Hamid uses Islamic exceptionalism in a
value-neutral sense i.e. exceptionalism can be either good or bad, depending on
its manifestation. Nevertheless, it is true that Islam has proved resistant to
secularisation and is therefore exceptional.
Two factors that contribute to its
exceptionalism relate to the founding moment of Islam and the nature of its
main scripture, the Quran. History and theology matter and should be understood
particularly in the context of Islam. Prophet Mohammad was not just a man of
religion, but a politician, a state-builder, and leader of a state. The Quran, therefore, addresses the socio-political context of that time as well as issues
of governance, law, and order. Religion and politics are interwoven within the
teachings of Islam. In contrast, Jesus Christ was a dissident against the
state and did not rule or hold territory. Therefore, the New Testament does
not talk about governance.
The second
factor relates to the Quran. Muslims believe that the Quran contains the word
of God and is actually God’s speech. This can be one of the reasons why
secularists have failed to gain traction in Muslim-majority contexts. Given the
divine nature of the text, it is difficult to argue against the Prophetic model
and convince believers of its inability to replicate itself in the modern era.
According
to Hamid, these two factors make Islam fundamentally different from other
religions like Christianity and Judaism and contribute to Islam’s unique
relationship between law and governance.
This
founding moment of Islam and the role of the Quran has implications fourteen
centuries later in the modern era, in everyday politics in West Asia and North
Africa. Another political event, the formal abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate
in 1924, is particularly important in understanding modern conflicts in the
region such as the Iraq war, the Arab Spring and its demise, or the rise of
ISIS.
From the
time Prophet Mohammad established a Caliphate, there have always been one or
more Caliphates representing the Muslim ‘ummah’ or community. After 1924
however, with the advent of modern nation-states, there has been a constant
struggle to establish a legitimate Muslim political order in West Asia and
North Africa. Hamid argues that at the center of this struggle are a set of
issues: Islam’s relationship to the state, state’s relationship to Islam, and
role of religion in public life.
Islam was
revealed to its followers in a pre-modern era when Islam imbued an entire
social, moral, political, and religious architecture. It has proven difficult to
adapt it to the modern nation-state era.
This leads
to the rise of Islamists and the role of Islamism in everyday life in West Asia
and North Africa.
Hamid describes Islamists as those that
believe Islam or Islamic law should play a central role in political life.
Islamism was essentially created in response to one fundamental challenge of
the 20th century, that of secularisation and western ideologies
being imported into West Asia and North Africa. Islamists can only exist in
opposition to secularists; when they believe that their way of life is under
threat and that political organization is necessary to defeat the secularist
impulses. This fundamental divide between Islamists and non-Islamists or
secularists was evident during the Arab Spring and its aftermath. It follows
then that identity matters very much and is almost an existential crisis for
Islamists as well as secularists.
With the demise of the Arab Spring,
Islamists in West Asia and North Africa risk being excluded from the political
process because they are considered a ‘problem’ to be solved by governments,
often through authoritarian means. This severely undermines the governance
process since these parties represent a significant section of the population
in most countries in the region. Given this situation, the best solution, Hamid
argues, is to accept Islam’s role in public life and accommodate different
perspectives, even conservative ones, on the condition all stakeholders respect
the democratic process and the constitution. Democracy is based on
accommodating and respecting people with different beliefs, but doing so
peacefully. Democracy, even if illiberal by western democratic standards, is
preferable to authoritarian, repressive, and exclusionist regimes.
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