Islamist Archives

Political Islam: Parallel Currents in West Asia and South Asia

Publisher: Pentagon Press

This book deals with the history of Muslim political thought from the time of the Prophet to early 21" century in `West Asia` (an Indian alternative to the `colonial` term Middle East) and South Asia. Although Islam does not present nor recommend any political philosophy or state-like system per se, Muslim scholars and theologians have over the centuries recommended ways for establishing an ideal Islamic polity based on Quranic inferences, precedents of the Prophet and some early Caliphs. Although Political Islam strictly refers to only a century-old religious-political revivalist movement, this book covers historical concepts and developments that serve as political antecedents for contemporary Political Islam in the two regions.

ISBN: 9788195189458 ,
Price: ? 1995/-
E-copy available

Religion as the Foundation of a Nation: The Making and Unmaking of Pakistan

Pakistan owes its origin to the ‘Two Nation Theory’ in the sub-continent’s polity. Leaders of the Pakistan Movement were convinced that Muslims were a separate nation from the Hindu nation and the two could not live together.

The Islamist Challenge in West Asia: Doctrinal and Political Competitions After the Arab Spring

Publisher: Pentagon Press

Following the Arab Spring, the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) region is witnessing interactions between the various strands of Islamism-Wahhabiya in Saudi Arabia; the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its affiliates in other Arab countries, and the radical strand represented by Al Qaeda and its associated organisations - in an environment of robust competition and even conflict. This work examines these issues in some details. It provides an overview of the political aspects of Islamic law – the Sharia, as it evolved from early Islam and, over the last two hundred years, experienced the impact of Western colonialism. This book draws on a rich variety of source material which has been embellished by the author’s extensive diplomatic experience in the Arab world over three decades.

ISBN 978-81-8274-737-1,
Price: ?. 695/-
E-copy available

Countering Islamic State Ideology: Voices of Singapore Scholars edited by Muhammad Haniff Hassan and Rohan Gunaratna, with a Foreword by Karen Armstrong

People often complain that Islamic scholars do little more than condemn the inhuman acts of so-called jihadist groups and fall short of delivering strong, incontrovertible rebuttals against the vicious narratives of terrorist groups, like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). It has also been stated that the ever-rearing Hydra-like heads of terrorism will have to be endlessly severed until genuine Islamic scholarship drains the very swamp of irreligious radicalism from which the monstrosity continually raises new and ugly distortions.

Conflicts in Sunni Political Islam and Their Implications

Traditionally, the Shi’a–Sunni divide and the associated dynamics of the geopolitical struggle for power and dominance, between the minority Shi’as and the majority Sunnis, have defined intra-Islamic relations. Often sidelined were the political differences between and among groups and movements within Shi’a as well as Sunni Islam.

The End of an Era in Uzbekistan

President Islam Karimov’s foremost contribution to the region and the world is to shield Uzbekistan from the onslaught of radical Islam.

Skand Tayal
September 26, 2016
IDSA Comments

Turkey, Islamic Politics and the ‘Turkish Model’

In more than three decades, ever since the Islamic-oriented National Order Party was formed in 1969, Turkish politics has been analysed by many in terms of two straitjacketed views: Islamists trying to capture power on the one hand, and on the other hand the secularists or the state elite, with the help of the military, struggling to keep the country’s political orientation towards the West to protect Turkey as a secular state. This image of Turkey has created some confusion among strategic analysts abroad in understanding Turkey and its policies.

Domination of Pakistan by Radical Islamists

The assertions of the new Pakistan government of Nawaz Sharif to de-radicalise the society by engaging the Radical Islamists (RIs) in a dialogue and accommodation with them in reality means, to many observers, a meek surrender to Islamic radicalism of Deobandi variety.

P. K. Upadhyay
June 14, 2013
Issue Brief

The State of Islamic Radicalism in Pakistan

The soil of Pakistan, because of its culture, customs, traditions, values, the temperament of the people and even state policies, provides the ideal ground for Islamic radicalism, extremism, sectarianism and terrorism.

Evaluating the Political and Economic Role of the IRGC

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is Iran's most powerful security and military organisation, responsible for the protection and survival of the regime. Over time, the IRGC has attained a position of dominance vis-à-vis the regular army (Artesh). In due course, the Guards have also been transformed into a leading political and economic actor. The major political role of the IRGC started with the election of the reformist presidency. However, the Guards' involvement in the Iranian economy began during Rafsanjani's presidency.