scholarly journals The Influence of Sufism on the Sudanese Belt

2020 ◽  
pp. 80-95
Author(s):  
Salah M. Sharief ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Political Life ◽  
International Media ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
The People ◽  
Islamic Terrorism ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Terrorist Acts

As of the last decade of the 20th century, the Middle East and Africa have been the birthplace of extremist organizations espousing a radical ideology, which encourages violence against the dissenters and branding them apostates. Organizations like Al-Qā’ida and Dā’ish/ISIL performed numerous terrorist acts around the world, but especially in the Middle East. Other Salafi organizations like Boko Haram also gained recognition in international media disproportionate to their actual size. This discourse was behind the coinage of the term ‘Islamic Terrorism’, which casts a shadow of suspicion on any member of the Muslim community worldwide and served as an impetus for the writing of this paper as a means of shedding light on other Muslim organizations, which arguably are much larger in scope and influence. At the same time, these organizations are peaceful in nature and characterized by an incomparable level of tolerance. In my quest for sources of both narratives, I traced the history of the advent and dissemination of Islam in Africa – such a diverse geographic, cultural, ethnic and religious setting. I discovered that whereas the advent of Islam in the northern part of the region (North Africa) unfolded relatively quickly through invasion, it entered the Sudanese Belt (an area from the red sea shore of modern-day Sudan in the East to today’s Mauritania by the Atlantic Ocean in the West) more gradually via trade relations and the influence of Sufi sheikhs. They lived with the people indigenous to the area and seamlessly weaved themselves into the fabric of the societies they came to counsel. This paper argues that the areas where Sufi Islam is present have been largely shielded from extremist ideologies, and the reverse is true for North Africa, where Islam arrived in a relatively short period of invasion. The argument is presented by looking at the example of modernday Sudan, which leads me to examine the phenomenon of Sufi orders entering political life through direct involvement by establishing political parties, which propelled them into direct confrontation with representatives of a different branch of the Islamic movement in politics, namely, the Islamists. Arguably, the strongest Islamist party in the Middle East and Africa of today is the Muslim Brotherhood. I look at the diverging values of the two. Where the Muslim Brotherhood is arguably seeking absolute political power through a rigid organizational structure, the Sufi orders have been integrating into the political life of the country of residence. I argue that this example constitutes an opportunity to renegotiate the social contract between different factions of the society and lay the foundation for a different Islamic narrative. One based on pluralism, tolerance and understanding, which has the potential to gradually transform the sociopolitical environment of the entire Sudanese Belt in this direction.

scholarly journals Al-Azhar University in the Events of the Arab Spring (Case of Egypt)

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-596
Author(s):  
Yurii Vitalevich Lashkhia
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Religious Education ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Official Document ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The Arab Spring

Due to the comprehensiveness of Islam, the role of the “Islamic factor” in political processes in the Middle East and North Africa is great, while the nature of the manifestations of the “Islamic factor” largely depends among other things on the current state of modern religious educational institutions, including those serving as a forge of Islamic personnel today. One of the most prestigious universities in Islamic oikumene, giving religious education for Muslims from all over the world, is AlAzhar al-Sharif (the shorter Al-Azhar is more common). It was here that some famous thinkers studied, who further significantly contributed to the development of the so-called “political Islam”. This study is an attempt to clarify the role of Al-Azhar University and related Islamic scholars in the socio-political processes of the Middle East and North Africa. Conducting the research, the author largely turned to the sources of the Islamic religion (the Qur’an, Hadith), theological texts of a number of thinkers (for example, the interpretation of the Qur’an Rashid Rida), religious polemical works (the work of Sheikh Osama al-Azhari against the “Muslim Brotherhood” and other “Islamist” trends), documents compiled by the leadership of Al-Azhar; academic literature on related issues. The author came to the conclusion that the “Islamic factor” did not play a crucial role at the beginning of events, but vividly manifested itself subsequently. The actual suppression of Islam by secular dictators created a fertile ground for the acute discontent of believing citizens and activists of various movements who uphold a particular version of the Islamic political alternative. The most influential university in the Islamic world, Al-Azhar, in an official document, “Arab Spring”, indicated the possibility of a shift in despotic power, while emphasizing at the same time the inadmissibility of violent suppression of peaceful protest. Certain Azharite theologians were directly involved in the events of the “Arab Spring”, in particular, the passionate scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, associated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement and graduated from Al-Azhar, as well as Sheikh Emad Effat, who died during the suppression of an unarmed speech 15 December 2011. Such activity of various Islamic forces in the political sphere is primarily due to the very nature of the Islamic tradition, which does not separate the “sacred” and “profane”.

