Th e New Political Islam This page intentionally left blank THE NEW POLITICAL ISLAM HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, AND JUSTICE Emmanuel Karagiannis University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia A volume in the Haney Foundation Series, established in 1961 with the generous support of Dr. John Louis Haney. Copyright ᭧ 2018 University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112 www.upenn.edu/pennpress Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10987654321 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Karagiannis, Emmanuel, author. Title: The new political Islam : human rights, democracy, and justice / Emmanuel Karagiannis. Other titles: Haney Foundation series. Description: 1st edition. ͉ Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2018] ͉ Series: Haney Foundation series ͉ Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017036430 ͉ ISBN 978-0-8122-4972-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Islam and politics—History—21st century. ͉ Muslim converts— Political activity—Europe. ͉ Muslims—Political activity—Europe. ͉ Sunnities— Political activity—Middle East. ͉ Shiites—Political activity—Middle East. ͉ Islamic fundamentalism—21st century. ͉ Human rights advocacy—Religious aspects— Islam. ͉ Democracy—Religious aspects—Islam. ͉ Justice—Religious aspects—Islam. ͉ Terrorism—Religious aspects—Islam. Classification: LCC BP173.7.K3655 2017 ͉ DDC 320.55/7—dc23. LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017036430 In memory of Alexandros Petersen and Konstandinos Erik Scurfield This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 Part I. Islamist Activism and the Master Frame of Human Rights 25 Chapter 1. The Activism of European Converts 33 Chapter 2. The Activism of Hizb ut-Tahrir 53 Part II. Islamist Politics and the Master Frame of Democracy 75 Chapter 3. The Politics of Islamo-Democracy in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia 83 Chapter 4. The Politics of Electoral Salafism in Egypt and Tunisia 106 Part III. Islamist Militancy and the Master Frame of Justice 127 Chapter 5. The Militancy of Shia Groups in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria 135 Chapter 6. The Militancy of Sunni Groups in Iraq and Syria 156 Conclusion 180 Notes 187 Selected Bibliography 241 Index 253 Acknowledgments 257 This page intentionally left blank Preface The rise of political Islam has attracted great public, government, and aca- demic attention in the West. It is fair to say that Islamism has been largely viewed by many with dismay and fear due to its perceived anachronistic and totalitarian nature. In an era of globalization, the blurring of politics and religion seems antimodern and irrational. In 2012, Farhad Khosrokha- var, a prominent scholar of the Islamic world, observed confidently that “the age of Islamism is over, not as an ideology or a credo among minority groups, but as a motto that could convince the people of its feasibility.”1 Yet Islamism in its various forms has reached almost every Muslim commu- nity in the world and Islamist groups are still on the march. The term political Islam in itself is contested by both academics and Islamists. Some critics say that it is a redundant term because the distinc- tion between political and nonpolitical domains of social life is not relevant anymore; the modern state has significantly expanded its functions to influence every aspect of organized life.2 For many Islamists, the term is problematic because Islam is inherently political; thus din (religion) and dawla (state) depend on each other. But such views tend to ignore the diversity that exists within the Muslim faith. In particular, Sufism and its mystical beliefs constitute an important part of Islam that is often despised by those who favor the politicization of the faith.3 This is not to say that Sufism is apolitical; actually, Sufi orders have been involved indirectly in politics (e.g., the Gu¨len movement in Turkey). Sufism is rather nonpolitical in the sense of avoiding political interpretations of Islamic concepts, rituals, and practices.4 Therefore, it is essential to distinguish ontologically the religion from its political expression. So what is political Islam and what is Islamism? The two terms are often treated as synonymous. Nazih Ayobi defines political Islam as “the doctrine and/or movement which contends that Islam pos- sesses a theory of politics and the state.”5 Guilain Denoeux describes politi- cal Islam or Islamism as “a form of instrumentalization of Islam by x Preface individuals, groups and organizations that pursue political objectives.”6 Finally, Frederic Volpi argues that Islamism “refers to the political dynam- ics generated by the activities of those people who believe that Islam as a body of faith has something crucial to say about how society should be organized.”7 This book will maintain the use of the term political Islam to describe a global social movement that seeks to mobilize Muslims into activities that have political ramifications. It is