PSC 321 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Islamic Revival, Iranian Revolution, Six-Day War
18 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Religion and Politics in the MENA
● Secular states
○ Religion has no formal status
■ E.g. Turkey
● Nominally Islamic states
○ Religion accorded some formal status
■ E.g. Egypt; Jordan; Morocco
● Strongly Islamic states
○ Prioritize application of religious law
■ E.g. Saudi Arabia; Iran
● Possible areas of law
○ Criminal; business/commercial transactions; personal status (marriage, divorce,
etc.)
Religion and State
● Ulama - religious scholars
○ Trained in Islamic jurisprudence
■ Role in political system varies
● Direct role in governance (Iran)
● Formal role in application of Islamic Shari’a (Saudi Arabia) - but no
direct role in governance
● No formal role in governance but consulted as part of religious
establishment
● Diversity within Islam
○ Sunni v. Shi’a
○ Intra-Sunni and intra-Shi’a debates
● Islam (as fait)h v. Islamism (political ideology)
○ Muslims v. islamists
Iran
● Iranian Revolution (1979)
○ Height of modern Islamic revivalism
○ Seen as test case for Islamic governance
○ Leadership came from the established Shi’i clergy
○ BUT: Revolution involved a broad coalition
■ Economic and political grievances
Ayatuallah Khomeini (1902-1989)
● Velayat-e-faqih (guardianship of the jurist)
○ Highest authority in an Islamic state belongs to those with greatest knowledge of
divine law
Islamic Republic of Iran
● Hybrid system
○ Some institution are directly elected (presidency, parliament)
○ BUT ultimate authority belongs to the Supreme Leader
○ Council of guardians
■ Reviews all legislation to ensure it is compliant with Islamic law and the
constitution
■ Has the authority to supervise presidential and parliamentary elections
(vets candidates)
● Supreme Leader
○ Has ultimate political authority
○ Ensures that God’s will (based on scripture and interpreted by religious scholars)
is fully applied
○ Extensive executive powers
○ Appoints half of the members of the Council of Guardians
○ Commander of the Armed Forces
Resurgence of Islamic Activism (1970s)
● Failure of socialist regimes to deliver on their promises
● Egypt’s defeat in the 1967 war with Israel
○ Seen as a failure to defend their homeland
● Success of the Islamic revolution in Iran - 1979
Sunni Islamist Spectrum
Radical Violent Islamists
E.g. Al-Qaeda
----------------------> Non-Violent Islamist Groups
E.g. Muslim Brotherhood
Different Jihadi Groups (Gerges)
● “Doctrinaire Jihadis”
○ Used violence against their own governments (near enemy) and against Western
targets (far enemy)
○ E.g. Al-Qaeda
● “Irredentist jihadis”
○ Seek to redeem land considered to be part of Dar al-Islam from non-Muslim rule
or occupation
○ E.g. Hamas
Islamic Radicalism (Sayyid Qutb 1906-1966)
● Core concepts
○ God alone possesses sovereignty (hakimiya)
○ All non-Muslims and nominal Muslims live in ignorance (jahiliya)
○ Jihad as armed struggle
Jihad
● Literal translation: struggle or exertion
● Various conceptions
○ Inner struggle
○ Outward struggle (sometimes violent)
■ Defensive (similar to just war theory)
● Caveat: Jihad could only be declared by proper authorities
Document Summary
Criminal; business/commercial transactions; personal status (marriage, divorce, etc. ) Formal role in application of islamic shari"a (saudi arabia) - but no direct role in governance. No formal role in governance but consulted as part of religious establishment. Islam (as fait)h v. islamism (political ideology) Seen as test case for islamic governance. Leadership came from the established shi"i clergy. Highest authority in an islamic state belongs to those with greatest knowledge of divine law. Some institution are directly elected (presidency, parliament) But ultimate authority belongs to the supreme leader. Reviews all legislation to ensure it is compliant with islamic law and the constitution. Has the authority to supervise presidential and parliamentary elections (vets candidates) Ensures that god"s will (based on scripture and interpreted by religious scholars) is fully applied. Appoints half of the members of the council of guardians. Failure of socialist regimes to deliver on their promises. Egypt"s defeat in the 1967 war with israel.
