Islamicist Utopia and Democracy

Abstract

This article addresses democratic construction in Islamic societies throughout the Algerian experience. Its main conclusions can be summarized as follows. First, in all Muslim societies, there exists an Islamicist utopia that stands as an obstacle not only to democracy but also to political modernity. Until now, this utopia has been contained only by repression that finally impedes the democratization. Second, Islam presents itself as a public religion that participates in the legitimization of political power. The democratic ideology, however, is compatible with religion to the extent that it is lived as a private concern. Finally, the Islamicist utopia and the public aspect of Islam aim at maintaining society's communal structures. They refuse to make the singularity of the political arena independent and reject differentiation through politics within a society that claims to be fraternal.

Predatory Globalization and Democracy in the Islamic World

“…The subsequent historical episodes in Islamic history replay this theme in varied guises: the recognition of a de facto separation between religion and politics (Lapidus 1975) is repeatedly subordinated to the overarching precepts of conformity to the central belief. Despite the appearance of multiple political forms through the centuries in diverse settings (hence the usage of &dquo;cultural areas&dquo; after &dquo;Islamic&dquo; in this article), the incompatibility thesis has survived, giving contemporary incarnations of a totalizing religion the status of a utopia (Addi 1992).…”

Introduction

“…The second strand of reflections on utopia and Islam is based upon a narrative in which Islam plays an important role. This narrative, which has been labeled by scholars as the 'Islamic' (Behdad 1997), 'Islamicist' (Addi 1992), or 'Islamist' utopia (Tibi 2012), posits that an ideal society should reference the society of early Muslims, that is, as it is described in or interpreted from the Islamic corpus. The Islamic utopia is a society where Sharia law is finally and perfectly (re)applied, through political (or military) action.…”

“…A second argument assumes that an ideal society inspired by a religious past is inevitably illiberal (cf. Addi 1992), that is, it will automatically give rise to theocratic regimes. A third argument suggests that the retrotopian model is antihistorical (cf.…”

Islam, politics, education, and modernity

“…Este modelo não existe à parte de seu destino histórico. Um modelo como esse só pode ser formado por meio de um processo histórico, resultado de uma mudança gradual do islamismo por força das realidades sociais (ADDI, 1992). Na opinião de Elie Kedourie, não houve nenhuma transformação devido ao fato de que a política do Islã está em uma dimensão mística (ELLE, 1983).…”