a diverse and nonhierarchical collectivity of dif- ferent actors who share some ideas and perceptions. Accordingly, Islamism refers to the ideology and practices of parties, groups, and prominent individu- als that claim that Islam must regulate every aspect of public and private life. It is a fluid and unsystematic set of beliefs and practices that is open to change and adaptation in accordance with local conditions. Due to its broad character, “Islamism should not be linked exclusively with political violence and militancy.”8 Political Islam has expanded on all continents, but its internationaliza- tion is politically and culturally localized.9 It is a movement of movements that revolve around the interplay between the global and the local. The interconnectivity of societies has contributed to the spread of Islamism but at a great cost: different versions of this ideology have emerged based on specificities. In today’s world, however, it is necessary to move beyond the global- local dichotomy because there is growing overlap between them. Paul Lubeck has observed that “the new global infrastructure integrates the dis- parate members of the global umma by encouraging Muslims to communi- cate, study, travel to fulfill the diverse Muslim obligations.”10 The umma now consists of Muslim communities that interpret political and social real- ities in their own distinct ways. In this context, Islamist parties and groups have adopted universal political and social norms bypassing the nation- state. Political Islam is the embodiment of a synthesis between global ideas and local applications. Indeed, it is a social movement that must be studied from a new angle. Political Islam’s Manifestations of Glocalization Islam is projected to be the religion of one-third of the world’s population by 2050, reaching parity with Christianity around 2070.11 The content of Preface xi Islam is determined by the relationship between universality and particular- ity. It is a religion of 1.7 billion people worldwide and professes a single message about submitting to God and worshipping him alone. Yet it is practiced differently in many countries and communities. In fact, Islam is divided both horizontally and vertically. The Sunni-Shia divide has raged since the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632, generating dissimilar theo- logical beliefs, rituals, and traditions. In addition, each of the two denomi- nations contains schools of jurisprudence (madhahib) that offer different methodologies of setting Islamic rules and regulations.12 Ethnic and cultural elements have also significantly diversified the Muslim faith. It has been suggested that one of the reasons why Islam has come to be a global religion is its ability to become local.13 Many scholars have recorded how Islamic tenets have been blended with native practices and customs. As a result, there is an Ethiopian Islam, a Kazakh Islam, a Thai Islam, and so on.14 To put it simply, Islam is as highly varied as any major religion. Similarly, political expressions of the Muslim faith are vastly divergent because they accommodate local circumstances. Islamist parties and groups have utilized a variety of political methods to achieve their aims, ranging from engaging in peaceful activism to participating in the electoral process to using violence and coercion. Political Islam does not exist as a single and homogeneous movement because it constantly incorporates new political realities, different identities, and dynamic cultural influences. Although its extraordinary dynamism is connected to the globalization processes, politi- cal Islam has become more fragmented in recent years. This glocalization of political Islam and, subsequently, of Islamism has accelerated during the post-9/11 era for a variety of reasons that I discuss later. The term glocalization was put forward during the 1990s by Ronald Robertson to describe the relationship between the global and the local. I return to the history of the term in the Introduction. The book attempts to link the concept of glocalization with the framing theory that derives from the social movement paradigm. Islamists of different varieties have consciously syncretized religion, culture, and politics by using certain schemata of inter- pretation. The book’s central claim is that there is a new political Islam consist- ing of activists, politicians, and militants who have acted as glocalizers by transferring global ideas and norms to local Muslim communities.Thiscategori- zation of Islamists is based on their preferred method of engagement with Muslim communities. It does not necessarily describe the ideological content of their action, which can be anything from reformism to fundamentalism. xii Preface To begin with, Islamist activists have increasingly used human rights language to question the socioeconomic and political status of Muslims living in the West and elsewhere. More specifically, they have employed the master frame of human rights to explain and criticize the marginalization and targeting of fellow Muslims.