Looking for the Caliphate in All the Wrong Places

2021 ◽  
pp. 121-148
Author(s):  
Asma Afsaruddin
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Clash Of Civilizations ◽  
The West ◽  
Modern Period

This chapter focuses on the contemporary militant group referred to by the acronym ISIS (short for the Islamic State in/of Iraq and Syria) and its views on the “caliphate.” As this group sees it, its so-called Islamic State represents the resurrection of the historical office of the caliph after its abrogation in 1923. ISIS’s views on the “caliphate,” as discussed in this study, are drawn from the first issue of the magazine Dabiq published in English in 2014 under the title of “The Return of Khilafah.” After presenting its views, the chapter goes on to critique ISIS’s views on the caliphate and assesses the “Islamic” nature of the group’s pronouncements on this institution and its necessity in the modern period. The chapter concludes by looking at how the group’s extremist narratives fit into a larger narrative emanating from the West that essentializes Islamic political culture(s) and that continues to foment a clash-of-civilizations mentality.

Problems of military-political interaction between the countries of the West and Central Asia at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Boris G. Koybaev
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
The United States ◽  
Military Bases ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The West ◽  
Regional Environment ◽  
Western Influence ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Political Interaction ◽  
The Military

Central Asia in recent history is a vast region with five Muslim States-new actors in modern international relations. The countries of Central Asia, having become sovereign States, at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries are trying to peaceful interaction not only with their underdeveloped neighbors, but also with the far-off prosperous West. At the same time, the United States and Western European countries, in their centrosilic ambitions, seek to increase their military and political presence in Central Asia and use the military bases of the region’s States as a springboard for supplying their troops during anti-terrorist and other operations. With the active support of the West, the Central Asian States were accepted as members of the United Nations. For monitoring and exerting diplomatic influence on the regional environment, the administration of the President of the Russian Federation H. W. Bush established U.S. embassies in all Central Asian States. Turkey, a NATO member and secular Islamic state, was used as a lever of indirect Western influence over Central Asian governments, and its model of successful development was presented as an example to follow.

NENHUM “CHOQUE DAS CIVILIZAÇÕES”: UMA ANÁLISE DAS GEOGRAFIAS IMAGINATIVAS NA MÍDIA IMPRESSA ÁRABE APÓS OS ATENTADOS DE 11 DE SETEMBRO DE 2001

GEOgraphia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (41) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Shadia Husseini de Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Print Media ◽  
Media Framing ◽  
Critical Geopolitics ◽  
Clash Of Civilizations ◽  
The West ◽  
Arab Media ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Imaginative Geographies ◽  
Il Y A