scholarly journals Sutan Sjahrir: Manusia dan Noktah Sejarahnya di Timur Tengah

SIASAT ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-31
Author(s):  
Herdi Sahrasad
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Vice President ◽  
London School ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
The People ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood

This treatise opens with a small question: Why Sutan Sjahrir married Poppy Saleh Mengundiningrat in Cairo, Egypt in the 1950s and did not in Jakarta? Poppy was studying at the London School, England and Sjahrir in Jakarta, the two then flew to Cairo and married there, witnessed by Soedjatmoko, a child of revolution, which is also a leading intelligentsia and political cadre of Sjahrir. Apparently, the First Prime Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, Sutan Sjahrir had a speck of history in the Middle East during the war of independence 1945-1949, which makes its way to Egypt to meet with the Arab leaders, fighters, intellectuals, activists and warriors. Sjahrir even met Hassan al-Bana, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood persistent against colonialism and imperialism in the Muslim world, especially the Middle East. Sjahrir asked the Arab world to mobilize supports for the independence of Indonesia. Sjahrir known as the Socialists that grow from the Minangkabau world and the Western-educated to find a foothold in the Middle East struggle to carry out a diplomatic mission of the President Soekarno and Vice President M. Hatta, for the people of Indonesia. We should remember and recall, Sjarir as a hero, eventhough he is almost forgotten by this nation.

INTERPRETATION OF THE RELIGIOUS FACTOR IN MODERN POLITICAL THEORIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96
Author(s):  
Sayyora Saidova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Human Heart ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
Religious Policy ◽  
The People ◽  
Political Theories ◽  
Religious Factor ◽  
Religious Aspect

In the Middle East, the processes for leadership among religious and democratic progress in North Africa require that the state pursue secular policy on a scientific and dialectical basis. Because religious beliefs have become so ingrained in secular life that it is difficult to separate them. Because in the traditions and customs of the people, in various ceremonies, there is a secular as well as a religious aspect. Even the former Soviet Constitution, based on atheism, could not separate them. Religious faith has lived in the human heart despite external prohibitions. National independence has given freedom to religious belief, which is now breathing freely in the barrel. The religious policy of our state strengthens and expands this process and guarantees it constitutionally.

scholarly journals Masyarakat Sipil dan Gerakan Politik: Studi Kasus Reformasi Bahrain

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Social Law ◽  
Charles Tilly ◽  
The People ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Step Down ◽  
Great Mass

In early 2011, countries in the Middle East and North Africa experienced a great mass movement that demanded their country leader to step down. Bahrain was one of the countries that experienced a mass movement, where the people of Bahrain demanded a government reformation that was considered authoritarian, repressive, and discriminative. The reformation that was wanted a change within the fields of politics, social, law and economy. This research aims to determine what factors causes the eruption of the mass movement in Bahrain on 2011. The writer used the concepts that the writer used to examine the problem using the concept mass movement by Eric Hoffer and the collective action by Charles Tilly and William Gamson. Based on the data there are and the theory the writer used, the factors that caused mass movement demanding reformation in Bahrain on 2011 are the disappointment from the people of Bahrain, the existence of organization and figure tha’s capable of mobilize the citizen, and also a special condition which is the mass movement that occurred in Egypt.

scholarly journals Government Factors Influencing an Expansion of Study Abroad in the Middle East/North Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara Lane-Toomey
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
National Security ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Federal Funding ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
The People ◽  
Career Motivations ◽  
The Relationship

