Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World

252 Pages·1993·1.61 MB·English

by  Nazih Ayubi

Political Islam
Nazih Ayubi studies the Islamic movements of six countries in detail and traces both the
intellectual sources and the socio-economic bases of political Islam, arguing that as a
belief system and a way of life, it is a modern phenomenon, dating back only to the inter-
war period. He describes the major proponents as urban, educated and relatively young
people, whose energies were mobilised, but whose expectations were not fulfilled by the
post-independence ‘populist’ regimes in the Arab World.
Ayubi stresses the traditional concern in Islam for the collective enforcement of
morals, but argues that there is no case for the commonly held misconception that politics
in the Arab world begins from theological principles: the historical connection between
Islam and politics can be explained as an attempt by the rulers to legitimise their actions.
He suggests that radical Muslims are reversing this position by subjecting politics to their
specific religious views, and argues that their movement is in some senses an anti-state
one. He concludes by discussing possible intellectual responses to fundamentalism,
drawing on the thinking of contemporary Muslim liberals.
Nazih Ayubi is Reader in Politics and Director of the Middle East Politics Programme
at the University of Exeter. He has written widely on politics in the Middle East and the
developing world.

Political Islam
Religion and Politics in the Arab World
Nazih N. Ayubi

London and New York
First published 1991
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
New in paperback 1993
© 1991 Nazih Ayubi
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Ayubi, Nazih N.
Political Islam: religion and politics in the Arab world/
Nazih N. Ayubi.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Islam and state. I. Title
JC49.A928 1991
297′.1977–dc20 90–42326
CIP

ISBN 0-203-40152-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-40178-6 (Adobe e-Reader Format)
ISBN 0-415-05442-7 (Print Edition)
ISBN 0-415-10385-1 (pbk)
To Lindy

Contents

Preface ix

1 The theory and practice of the Islamic State 1
2 The politics of sex and the family, or the ‘collectivity’ of Islamic morality 27
3 The variety of modern Islam: intellectual expressions and political roles 37
4 The Islamic movements: some country studies—part I 53
5 The Islamic movements: some country studies—part II 75
6 Political Islam: intellectual sources 91
7 Political Islam: socio-economic bases 120
8 Islamic banks, companies and services, or the rise of a native commercial 135

bourgeoisie
9 The Islamic liberals answer back 152
10 Political Islam: why, and where to? 162

Notes 181
Glossary 195
Bibliography 199
Index 216

Preface
The subject of this book is ‘political Islam’, or the doctrine and/or movement which
contends that Islam possesses a theory of politics and the State. Political Islam represents
only one of several intellectual and political manifestations of the interplay between
religion and politics. Although as a theory it is a modern improvisation which started to
emerge after the First World War, political Islam does indeed invoke the traditional
sources and precedents; hence the necessity in a work such as this to delve briefly into the
theory and practice of the historical Islamic State.
Our study is mainly, but not exclusively, confined to the Arab world, where the
discourse of political Islam has manifested itself most vigorously in recent years. The
book is based in large measure on a presentation of the political theses of the
fundamentalists and neo-fundamentalists in the Arab world, and also on an examination
of the response, critique and analysis to which these theses have given rise among Arab
intellectuals. Literature in the Arabic language, from a dozen Arab countries, is invoked
whenever possible to highlight the character of the ‘internal’ debate and inquiry, even
when such literature may not necessarily offer the most sophisticated level of
philosophical discourse or socio-political analysis.
This book is also concerned with an attempt to relate ideas to their political and socio-
economic context. The sources on this aspect are neither as abundant nor as
methodologically advanced as the sources pertaining to the intellectual discourse. This
‘political sociology’ type of study is often regarded by the authorities in Muslim
countries as more ‘dangerous’ than studying the Islamic, or even the Islamist, texts. All
the more so, as the Islamist movement has developed over the last few years into a
basically anti-State movement—a subject that will receive a great deal of our attention.
The relations between religion and politics are complex and contextual: the current
Islamic revival is not simply a means for retreating into a nostalgic past but also a device
for coping—in one way or another—with the present and the future. By the same token,
it would be naive to regard Islamism simply as part of an ‘American-Saudi design’ to
consolidate the rule of a native, but dependent, bourgeoisie; or else to regard Islamism
simply as the battle cry of the oppressed and exploited masses in their revolt against
internal despotism and foreign hegemony. The Islamic revival is potentially all these
things, and much more, depending on the specific contingency of every social and
political situation—as we set out to illustrate in this book. The ‘cut-off’ point for material
dealt with in the book is Summer 1989.
In undertaking the research for this book, I was greatly helped by a grant from the
Economic and Social Research Council, received jointly by Tim Niblock and myself;
within that project I have undertaken this comparative study of Arab countries, while he
is concentrating on a Sudanese case study to be published later on. I would like to express
my gratitude to the ESRC for funding this project. The writing of the book was facilitated
as a result of a six months’ sabbatical leave from my university in the academic year
1988–1989. Although six weeks of this period were taken up by a lecture tour in China
and Japan (which was thought-provoking in its own right), the leave did provide a much-
needed—albeit rather brief—space in which to pull some of the strings of this work
together. I would like to thank the University of Exeter for this opportunity, as well as my
colleagues in the Department of Politics for their help and support.
I would also like to acknowledge that some passages included in this book have
appeared previously, in different form, in Inquiry (Vol. 2, no. 1, December 1981, pp. 18–
23), and in The Journal of International Affairs(Vol. 36, no. 2, Fall/Winter 1982/83, pp.
271–283); they have been used here with permission from the publishers.
This book fits within a broader interest of mine, developed over the last few years, in
the socio-economic as well as the cultural bases of the Arab State. Another book of mine
on the political economy of the Arab State is nearing completion (and in some ways the
two books should complement each other). During these years I have accumulated a
number of debts and I am pleased now to acknowledge some of this indebtedness. I am
grateful to Abd al-Malik Awda who has, over the years, convinced me—in word and in
deed—that secularism has roots in Egyptian society and in Muslim culture. I am also
grateful to Roger Owen and P.J. Vatikiotis for their long-standing support and
encouragement. Alas, Malcolm Kerr is no longer with us to be thanked personally for his
help and support, but all those who had the chance to cooperate with him remember him
with gratitude and affection. Ali Hilal Dessouki, my friend for three decades, has always
helped with exchange of ideas and provision of sources. Saad Eddin Ibrahim I have
known for half that period, but his help and support have been continuous. Sayyid Yasin
has been generous with the suggesting of ideas and sources. Bahgat Korany has provided
unfailing help and encouragement, and Sami Zubaida has also helped on several
occasions. I would also like to thank Fred Halliday for his comments on the manuscript.
Paul Auchterlonie’s bibliographical help and his indexing of the book are gratefully
acknowledged. Lindy has given me the most generous and continuous support, and has
done the initial word-processing and copy-editing of the book—it is difficult for me to
express the full measure of my gratitude to her.
All translations from the Arabic language throughout this work are mine unless
otherwise indicated. The transliteration system followed in the book is basically that used

by the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES), except in the case of words
or names that have become familiar in a certain romanised form (e.g. Quran, Nasser,
Khomeini).
Nazih N. Ayubi
Exeter