Radical Arab Nationalism and Political Islam

289 Pages·2017·2.41 MB·English

by  Lahouari Addi

RADICAL ARAB NATIONALISM
and POLITICAL ISLAM
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RADICAL ARAB NATIONALISM
and POLITICAL ISLAM
LAHOUARI ADDI
Translated by Anthony Roberts
Georgetown University Press / Washington, DC
and
Th e Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University
© 2017 Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Th e publisher is not responsible for third-party websites or their content. URL
links were active at time of publication.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Addi, Lahouari, 1949- author. | Roberts, Anthony (Translator),
translator.
Title: Radical Arab nationalism and political Islam / Lahouari Addi ;
translated by Anthony Roberts.
Description: Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press : Center for
Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. | Description based on print version
record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2017006997 (print) | LCCN 2017018127 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781626164499 (hc : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781626164505 (pb : alk.
paper) | ISBN 9781626164512 (eb)
Subjects: LCSH: Arab nationalism. | Islam and politics--Arab countries. |
Arab countries--Politics and government.
Classifi cation: LCC DS63.6 (ebook) | LCC DS63.6 .A36 2017 (print) | DDC
320.540917/4927--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006997
∞ Th is book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library
Materials.
18 17 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 First printing
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design by Jeremy John Parker. Cover image courtesy of Beshr Abdulhadi/
Flickr, “Minaret of the Great Mosque in Ar-raqqah City.”
To Molly and Adam
for their support and their love
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Contents
List of Boxes ix
Preface xi
Introduction 1
Part I. Origins and Perspectives of Arab Nationalism 11
1 Th e Emergence and Development of Arab Nationalism 15
Wahhabism as a Proto-Nationalism 18
Liberal Nationalism in Egypt 28
From Liberal Arabism to Radical Arab Nationalism 34
2 Th e Ideological Limitations of Radical Arab Nationalism 45
Radical Arab Nationalism against the Market Economy 47
Populism against Society 60
Economism as a Response to Cultural Crisis 72
3 Nationalism and Nation 83
Th e Militarization of Politics 87
Th e Aggressive Nature of Nationalism 98
What Is a Nation if Its People Are Not Sovereign? 109
vviiii
CCHOANPTTEENRT S1
Part II. Th e Ideological and Political Dynamics of Islamism 121
4 Islamism as Cultural Representation and Ideological Will 125
Th e Cultural Roots of Islamism 127
Th e Making of Islamist Ideology: Sayyid Qutb and
Abul A’la Mawdudi 138
Toward Post-Islamism? 153
5 Islamism and Democracy 171
Democracy and Political Participation 172
Th e Al hakimiyya li Allah Slogan 184
Th e Question of Sharia 200
6 Th e Ideological and Political Perspectives of Islamism 217
Th e Cultural Heterogeneity of Contemporary Arab Society 218
Al-Nahda, Sufi sm, and Islamism 231
Eventful Regression 240
Conclusion 251
Index 255
About the Author 275
viii
Boxes
What Is Wahhabism? 26
Political Economy as a Social and Historical Science 56
Social Diff erentiation as an Ineluctable Trend 70
Th e Nation, Kant, and Gellner 108
Th e Historical Dimension of the Concept of Sovereignty 197
Th ree Currents of Religious Muslim Th ought 237
ix