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It is argued and that too with much evidence that the 21st century will be defined by conflicts not centered around economic, ideological or even political factors, but largely around cultural issues thereby giving birth to global terrorism manifested either as Al-Qaeda or Islamic state. The proponents of this line of thought call this as cultural clash of civilizations indeed, reflecting a deeper clash between the Islam and the West. This prophesy now seemed to have proved true if the evolution and rise of Islamic State also called as Diash, is of any indication.
Having gripped the Middle East in a bloody war since 2011, if not earlier, Islamic state militants are in a no mood to give up in so far as their quest for establishing an independent Sunni state is concerned ( remember that Sunni is a distinct sect in Islam who constitute the largest number of Muslims in the world). Having their ideological conflict with Shia Islam, mainly confined to Iran which became the world’s first Muslim Republic after the popular Islamic Revolution of 1979, the Islamic state militants strive to set up a similar state of Sunni Muslims that will comprise the territories of Iraq, Syria and some parts of Turkey. The current and ongoing Mosul (Iraq) offensive is an indication of their hold on an Iraqi territory.
What had inspired the formation of Islamic Iran then and what do the Islamic State renegades seek to achieve now or what has inspired them to create an Islamic state? The scholars try to answer these questions by linking this upsurge to the phenomenon of what they call as Islamism. Let us try to unravel this in order to know what is this all about!
In simple words, Islamism is all about a kind of fundamentalism in Islam. But this fundamentalism should not be simply interpreted as merely a belief in the literal truth of Koran, for then every Muslim believes in Koran and is thus a fundamentalist. In fact, this fundamentalism means much more than merely a belief in Koran. It is essentially an intense and a militant faith in Islamic beliefs as enshrined in the letters of Koran to be sworn as the overriding principles observed strictly in all vistas of life right from social behaviour to politics right upto personal morality. In this sense, Islamic fundamentalists wish to establish the primacy of religion over politics rather than the other way round as is observed in a secular state which keeps politics completely aloof from religion. Carried away by this ideology, Islamic fundamentalists want to establish an Islamic state as what Islamic state militants are trying to do. Obviously, this Islamic state will have the trappings of a state that is purely theocratic in nature in which spiritual rather than temporal authority shall reign supreme and be governed on the basis of Sharia (divine Islamic law) rather than the secular law. This Sharia is all about a moral and legal code of conduct as laid down in the letters of Koran not only required to be observed by the common citizens, but it will also be the law of the state. Sharia also lays down a system of punishments for most crimes.
Having said that one can drive home the truth that Islamism is all about a political creed or for that matter, a movement centered around these Sharia principles. This is why Islamism is generally referred to as Political Islam or a radical Islamic movement being expressed in a quest for the setting up of a pan Islamic state. What are then the core issues that Islamism seeks to address and justify its creed for a separate Islamic state. We can delineate some of them as below:
First: Through this creed, Islamic state fighters seek to promote a pan Islamic unity and thus trying to distinguish Islamism from the traditional political nationalism. Second: By hoisting Islamism as a political movement, they seek to purify the Islamic world especially from the western influence firstly by overthrowing the so called apostate leaders ruling in the Muslim world as we have been witnessing in this, the arch rivalry between the Islamic Iran and Saudi Arabia although, an Islamic nation but considered apostate by Iran by virtue of latter’s growing proximity with US. Third: A shrill cry for the removal of western especially US influence from the Muslim world reflected widely in the politico-cultural struggle against the entire west itself. This is reflected in blatant attacks on US troops or embassies located anywhere in the Muslim world and why USA has been hell bent upon removing the ISIS menace from Iraq and neighboring countries. US and its allies justify their war against ISIS or continued hostility against Iran on the ground that Islamism poses a threat to democracy and civil liberties that are acknowledged as the universal values obviously because an Islamic state is nothing less than a totalitarian state. Having understood Islamism atleast in a rudimentary sense, it also becomes pertinent to know about the genesis of Islamism and possibly tracing the roots of Islamic state.
During late 1920’s, a religious movement by the name of Muslim brotherhood started in Egypt articulated its ideology for the first time for an Islamic state structured around Sharia and remained committed for the same ever since until it embraced liberal democratic principles through its political forays in 50’s. Nevertheless, Islamism as a political creed did not die down and got revived when first Islamic republic in the form of Iran following a popular Islamic revolution in 1979 got its birth which brought Ayatollah Khomeini as the spiritual head of Iran.
Later on inspired by this development, various Mujahideen groups came into being in various Muslim countries like Afghanistan in the form of Taliban, Lebanon where pro-Iranian Hezbollah group surfaced and since 1990s Al-Qaeda led by Osama bin laden, all giving expression to a kind of militant Islamism symbolizing themselves as the enemies of the west especially USA and causing loss to its life and property in the form of Islamic terrorism. In this quest also, they even went on to invent a new strain of highly destructive terrorism called as Jihadi terrorism against USA and its allies. It may not be out of place to mention that Islamism or fundamentalism in Islam does not mean a single doctrinal or political character. In fact there have been two well noted and influential forms of political Islam referred to as Salafism or Whhabism and Shiaism.
Whhabism as it originated during the 19 th century in what we today know as Saudi Arabia has its core theme in the total elimination of modern western influences from the Muslim society so that the same could be structured around a strict interpretation of holy scriptures. Saudi Arabia thus became worlds first fundamentalist Islamic state with Whhabism as its official version of Islam. In this sense, Salafis seek to restore Islam by purging it of heresies as well as influences of the modern inventions right upto the banning of pictures, videos or even Television. . This Salafism has had its influence on its followers so intense that they equate and justify jihad as a struggle for Islam against God’s enemies. Islamic state militants adhere to this creed including Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda.
On the other hand, Shiaism believes in a more activist or revolutionary interpretation of holy scriptures by holding that divine guidance is about to re-emerge into the world by the arrival of a leader whom they call as hidden Imam who is directly guided by God to ensure salvation of Shia Muslims. This belief is what that led to popular agitations in Iran against USA and western influence and continued antipathy between the two countries. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of Islamic state stirred by this ideology can be identified with some of the following beliefs: Society and hence, state should be reconstructed in line with the religious principles and ideals of Islam. The modern secular state has no place in the Islamic ideology and is thus should be substituted for an Islamic state. This indicates that the religious principles (as per Sharia law) should predominate over secular (temporal) principles. In other words, the religious authority shall have primacy over the political authority.
The West as a whole and western values perpetuated by it are not only immoral and corrupt, but also corrupting thereby, calling for a jihad against the west and its value system. From above discussion, we can now reason out as to what Islamic state renegades seek to achieve by having an independent Islamic sate of their own. Whether, they will succeed in their project or not, remains to be seen. But it cannot be discounted that once their dream fructifies, it will no doubt be a state that is theocratic yet anti democratic. They may be satisfied in having a state in which rebirth of Islam may be seen through the restoration of what is being increasingly referred to as the Caliphate (an Islamic state ruled by the Calipha, possibly Abu Bakr Al Bagdadi provided he will survive the hunt launched against him by US forces…)
By: Pritam Sharma ProfileResourcesReport error
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