Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society

Abstract

Over recent decades, Islamism-the belief that Islam should guide social and political as well as personal life-has become a powerful force throughout much of the Muslim world. Through a discussion of the Egyptian case, this essay shows how the rise of Islamism can be illuminated by findings of the literatures on revolution and civil society, and vice versa. As many leading theories on revolutions would predict, the necessary precondition for Islamism's rise has been the declining efficacy and legitimacy of the state. Yet what has occurred in Egypt (and other parts of the Arab world) is not a successful revolution but a peculiar stalemate in which the existing regime retains political power while ceding substantial control over the societal and cultural spheres to the revolutionary challenger-an outcome that the literature does not envision. This stalemate, in turn, is largely a consequence of Islamists' ability to expand their presence in civil society. This expansion in Egypt and other Arab countries over recent decades is thus best understood as a sign not of benign liberalization, but rather of profound political failure, and as an incubator for illiberal radicalism.

What Leads Some Ordinary Arab Men and Women to Approve of Terrorist Acts Against the United States?

“…These analyses do not endorse the view that aggression toward the West is rooted in the fundamental character of Islam. They do consider it significant, however, that a substantial proportion of terrorist attacks, and suicide attacks in particular, are carried out by groups and individuals who are religiously motivated and claim inspiration from political Islam (Atran 2002;Berman 2003). On one hand, the conception of Islam as a political community, a community of believers, encourages militants to struggle against the real or perceived enemies of that community.…”

Reforming the Family Code in Tunisia and Morocco – the Struggle between Religion, Globalisation and Democracy

“…On the one hand there are 'globalised' liberal and secular actors that strive for women's rights and therefore democracy, while on the other are obscurantiste religious movements that are anchored in tradition, resist globalisation and are therefore autocratic by assumption. 8 Building on Svensson, who argued 'that the problem is often presented as primarily an ideological one, a conflict between a local tradition, Islam, and the global demands for human rights', 9 this article challenges the dichotomy that is prevalent in studies surrounding the issue of women's rights in the Arab world in the context of globalisation and democratisation. In order to do so, it will demonstrate that, first of all, there exist alternatives to the mainstream discourse of liberal globalisation and that other 'types' of globalisation can be just as valid and politically effective, namely a type of Islamic globalisation based on extensive transnational links.…”

Liberal outcomes through undemocratic means: the reform of theCode de statut personnelin Morocco

“…From a theoretical point of view, the very definition of civil society and its normative connotation are controversial, as they do not provide much analytical value (Berman 2003;Carothers 1999 ;Encarnacion 2006). Diamond's definition for instance does not tell us very much about the pro-democratic direction of the growth of associational life.…”