Political Islam is a modern urban phenomenon born of capitalist crisis, not medieval revival
Evidence
As such, this intellectual leadership held a modern, urban worldview. Thus, the rise of contemporary political Islam is not the reemergence of a medieval clergy crusading against modernity but rather a modern urban phenomenon born of the crises created by capitalism. As Chris Harman puts it, “Islamism has arisen in societies traumatized by the impact of capitalism—first in the form of external conquest by imperialism and then, increasingly, by the transformation of internal social relations accompanying the rise of a local capitalist class and the formation of an independent state.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 342
Categorization
- XREF: Reverses the framing in Kumar’s own targets — the myth that Islamism equals anti-modernity. Echoes Rana’s interrogation of how ‘modern’ threat categories get projected onto Muslims. — connects to: The 1967 defeat and 1970s economic crisis fueled political Islam’s rise. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 250; Political Islam is a contemporary construct, not a natural outgrowth of Muslim societies. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 30; Western banks and Chicago-school neoliberals financed the rise of Islamism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 241 (+10 more)
Broader Connections
- Islamism rose from secular nationalist failure, left weakness, and economic crises
#corroborates(0.90) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 323 - Political Islam’s rise depended on the collapse of secular nationalism
#corroborates(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 312 - Political Islam emerged from failures of secularism, Stalinism, and crises, aided by US sponsorship
#contradicts(0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 371 - Religious political ascendance in the late twentieth century was a global, not Muslim-specific, phenomenon
#complicates(0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 314 - Capitalism and colonialism drove Muslim empires toward secularization
#complicates(0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 298 - Islamists are strong advocates of capitalism despite anticapitalist rhetoric
#expands(0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 348 - Islamophobia functions as scapegoating that diverts attention from capitalism’s failures.
#expands(0.40) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 40