Since the late 1950s, both the U.S. government and the general population have acknowledged an immediate need for a deepening of U.S. American knowledge of the people, languages, and culture of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Particularly in the fallout of the events of September 11, 2001, one means for U.S. undergraduates have expanded their understanding of this region has been through participation in Study Abroad (study abroad) programs. Despite the large amount of research on outcomes and educational approaches used in study abroad in general, there is little literature which addresses the relationship between national security concerns and study abroad in the MENA region. The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which federal legislation has connected higher education to national security interests through provisions of federal funding for Area Studies and study abroad in less common destinations, and to discuss the influence of factors such as career motivations, scholarship support, and concern for U.S. national security on the decision to study abroad in the MENA region

A Biographical Approach to the Study of Social Change in the Middle East: Abdullah Tariki as a New Man

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Duguid
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
New Man ◽  
Army Officers ◽  
Biographical Approach ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Large Sections

The need for social change has been recognized by most of the politically important forces in the Middle East today, but differences remain concerning its implementation. These differences are centered on the type of change and the rate at which it should take place. There are three basic social groups taking part in this conflict; the traditional elements of society, typified by organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, many of the ruling families, and large sections of the peasant population; the ‘modern’ man of the liberal era such as evolutionary–liberalist politicians, doctors, landowners, bureaucrats, merchants, and the like; and the ‘modern’ men of the era of technology (material-scientific) such as army officers, agronomists, planners and industrialists.

Post-Islamist Transformations in Morocco

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 125-145
Author(s):  
Jibreel Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

This article explores the continuities and ruptures of modern Islamic social movements starting with the reformist salafiyya of Egypt, North Africa, and the Levant, moving through the Islamic political activism of the Muslim Brotherhood along with its various affiliated political parties in the Middle East and North Africa (mena), and finally the radical Jihadist militant groups calling for armed insurgency in parts of the mena as well as globally. After an extensive overview of the varied movements within Salafism in its global context, I will hone in on its articulation in Morocco, its relations with other Islamist movements, as well as with the Moroccan monarchical authoritarian system. I argue that in the wake of post-Islamist adopting of human rights discourse and notions of pluralism in the workings of the Justice and Development Party (pjd) government, the Salafi trend is also undertaking a transformation in Morocco. Placed in its historical and social contexts, however, I show that this trend has never been static and continues to change in relation to competing and collaborating Islamist trends as well as toward the Moroccan government.

scholarly journals Why Islam (Properly Understood) Is the Solution

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 137-145
Author(s):  
Nader Hashemi
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

This paper is a provocative play on the famous Muslim Brotherhood slogan al-Islām hūwa al-ḥāl (Islam is the solution). While critics of the Muslim Brothers rightly criticized them for the simplicity of their worldview in thinking that religion was a panacea for all of the problems confronting Muslim societies during the late twentieth century, an argument can be made that religion does profoundly matter in the context of the struggle for democracy in the Arab-Islamic world. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, democratic transitions in North Africa and the Middle East will be dependent on democratically negotiating the question of religion’s role in politics. Here I provide some reflections on this topic with a focus on Tunisia’s transition to democracy.  

scholarly journals The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Ideology vs. Pragmatism

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
David Schwartz ◽  
Daniel Galily
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Islamic Movements ◽  
Western Model ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The Masses

This study aims to present the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, its ideology and pragmatism. With progress and modernization, the Islamic movements in the Middle East realized that they could not deny progress, so they decided to join the mainstream and take advantage of technological progress in their favor. The movement maintains at least one website in which it publishes its way, and guides the audience. Although these movements seem to maintain a rigid ideology, they adapt themselves to reality with the help of many tools, because they have realized that reality is stronger than they are. The main points in the article are: The status of religion in the country; What is the Muslim Brotherhood? According to which ideology is the movement taking place? - Movement background and ideology; Theoretical background – The theory of Pragmatism; How is pragmatism manifested in the activity of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt? In conclusions: The rise of the Islamist movements as a leading social and political force in the Middle East is the result of the bankruptcy of nationalism, secularism and the left in the Arab world, which created an ideological vacuum, which is filled to a large extent by the fundamentalists, ensuring that Islam is the solution. It is not only about the extent of the return to religion, but about the transformation of religion into a major political factor both by the regimes and by the opposition. These are political movements that deal first and foremost with the social and political mobilization of the masses, and they exert pressure to apply the Islamic law as the law of the state instead of the legal systems taken from the Western model.

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