Modern Islamic Political Thought: Islamism in the Arab World from the Late 20th to Early 21st Centuries

Abstract

Religious movements like the Muslim Brothers in Egypt and the innumerable popular groups and organizations around the globe that share a similar socio-political ethic inspired by Islam reflect the social changes wrought by modernity upon Muslim societies. However, modernity’s impact is also felt at an intellectual level by Islamic scholars who enjoy considerable esteem if not always influence among such popular Islamist movements. This dissertation presents, evaluates, and critiques a selection of religio-political writings of noteworthy Islamist intellectuals from the past four decades. These include the writings of three veteran Islamists, Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī (b. 1926), Muḥammad ʿImāra (b. 1931), and Rāshid al-Ghannūshī (b. 1941), as well as two younger Islamist scholars, Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-Dadaw (b. 1963) and Jāsir ʿAwda (b. 1966). Through an examination of their writings and statements over the past several decades, the present study offers an up-to-date treatment of mainstream Islamist engagements with core modern political ideas including secularism, democracy, and the nation-state. The thesis argues that mainstream Arab Islamists have carved out a theoretical space in modern political discourse that seeks to affirm, with democratic support, the religious identity of Muslim-majority polities while making a principled effort to eschew religiously grounded authoritarianism.