“RETHINKING THE MYTHS

OF ISLAMIC POLITICS”
Claire Heristchi and Andrea Teti
 ISLAM AND POLITICS

• Islam emerged in 7th century CE in the Arabian peninsula

• 5 Pillars of faith: Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj (Proclamation, Prayer, Charity, Fasting,
Pilgrimage)
• Muslim world cannot be seen as a monolithic entity religiously, culturally, or politically
(Sunni – Hanafi, Shafii, Maliki, Hanbali, Shia – Twelver, Alawite, Ismaili etc.)
• Indonesian politics bears little resemblance to Saudi Arabia’s
• Quran is a source of sharia (together with Hadith, Consensus, Reason, Public Interest)
• 1970s saw growth of self-taught Islamist groups, bringing new and unorthodox
interpretations of the scriptures, theology and law
 FOUR MYTHS

• Orientalism has had a monopoly on the discourse on the Middle East (history, culture,
politics, art)

• “Orientalist thinking built on depictions of the region as inherently backwards and

barbarous served the political prerogatives of colonialism well, since such intellectual
discourse allowed the legitimization of discrimination and exploitation.”

• Myth 1: Islam is a more political religion than others

• Myth 2: Islam encourages violent political behaviour
• Myth 3: Islam encourages despotic rule and discourages democracy
• Myth 4: Islam is a vehicle for the oppression of women
 MYTH 1: ISLAM IS A MORE POLITICAL
RELIGION THAN OTHERS
• Temporal power used idea of connection between religion and politics to co-opt religious power.
• Contrast: contemporary Islamists use politicized vision of religion to co-opt the state
• Relationship between religion and politics in Islam is a flexible construct
• ‘Dar al-Islam’ and ‘dar al-harb’ emerged during the rapid expansion of the Empire
• Muslims and non-Muslims lived peacefully in the Empire
• Ahl al-kitab (People of the Book)
• Dhimma (persons or communities protected by the Empire)

• Religious tolerance and individual freedoms allowed the flowering of cross-cultural Islamic societies
• 20th century - Mawdudi, Qutb: ‘Hakimiyya’, since sovereignty is God’s alone, laws made my humans
outside the Sharia represent a de facto violation of God’s will
• Challenges status quo of traditional approaches to Islam, very minority position
 MYTH 2: ISLAM ENCOURAGES VIOLENT
POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR
• Due to 9/11 and groups like al-Qaeda, understandable to some degree.
• Last few decades, Qutb’s radical misinterpretation of Jihad as violence: ‘sixth pillar’ of
Islam. Unrepresentative of wider Muslim world:
• Violates the Quran
• Reinforces negative stereotypes about Islam
• In the Quran the word Jihad “is never directly or exclusively associated either with war or
armed conflict, but is always connected with personal effort”
• Jihad al-akbar (the Great Jihad): struggle to live a moral life and follow the path of piety

• Ummaic Jihad: non-violent search for a just society

• Jihad al-asghar (the Lesser Jihad): defending against aggressors and oppressors
• Conditions are severely limited
 MYTH 2: ISLAM ENCOURAGES VIOLENT
POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR
• Most victims of “Islamic” violence are Muslim civilians
• Pentagon study in 2004: anti- West sentiment not religious and tribal but political and
rational:
• American/Western foreign policies
• One-sided support towards Israel at the expense of Palestinian rights
• Support for tyranny’s: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Gulf States
• Occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan: more lawlessness, less security, more violence
• “Relationship between Islam and political violence implies moving away from
assuming that Islam plays a unique role in promoting or preventing violence”
• http://thumbnails.visually.netdna-cdn.com/are-muslims-enemies-of-
peace_5029176e94a96.jpg
 MYTH 3: ISLAM ENCOURAGES DESPOTIC
RULE AND DISCOURAGES DEMOCRACY
• Neo-Orientalist idea that Islam per se promotes non-democratic governments continue to
persist
• Reality: Islamic jurisprudence compatible with many democratic principles
• Smaller groups are anti-democracy, many large mainstream parties are Islamic and
adhere to the democratic system
• Muslim Brotherhood
• Justice and Development
• Islamists in Turkey are strong advocates of joining the EU precisely because this requires
more safeguards of political and human rights
• All governments have different systems, but use Islam to support and gain legitimacy:
monarchies, authoritarian systems, constitutional theocracy, and moves towards
democracy
 MYTH 4: ISLAM IS A VEHICLE FOR THE
OPPRESSION OF MUSLIMS
• Historically Islam improved situation of women substantially
• Scriptural interpretations were historically monopolised by men and early gender
attitudes were very much the product of their time: roles in the private realm as wives and
mothers
• Contemporary times: politicisation of gender has gained multiple dimensions
• Taliban banned women employment in all sectors except health; banned education
• Post-Revolutionary Iran combines traditionalism with universal suffrage: record numbers of
women attending universities
• Muslim societies are under pressure to respond to economic, educational and
demographic changes, leading to the renegotiation of traditional gender roles
• Muslim feminist movements question gender-biased interpretations of Islamic sources
but do not necessarily share the same goals as ‘Western’ feminism
• “Westerners too are very adept at using the gender agenda (and thus objectifying
women’s suffering) to serve wider political purposes, without any long-term commitment
to the expansion of gender rights” e.g. invading Afghanistan
 CONCLUSION

• Global conflict predicted by Huntington has no inherent reason to be

• Islam, like any other religion, has been interpreted in authoritarian ways – but has
also been interpreted to require politics of tolerance and pluralism
• The question has nothing to do with a preordained ‘nature’ of Islam, rather: why is it
that a religion historically open to pluralism is being used by some as opposition to
the ‘West’ and their own governments
• Answer: Historical and Political.
• Contemporary Islamic politics is new, rooted in mid 19th century acceleration of European
imperialism
President Joko Widodo
CASE STUDY: INDONESIA
 CASE STUDY: INDONESIA

• Population: 253 million (4th largest, expected to overtake USA in coming decades)
• World’s most populous Muslim-majority nation
• Over 300 ethnic groups, 95% of whom are native Indonesians
• Javanese (42%), Sundanese (15%),
Malay (3.45%), Madurese (3.37%),
Batak (3.02%)

• 16th largest economy: GDP $880bn

• 17,508 islands, only around 6,000 are populated
 CASE STUDY: INDONESIA

• No state religion, but the state has a philosophical foundation: Pancasila

• Belief in the one and only God
• Just and civilized humanity
• The unity of Indonesia
• Democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations amongst
representatives
• Social justice for all of the people of Indonesia

• Government guarantees freedom of religion

• Officially recognises and protects 6 religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism,
Hinduism, and Confucianism