According to Achilov and Sen (2017), Political Islam is an ideology, not a religion. Cesari (2021) suggests that Political Islam is a style of compulsion and discipline imposed by the state on a particular territory and population, resulting in the fusion of national and Islamic identities. Achilov and Senn (2017) argued that Political Islam or Islamism is a broad term that refers to the instrumentalization of Islam by individuals, groups, and organizations to pursue political objectives and provide political responses to contemporary societal challenges by imagining a future built on reappropriated concepts from Islamic traditions. Cesari (2021) adds that Political Islam and Islamism are phrases that are frequently used interchangeably to refer to Islamic parties and organizations that have grown to prominence in opposition to “secular states” during the 1960s. Sayyid (2017) argues that Political Islam manifests itself in a variety of ways, from political parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Syria, the Justice and Development Party in Turkey, the Jammant-e-Islami in Pakistan, Hamas in Palestine, and Hizbullah in Lebanon, to Islamic republics such as Pakistan (1956), Mauritania (1958), Iran (1979), and Afghanistan (1992).
Moreover, Sayyid (2017) adds that it might include Saudi Arabia and Malaysia and insurgent groups such as ISIL, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and Al-Shabaab. These many expressions use Islam to legitimize their dominance. Furthermore, Sayyid (2017) argues that it is believed that the deployment of Islam is critical in the establishment of political Islam. Finally, Cesare (2021) argues that one advantage of widening the definition of Political Islam is that it enables a more detailed examination of the religious dimension of nation-building in most Muslim nations, rather than assuming the neutral attitude of the secular state.
The Catalyst for the Rise of Political Islam Throughout the Middle East
Sayyid (2017) suggests that Political Islam began in 1967 as a reaction to the Six-Day War, or when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil prices quadrupled in 1974, or after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1978, or after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Rickenbacher (2020) argues that following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Western intelligence services saw that Political Islam was spreading to Muslim populations in Western Europe and North America. Rickenbacher (2020) adds that this was made possible by a covert Islamic network organized by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB). According to Taylor & Swanson (2019), Colonialism by European countries as a way of exploiting natural resources such as oil in the Middle East, particularly the United States’ current foreign policies and military intervention, has been interpreted as imperialist acts by Arab parties. Taylor and Swanson (2019) argue that actions by the United States Other actions, such as the US involvement in the Iran-Iraq War, the US military presence in the Middle East near two of Islam’s holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, emphasized America’s thirst for oil, and the US invasion of Iraq became a symbol of anti-American feeling. Taylor and Swanson (2019) add that all of the US’s activities strengthen Arab perceptions that the US is an Imperialist power and an opponent of Islam as a whole, hence promoting Political Islam.
Biblical Worldview
An essential part of understanding differing viewpoints is knowledge of those viewpoints. Our Lord says, “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all know. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth” (King James Bible, 1769/2017, 1 Corinthians 8:1.” Also, our Lord says in Proverbs 18:15, “The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.” Finally, our Lord says in Job 38:2, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?”