Resumo: Enquanto existem muitos estudos sobre a reprodução da teoria do “choque das civilizações” e do “mundo islâmico” como o “outro” do Ocidente em mídias ocidentais após os atentados de 11 de setembro de 2001, são extremamente escassos aqueles que analisam a presença dessa teoria nas mídias árabes. Quais são os discursos geopolíticos (re)produzidos nessas mídias com o objetivo de enquadrar e explicar os atentados? Qual é o papel da teoria do “choque das civilizações” e das representações do Ocidente que se manifestam nesse contexto? Este artigo procura responder essas perguntas a partir de uma perspectiva da geopolítica crítica, valendo-se do conceito de “geografias imaginativas”. Os principais jornais transnacionais árabes, al-Hayat, al-Quds al-Arabi e Asharq Al-Awsat, constituem o exemplo empírico. Este artigo mostra que a teoria do “choque das civilizações” – por sua vez duplamente assentada em regionalizações geográficas tradicionais e em uma construção binária entre Ocidente e mundo islâmico – é rejeitada nos jornais analisados. Em vez de se apoiar nessa teoria, os acontecimentos de 11 de setembro de 2001 e os atentados terroristas nos anos seguintes, bem como as geografias imaginativas do Ocidente reproduzidas nesse contexto, são enquadrados e formados por meio de um discurso multifacetado e profundamente pós-colonial. Palavras-chave: Geografias imaginativas. Geopolítica crítica. Mídia impressa árabe. Crítica pós-colonial. NO “CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS”: AN ANALYSIS OF IMAGINATIVE GEOGRAPHIES IN ARAB PRINT MEDIA AFTER 9/11 Abstract: While many studies analyse the reproduction of the “clash of civilizations” theory and the “Islamic world” as the West’s “other” in Western media after 9/11, there are only few works dedicated to Arab media. What are the geopolitical discourses (re)produced in Arab media framing and explaining the attacks? What is the role of the “clash of civilizations” theory and the representations of the West in this context? This paper addresses these questions from the perspective of critical geopolitics using the concept of “imaginative geographies”. The transnational Arab newspapers al-Hayat, al-Quds al-Arabi e Asharq Al-Awsat serve as the empirical example. I argue that the theory of the “clash of civilizations” – which is based on traditional geographical regionalisations and a binary construction between the West and the Islamic world – is rejected in the analysed newspapers. Instead, 9/11 and other terrorist attacks in the subsequent years as well as the imaginative geographies of the West reproduced in this context are based on a multifaceted and profoundly post-colonial discourse. Keywords: Imaginative Geographies. Critical Geopolitics. Arab Print Media. Postcolonial Critique. AUCUN “CHOC DES CIVILISATIONS”: UNE ANALYSE DES GEOGRAPHIES IMAGINAIRES DANS LES MEDIAS ARABES IMPRIMES APRES LES ATTENTATS DU 11 SEPTEMBRE 2001 Resumé: Bien que de nombreuses études analysent la reproduction de la théorie du “choc des civilisations” et du “monde islamique” comme “l’autre” de l’Occident dans les médias occidentaux après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001, il y a peu de travaux consacrés aux médias arabes. Quels sont les discours géopolitiques (re)produits dans ces médias pour contextualiser et expliquer les attaques ? Quels sont les rôles de la théorie du “choc des civilisations” et de la représentation de l’Occident dans ce contexte ? Cet article tente de répondre à ces questions dans une perspective de géopolitique critique, en utilisant le concept de “géographies imaginaires”. Les principaux journaux transnationaux arabes, al-Hayat, al-Quds al-Arabi e Asharq Al-Awsat sont le matériau de l’enquête. Cet article montre que la théorie du “choc des civilisations” – elle-même basée sur les régionalisations géographiques traditionnelles et la construction opposant Occident et monde islamique – est rejetée dans les journaux analysés. Au lieu de cela, les événements du 11 septembre 2001 comme les attentats terroristes des années suivantes, ainsi que les géographies imaginaires de l’Occident reproduites dans ce contexte, sont façonnés par un discours à multiples facettes, profondément post-colonial. Mots-clés: Géographies Imaginaires. Géopolitique Critique. Médias Imprimés Arabes. Critique Postcoloniale.

The New Islamic State

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhad Khosrokhavar
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
The West ◽  
Patriarchal Family ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation

The creation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) changed the nature of jihadism worldwide. For a few years (2014–2017) it exemplified the destructive capacity of jihadism and created a new utopia aimed at restoring the past greatness and glory of the former caliphate. It also attracted tens of thousands of young wannabe combatants of faith (mujahids, those who make jihad) toward Syria and Iraq from more than 100 countries. Its utopia was dual: not only re-creating the caliphate that would spread Islam all over the world but also creating a cohesive, imagined community (the neo-umma) that would restore patriarchal family and put an end to the crisis of modern society through an inflexible interpretation of shari‘a (Islamic laws and commandments). To achieve these goals, ISIS diversified its approach. It focused, in the West, on the rancor of the Muslim migrants’ sons and daughters, on exoticism, and on an imaginary dream world and, in the Middle East, on tribes and the Sunni/Shi‘a divide, particularly in the Iraqi and Syrian societies.

