From The Student Room

TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > History > Islam and the state

---

After founding by Prophet Mohammed (570-632), Islamic civilization experienced a period of rapid expansion for about a 1000 years, but a period of decline set in and by the 19^th century many areas of the Moslem world had come under Christian imperial powers' control.

Contents 1 The Islamic Revival 1.1 Reasons for the Revival 1.2 The Islamic State 2 The Status of Muslim Countries Today 3 Comments

The Islamic Revival

(since the end of WWII)

Reasons for the Revival

1. Reaction to the centuries of domination by western imperialism:
   1. Political - western powers extended political control over most of the Islamic world (w/ Imperialism)
   2. Economic - even after the granting of independence, western powers retained a great deal of economic control (i.e.: Suez Canal under the control of Western investors)
   3. Religious - western imperialist powers sought to convert the people they conquered (i.e.: Dutch tax on pilgrimage to Mecca in Dutch East Indies)
2. Reaction against the decline of their own culture which was seen as a result of a move away from faith.
3. The faith has an absolute appeal, it provides guidance in all aspects of life and seemed to solve problems of 20^th Cent. life
4. Reaction against the corruption of many Moslem rulers (i.e.: Egypt's King Farouk's decadent lifestyle until overthrow 1952)
5. North-South divide which helped portray Islam as the religion of the underprivileged seeking independence and Christianity as the religion of colonialism and racism.
6. Decolonialisation - led to independence of countries with large or entire Moslem populations.
7. Development of international organizations - forum where Moslem states could defend and impose their views.
8. Creation of the state of Israel - resented as an imperialist action.
9. Yom Kippur War (1973) turning point in Moslem-West relations - led to oil shocks and the realization of Arab influence.
10. Development of the oil industry; provided some Moslem states w/ incredible wealth used to promote Islam.

The Islamic State

No universally accepted definition b/c the Koran provides only a set of general principles and is mainly allegorical in content.

Principles of an Islamic State:

1. State should be a republic (no place for a king)
2. Should have a strong leader with great executive power but elected by the people.
3. A consultative council (Shura) should be elected by the people.
4. All citizens have the right to criticize the ruler
5. In Islam politics are meant to be consensual and the laws must be in conformity with the Koran and Sharia, development of political parties that don't accept this is not allowed.
6. All law must be based upon the Sharia.
7. Moslems, Christians, and Jews should enjoy equality of legal and religious status.

The Status of Muslim Countries Today

1. Secular States - strict constitutional separation of church and state (rare since against fundamental principles / seen in Turkey and Indonesia).

• Muslim States - accept Islam as a guiding principle, but have adopted western models as the basis of political, legal, and social order (most states fit here: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Bangladesh).
• Islamic States - have their political and socio-economic order based upon the Koran and Sharia (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, and the Sudan).

Comments