Materialist Analysis of Political Islams Movements, parties and regimes as varied as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Turkeys ruling party, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Somali Al-Shabab and Nigerias Boko Haram all claim to follow a religious code based on Islam with regards to law, politics and governance. Of course any attempt to bring these varied tendencies and movements under one model is futile; each case is concrete in its own way and one version of Political Islam often contradicts others. This is an attempt to give a materialist account of Political Islams. Historical Islam (meaning real Islam as practiced by real humans) emerged and reached its peak under modes of production very different from todays bourgeois society. Islam grew to its maturity under slavery and feudal modes of production. As these earlier modes of production were being destroyed through bourgeois and socialist revolutions on the world scale, historical Islam would inevitably change with changing mode of production. This change in the nature of Islam includes but not necessarily limited to irreligiousity in philosophy, law and politics. This is the historic rise of secularism in Muslim societies, for which evidence is so abundant. Thus changes in historical Islam, which includes rise of secularism, reflect real changes in existing mode of production from slavery and feudalism to capitalism as well as the emergence of modern classes, bourgeoisie and proletariat. Rise of secularism is thus a reflection of further development of productive forces, industry and science. Transformation of historical Islam, which includes rise of secularism, is thus inevitable and a reflection of unconscious laws of history. However, unconscious laws eventually find expression in the consciousness of men and women. One of the inevitable changes brought about by development of bourgeois relations of production is the destruction of feudal particulrisms and the barriers between Muslims and Christians, Arabs and non-Arabs and Shiites and Sunnis. This is not only as a result of development of integrated markets but also because capital brought together labour from all sects, ethnic groups and religions and train them in the spirit of proletarian solidarity within factories. Proletarian solidarity irrespective of religion and sect is a key element of rising secularism. It is also at the same time a threat to capital. Inevitably, the bourgeoisie in Muslim societies realized the value of resisting and fighting secularism as a means of dividing workers along religious, sectarian and ethnic lines. This is how bourgeois political Islam emerged. Bourgeois Political Islamists; the Liberal and Conservative Varieties Bourgeois political Islamists face this basic contradiction: as bourgeoisie, their very existence depends on further development of productive forces, which stimulates the rise of secularism and proletarian solidarity, threatening the rule of capital. Resisting changes in historical Islam and fighting secularism on the other hand, hinders development of productive forces, again threatening the rule of capital. Liberal bourgeois political Islamists like Turkeys ruling party and Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood are more likely to be flexible about their Islamist doctrines and can accept minimal changes in historical Islam for a limited development of productive forces. Conservative bourgeois political Islamists such as Taliban regime or Gulf monarchies are less that flexible. However this difference between liberal and conservative wings of bourgeois political Islam is accidental. Far more important and necessary is the determination of both wings of the bourgeois ideology to undermine proletarian solidarity and divide workers along sectarian and religious lines. Petty Bourgeois Political Islam; Islamist Terrorism and Fascism The petty bourgeoisie watch as development of bourgeois relations not only transforms historical Islam and leads to the rise of secularism but also this same development destroys their (petty bourgeois) material existence. This is in marked contrast to the big bourgeoisie whose very existence depends on the development of capitalist mode of production. This explains why petty bourgeoisie are most fanatical about political Islam. Their lack of political strength also makes them more prone to engage in individual terrorism. It is also natural that the bourgeois political Islamists will use these petty bourgeois fanatics in their intra-bourgeois struggles but also against the working class. Saudi, Iranian and Qatari support for Jihadists in Syria and Iraq and the role of American imperialism in the rise of Al-Qaeda as well as Sharia politicians in northern Nigeria with regards to the rise of Boko Haram all reflect various manifestations of this process.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:12:52 +0000
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