Understanding the Islamic State—A Review Essay

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Byman
Keyword(s):  
Review Essay ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The West ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Terrorist Threat ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Raison D’État ◽  
Foreign Fighters

This article reviews several recent books on the Islamic State in order to understand its goals, motivations, strategy, and vulnerabilities. It argues that the Islamic State's ideology is powerful but also highly instrumental, offering the group legitimacy and recruiting appeal. Raison d'etat often dominates its decisionmaking. The Islamic State's strength is largely a consequence of the policies and weaknesses of its state adversaries. In addition, the group has many weaknesses of its own, notably its brutality, reliance on foreign fighters, and investment in a state as well as its tendency to seek out new enemies. The threat the Islamic State poses is most severe at the local and regional levels. The danger of terrorism to the West is real but mitigated by the Islamic State's continued prioritization of the Muslim world and the heightened focus of Western security forces on the terrorist threat. A high-quality military force could easily defeat Islamic State fighters, but there is no desire to deploy large numbers of Western ground troops, and local forces have repeatedly shown many weaknesses. In the end, containing the Islamic State and making modest rollback efforts may be the best local outcomes.

Islamophobia

2019 ◽  
pp. 244-271
Author(s):  
Martin Pugh
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Islamic Fundamentalism ◽  
The West ◽  
Small Minority ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Proximate Causes ◽  
To Come ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter discusses how, misled by Islamophobic propaganda, Britain and America were unable to come to terms with what they called ‘Islamism’. The origins of what is variously known as Islamism, Islamic fundamentalism, and radical Islamism lie in the 1960s, in the ideas of a handful of Muslims in Pakistan, Egypt, and Iran who believed that Muslims had been led astray from their religion by nationalist movements. Although some Muslims were critical of Western morality and politics, Islamism was not primarily anti-Western: it was essentially a reaction against what were widely seen as the corrupt, authoritarian, and secular regimes that controlled much of the Muslim world. The aim was to evict them, return to a purer form of Islam and re-create an Islamic state. In view of the exaggerated reputation it enjoys in the West, it is worth remembering that this movement has largely been a failure. Yet while fundamentalism appeals to only a small minority, it is also the case that large numbers of Muslims have become aggrieved by the policies of the Western powers. The explanation for this can be found in long-term frustration with the consistently pro-Israeli policy of Britain and the United States over Palestine, in addition to the proximate causes in the shape of two Afghan wars, the genocide in Bosnia, the Rushdie affair, and the first Gulf War in 1990, which made many Muslims see themselves as the victims of Western aggression and interventionism.

scholarly journals 32. Humanitarian intervention in world politics

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex J. Bellamy ◽  
Nicholas J. Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Humanitarian Intervention ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The West ◽  
Protection Goals

This chapter examines the role of humanitarian intervention in world politics. It considers how we should resolve tensions when valued principles such as order, sovereignty, and self-determination come into conflict with human rights; and how international thought and practice has evolved with respect to humanitarian intervention. The chapter discusses the case for and against humanitarian intervention and looks at humanitarian activism during the 1990s. It also analyses the responsibility to protect principle and the use of force to achieve its protection goals in Libya in 2011. Two case studies are presented, one dealing with humanitarian intervention in Darfur and the other with the role of Middle Eastern governments in Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the West should intervene in Syria to protect people there from the Islamic State (ISIS).

scholarly journals Membangun Dialog Peradaban

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Zaprulkhan Zaprulkhan
Keyword(s):  
National Interest ◽  
Western Civilization ◽  
Clash Of Civilizations ◽  
The West ◽  
End Of History ◽  
Francis Fukuyama ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
The World ◽  
The End Of History ◽  
Clash Of Civilisations

