Political Islam is a contemporary construct, not a natural outgrowth of Muslim societies.
Evidence
Chapter 5 shows that the parties of political Islam are not the natural outgrowths of Muslim-majority societies, as some have argued. As in Christian-majority societies, the (misnamed) “Muslim world” has also seen a separation of religion and politics. Understanding this history allows us to see that political Islam is a contemporary phenomenon. Chapter 6 shows that Islamism, often called Islamic fundamentalism, is the product of particular historic conditions in the late twentieth century that also spurred on the growth of Christian, Hindu, and Jewish fundamentalisms. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 30
Categorization
- XREF: The parallel rise of religious fundamentalisms across faiths connects to the reader’s comparative framework across imperial contexts. — connects to: The monolithic Islamic mind is a projection, not a reality; New crusades are political and cultural wars, not religious conflicts; Orientalists reframed Islam as a political system rather than a religion. (+7 more)
Broader Connections
- Political Islam’s rise stems from modern politics, not seventh-century Islam
#corroborates(0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 313 - Political Islam is a modern urban phenomenon born of capitalist crisis, not medieval revival
#corroborates(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 342 - Political Islam parallels other modern fundamentalisms rather than stemming from Islam’s essence
#corroborates(0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 285 - Religious claims overstated the unity of religion and politics in Islam
#corroborates(0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 294 - Religious political ascendance in the late twentieth century was a global, not Muslim-specific, phenomenon
#corroborates(0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 314 - Political Islam’s rise depended on the collapse of secular nationalism
#expands(0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 312