Political Islam

Political Islam
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Introduction
Political Islam is a term that was coined within the academic realm to refer to the wider body of political systems that are Islam oriented. Most of the states that draw on the Islamic teaching to influence political and social elements of the society are said to be practicing political Islam. Most of the practices will seek guidance from the Islamic traditions and the Muslim scriptural background to make decisions that affect the entire state and how it relates to the rest of the world. While the term may not be as old, political Islam or Islamism are old concepts dating back to the 1920s. Groups such as the Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood formed in 1927, are some of the earliest factions that used the Islamism ideologies to drive their political agendas in Egypt and even influenced how the country and it leaders interacted with the rest of the world (pg 468). In reality, political Islam covers a very wide array of tendencies that range from nationalities, Muslim sects, terror groups, leftists and sub-sects (pg 24). In light of the extreme ideologies that are sometimes applied by these groups as they seek to drive political gains, the concepts surrounding political Islam draws a lot of controversial commentary across the globe making it one of the most controversial topics at this point in time (pg737). This is mostly the case especially when considering terrorist groups that use the ideology to drive their heinous acts, while hiding behind the Islamic religion.The idea borne of ideologies that were introduced by the likes of MaulanaMaudoodi and Jamaat, were poised to make Islam a recipe that would guide the contemporary life, policies and law in a rigorous and pure form, some of the basic elements still remain while in general there are some subtle distortions especially with terrorism. As such, political Islam has a lot of effects on policies within the Middle East where Islam is a core religion. At the same time the basic elements of political Islam also control thehow the laws of the states are developed alongside the way the states in the Middle East interact with the rest of the world.
Thesis statement: Political Islam is influential in the Middle East countries, controlling how lows, policies and international relationships are managed.
Political Islam
Political Islam or Islamism is more of a political outfit as the name suggests rather than a religious construct. According to Ayoob in the paper Political Islam: Image and Reality(2004), most of the people that adherents of the ideology believe that it is actually a body of faith, which has something important to say about the order of the society and politics in a contemporary Muslim society and the fashion to be used to implement the same. For most of this people it is the guide to living the ultimate Islamic life (pg 1). However this is quite general when trying to uncover the true nature of political Islam and the activities that are taken in the name of Islam as a religion and the Koran and the Hadiths as the guide. In reality political Islam is the instrumentation of the Islamic faith by persons, groups or organizations that want some political gains. It envisions the future...