Abstract: In 1989 Francis Fukuyama with his article The End of History? In the journal The National Interest revolves a speculative thesis that after the West conquered its ideological rival, hereditary monarchy, fascism and communism, the constellation of the world of international politics reached a remarkable consensus to liberal democracy. A few years later, Samuel P. Huntington came up with a more provocative thesis that ideological-based war would be a civilization-based war in his article, The Clash of Civilizations? In the journal Foreign Affairs. It reveals that in the future the world will be shaped by interactions among the seven or eight major civilizations of Western civilization: Confucius, Japan, Islam, Hinduism, Orthodox Slavs, Latin America and possibly Africa. Huntington directed the West to pay particular attention to Islam, for Islam is the only civilization with great potential to shake Western civilization. Departing from the above hypotheses, this paper will specifically discuss the bias of Fukuyama and Huntington's thesis on Islam, and how its solution to build a dialogue of civilization by taking the paradigm of dialogue from Ibn Rushd and Raghib As-Sirjani. Abstrak: Pada tahun 1989 Francis Fukuyama dengan artikelnya The End of History? Dalam jurnal The National Interest revolusioner tesis spekulatif bahwa setelah Barat telah menaklukkan lawan-lawan ideologisnya, monarki herediter, fasisme dan komunisme, konstelasi politik internasional mencapai konsensus yang luar biasa untuk demokrasi liberal. Beberapa tahun kemudian, Samuel P. Huntington muncul dengan tesis yang lebih provokatif bahwa perang berbasis ideologis akan menjadi perang berbasis peradaban dalam artikelnya, The Clash of Civilisations? Dalam jurnal Luar Negeri. Ini mengungkapkan bahwa di masa depan akan dibentuk oleh interaksi antara tujuh atau delapan peradaban utama peradaban Barat: Konfusius, Jepang, Islam, Hindu, Slavia Ortodoks, Amerika Latin dan mungkin Afrika. Perhatian Huntington pada Islam adalah potensi terpenting untuk mengguncang peradaban Barat. Berangkat dari hipotesis di atas, makalah ini akan secara khusus membahas bias tesis Fukuyama dan Huntington tentang Islam, dan bagaimana mereka akan mengambil paradigma dialog dari Ibn Rushd dan Raghib As-Sirjani.

scholarly journals THROUGH THE PRISM OF PREDICTIVE АNALYTICS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL TRENDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE PROBLEM OF TERRORISM

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-127
Author(s):  
L. L. FITUNI
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Predictive Analytics ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The West ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
The Impact

The article is an attempt to predict the main trends of the political, cultural and ideological development of the Middle East in the  medium and long term, taking into account the impact of  international terrorism. To provide optimal solutions possible the  author identifies a number of core components. Basing this selection  he offers his vision of the likely behaviour of key state and non-state  actors as well as the forthcoming fate of the objects of their attention. In preparing the scenarios, the main methods of  predictive analytics were used: statistical analysis, intellectual  analysis of data, analysis of patterns and models conducted within  the framework of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research project  “The Phenomenon of the Islamic State” in the context of the development of a modern Eastern society. “The article is based  on an interpretation of the main conclusions and results of using those methods and methodologies. The article asserts that the recent growth of radical Islam in the East and political populism  in the West are close root causes. Despite all the differences in the  rhetoric and the outward forms, they represent a defensive response  on the part of those segments of Eastern and  Western societies that have failed to adjust to rigid paradigms of  globalization. Intra- and inter-confessional conflicts may become the  prevailing form of military threats in the region, beginning around  the 2020s. Their heralds are already visible in conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and, to a lesser extent, in Lebanon, Bahrain and on the east  coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Interstate Shiite-Sunni contradictions have so far been limited by political-ideological  confrontation and diplomatic demarches, sometimes accompanied by various embargoes, such as the recent Qatar crisis. Even the physical destruction of the selfproclaimed Islamic pseudo-state in MENA will take some time. Under favorable circumstances, ISIS units may be squeezed out of the important settlements of Syria and Iraq  within a year. This will not mean the end of ISIS. The experience of  the war with terrorist groups in Libya, Algeria, West Africa, Somalia,  Afghanistan, and Southeast Asia shows that even when driven out  into the desert or sparsely populated areas, fragmented but linked  groups of terrorists continue for quite some time to inflict harassing attacks on government forces and objects, to make long  sorties and to arrange spectacular acts of terrorism. Most likely, the  forces interested in maintaining the problems of international terrorism high on the agenda will not sit idly by but will  undertake spectacular and noteworthy actions to keep terrorism  issues in the limelight. As a result, the intensity of terrorist attacks in  the West may increase, since even limited terrorist attacks in  Europe cause more media coverage in the world media than any acts of terrorism in the Middle East. To achieve these goals, new channels and forms of imple mentation of terrorist attacks will  be used, such as terrorist acts involving children, ordinary means of  transport, during the course of mass and symbolic political events, elections, etc.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document