

http://www.memri.org/conflict.html
Another useful website monitoring Islamists in the media is that of the Middle East Media Research Institute which specializes in collating and analysing the press coverage, including the Arab press.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm
Good analytical papers on Islamist movements involved in conflict can be found on the website of the International Crisis Group. They include papers on Hamas and Hizb'allah in the Arab–Israeli conflict, the Islamic Salvation Front in the Algerian Civil War and Islamists separatists in the Philippines and Thailand. The ICG also has the best analysis on Jemaah Islamiyya in Indonesia, far superior to any of the books written on this subject.

http://www.islamlib.com
An interesting website for developments within Indonesian Islam is that of the Liberal Islam Network.

Some Islamist organizations have their own websites. They include the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizbut Tahrir, Hamas and Hizb'allah. The last has a special section on the Arab–Israeli conflict and the 2006 June war as well as speeches and statements by the leadership and video clips:

Documents on the web

Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood Hassan al-Banna's pamphlet on jihad can be found at:
http://www.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/jihad/

Sayyed Qutb's Milestones can be found at:
http://www.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/milestones/

Hizb'allah's views and concepts can be found at:
http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/320/324/324.2

The Hamas Charter (1988) can be found at:
www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/hamas.htm

Osama Bin Laden's 1996 fatwa declaring war on America can be found at:
http://www.mideastweb.org/osamabinladen1.htm