DIFFERENT ROUTES TO ISLAMISM: HISTORY, INSTITUTIONS, AND THE POLITICS OF ISLAMIC STATE IN EGYPT AND INDONESIA Ali Munhanif Department of Political Science McGill University, Montreal April 2010 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) © Copyright Ali Munhanif, 2010 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines patterns of Islamist political mobilization in Egypt and Indonesia. It focuses on the development of major political organizations formed in both countries whose primary goal is the establishment of Islamic state. By focusing on these organizations, this dissertation seeks to explain an analytical puzzle: why Egyptian and Indonesian Islamist movements develop along divergent patterns of mobilization? While the traditional focus of the literature is on Islam‟s cultural tenets and the structure of Muslim society, I argue that the most fundamental factors that have driven the variation in Islamist mobilization were the historical formation of particular types of organizations along with how the outcomes of this period developed over time. Different institutional settings in Egypt and Indonesia prior to the formation of modern political organizations intent on the creation of an Islamic state transformed similar Islamic ideology into different patterns of organizational constructs and programs for mobilization. This formative moment is of paramount importance because it had long- term political consequences. Based on this institutional framework, this dissertation identifies a typology of Islamist historical formation centered on the distinction between the “purist” Islamist movement in Egypt and “pragmatic-reform” oriented Islamist organizations in Indonesia. This dissertation also examines the relationship between institutional settings and Islamist politics over time. I analyze the history and institutional designs of the state as conditions that both constrained and yet enabled the interests and goals of leaders in i Islamist movements. Periodization— defined broadly as the historical sequences of state formation — serves as an analytical framework with which to capture critical moments and actions of the competing groups, especially between Islamist actors and the state elite in response to a particular set of changes, over a defined period of time. By tracing these various paths of Islamist political responses and initiatives through the subsequent changes of state-Islamist relations, this dissertation seeks to offer a more nuanced, historically grounded, but analytically persuasive explanation of the alternative routes toward an Islamic state, in terms of organizational formation, political mobilization and transformation. Using an historical institutional theoretical framework to interrogate my findings, it is hoped that this dissertation will contribute to a larger debate in political science on Islam and politics, state building, and the historical process of conflict- resolution between the state regimes and Islamist political forces. ii RÉSUMÉ Ce mémoire est consacré d‟examiner des modèles de la mobilisation politique islamiste en Égypte et en Indonésie. Elle se concentre sur le développement des organisations politiques importantes formées dans les deux pays dont le but primaire est l'établissement de l'état islamique. En se concentrant sur ces organisations, cette thèse cherche à expliquer une énigme analytique : pourquoi les mouvements islamistes égyptiens et indonésiens se développent-ils selon les modèles divergents de la mobilisation? Tandis que l‟objectif traditionnel de la littérature est sur les principes culturels et la structure de la société musulmane, je soutiens que les facteurs les plus fondamentaux qui ont conduit la variation de la mobilisation islamiste étaient la formation historique des types particuliers d'organisations avec la façon dont les résultats de cette période se sont développés avec le temps. Les différents cadres institutionnels en Égypte et en Indonésie avant la formation des organisations politiques modernes attentifs sur la création d'un état islamique ont transformé l'idéologie islamique semblable en différents modèles des constructions et des programmes d'organisation pour la mobilisation. Ce moment formateur est d'importance primordiale parce qu'il a eu des conséquences politiques à long terme. Basé sur ce cadre institutionnel, ce mémoire identifie une typologie de la formation historique islamiste portée sur la distinction entre le mouvement islamiste « puriste » en Égypte et « reforme- pragmatique » les organisations islamistes orientés en Indonésie. iii Ce mémoire examine également le rapport entre les cadres institutionnels et la politique islamiste avec le temps. J'analyse l'histoire et les conceptions institutionnelles de l'état comme conditions que tous les deux ont contraint mais ont permis les intérêts et les buts des chefs dans les mouvements islamistes. Périodisation- définie largement comme ordres historiques de formation d'état - servir comme un outil analytique avec lequel on peut capturer des moments et des actions critiques des groupes de concurrence, particulièrement entre les acteurs islamistes et l'élite d'état en réponse à les changements particulières, sur une période définie. En traçant ces divers chemins des réponses politiques islamistes et des initiatives par les changements suivants des relations d'état Islamiste, ce mémoire cherche à offrir une explication plus diversifiée, historiquement plus au sol, mais analytiquement persuasive des itinéraires alternatifs vers un état islamique, en termes de formation d'organisation, mobilisation politique et transformation. Utilisant un cadre institutionnel historique pour interroger mes conclusions, on 'espère que ce mémoire contribuera à un plus grand débat en sciences politiques sur l'Islam et la politique, l‟établissement d'état, et le processus historique de l'être en conflit- résolution entre les régimes d'état et les forces politiques islamistes. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the support of numerous individuals and institutions, the completion of this dissertation would have been impossible. I would like to express my special gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Rex Brynen, who has been my mentor and a great source of inspiration since I entered McGill University. His insights have broadened my perspectives and his wisdom will benefit my research for many years to come. In particular, his expertise on peace building and conflict resolution shaped several of the ideas contained in this dissertation. Prof. Brynen nurtured my skills in analytical thinking, allowed me the intellectual freedom to express myself, and has been supportive throughout my graduate years. For all this, I owe him a large debt of thanks. I am also grateful to Prof. Hudson Meadwell and Erik Kuhonta for their unfailing academic support and sharp insight. Prof. Meadwell introduced me to comparative politics and the politics of the nation-state. This has kept me fascinated with the comparisons between Islamism and the politics of state formation. I also drew inspiration from the course I took with him in comparative historical analysis in political science. Erik Kuhonta deserves my sincere thanks for his insightful dialogue on Southeast Asian politics as well as for his generous financial support during the crucial years of my dissertation writing. I am fortunate to know him for many reasons including introducing me to many individuals and scholars working on Southeast Asia. I would also like to thank the faculty members and staff at the Department of Political Science at McGill University who helped me along the way. I thank Helen Wilicka, Linda Huddy, Angie Coppola, and Andrew, for their efficient and ever- friendly assistance through the administrative process. I am also grateful to a number of faculty members at the Department who helped me through the challenges of being a graduate student: Filippo Sabetti, Narindra Subramanian, Philip Oxhorn, Detline Stolle, and Juliet Johnson. In addition, I wish to extend my thanks to all my friends and fellow researchers at the Inter-University Consortium for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (ICAMES), McGill University, including to James Devine, Bill Wenniger, Omar Ashour, Emre Unlucayakli, Zayneb K. Beladgzu, Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brule, and Ora Szekely, I express my gratitude for your sincere friendship and cheerful „social‟ v environment. My deepest thanks go to Robert Stewart, also of ICAMES, for his editing and proofreading ability which proved invaluable for large portions of this dissertation. My study at the graduate program at McGill University was made possible by the generous support provided by a scholarship from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) under the auspices of the Indonesia-Canada Islamic Higher Education project (ICIHEP) McGill University. Staff and individuals of this institution deserve a special mention to acknowledge their kindness, support, and warmth: Wendy Allen, Susy Racciardelli, Lori Novak, Annie Yoesoef, Saleema Nawas, and Lina Kalfayan. I am so thankful for their friendly management at ICIHEP making my years at McGill some of the best of my life. There are a great number of colleagues and friends who deserved sincere thanks and appreciation. In Jakarta, I am greatly indebted to Komarudin Hidayat, Azyumardi Azra, Bahtiar Effendy, Jajat Burhanudin, and Dadi Darmadi for their continued support, help and encouragement throughout my graduate journey in Montreal. My deepest