Islamic Activists: The Anti-Enlightenment Democrats

168 Pages·2011·0.47 MB·English

by  Deina Ali Abdelkader

Islamic Activists
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Islamic Activists
The Anti-Enlightenment
Democrats
Deina Ali Abdelkader
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First published 2011 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.plutobooks.com
Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by
Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Copyright © Deina Ali Abdelkader 2011
The right of Deina Ali Abdelkader to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 2217 9 Hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 2216 2 Paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for

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and Edwards Bros in the USA
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To my parents: Cheridan and Ali Abdelkader,
to Hany, and my one and only Aida
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Contents
Preface viii
1. Introduction: Orientalism, Islamic Activism
and Rational Thought? 1
2. The Rudiments of an Islamic Just Society:
The Contribution of Abu-Ishaq al-Shatibi 29
3. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Modernization is Key 43
4. Rachid al-Ghannouchi: Minorities and Equality 66
5. Abdessalam Yassine: The Just Ruler 88
6. Conclusion: Reason and Faith: The Islamists
versus the “Stillborn God” 107
Glossary 126
Notes 132
Bibliography 143
Suggested Reading 150
Index 151
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Preface
After teaching about Islamic activism for around ten years, it
came to my attention that, although much has been written
about the topic since 9/11, we have very few works that
address the leaders of populist Islamic movements. A handful
of literature addresses their writings but fewer still compare
and contextualize these leaders. Because I have been unable
to find a book aimed at the general public and students of
the Muslim world that transfers this knowledge in a succinct
and clear way, I have attempted in this book to fill this gap
in the literature.
The objective of this book is twofold: First, to familiarize
its audience with popular Islamist leaders, their ideas, and
their writings. The three leaders were chosen because they
combined “moderate” political activism with ideological
activism. Second, to analyze one of the main controversies
between Western secular democratic theory and contemporary
Islamist writing about governance. The Enlightenment’s
emphasis on the inevitable conflict between reason and faith
underlies the stress on secularism as a prerequisite for democ-
ratization. One of the most important components of this
book is to compare the Islamists’ ideas and how they diverge
from the dichotomy between reason and faith that is accepted
in Western political thought. This book is designed to fill a
gap in the literature on Islam and politics; it should be useful
to students and general readers who want to know more
viii
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Preface ix
about the Middle East as a region and about contemporary
Muslim political ideology.
The purpose of this book lies in its attempt to clarify and
present a discourse unfamiliar to the Western world, but on
its own terms.
Chapter one introduces the reader to the ideological
differences that exist between Western liberal thought and
Muslim thought. It also clarifies the purpose of the book
and its emphasis on Islamic political thought. The second
chapter provides an historical example of a Muslim jurist
who ties reason to faith. The third, fourth, and fifth chapters
discuss and present the lives and ideas of three contemporary
Islamists: Qaradawi (a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood
of Egypt), Ghannouchi (the leader of the Renaissance
Movement in Tunisia), and Yassine (the leader of the Justice
and Benevolence Party in Morocco). The final chapter binds
the book in a discussion of democracy and whether it is
preclusive of faith.
The conclusion therefore ties all the chapters in its pursuit
of a definition of democracy or its semblance in the Muslim
world.
It is impossible for the breadth of this study to discuss
everything that pertains to Islamic governance and therefore
women’s issues are not presented. The focus of the book is
on the general ideological and legal principles that could
potentially later be used to decipher the position of women
in society and other equally important issues in the details
of an Islamic just society. However the rudiments of those
details lie in the theoretical analyses and this is where the
book’s emphasis lies.
The book offers insights into what and how Islamists think
about the shape of an ideal government based on their own
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