The ummah as nation: a reappraisal in the wake of the ‘Cartoons Affair’^†

Abstract

In the wake of the 2006 'Cartoons Affair' which saw international protests by Muslims against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, it is clear that identity based on membership in the Islamic ummah goes far beyond simple religious affiliation. This essay presents a novel argument for treating the ummah (the transnational community of Muslim believers) as a nation. I begin with a theoretical treatment of the ummah as nation which employs historic and current interpretations of what constitutes nationhood. I then turn to the current state of the ummah; my findings present a potent nexus of information and communications technology (ICT), emergent elites, and Muslim migration to the West that has facilitated a hitherto impossible reification of the ummah. I also discuss how globalisation, Western media practices, and the nature of European society allow 'ummahist' elites to marginalise other voices in the transnational Muslim community. Based on the global events surrounding the Danish cartoons controversy of 2005-06, I conclude that there is need to recognise ummah-based identity as more than just a profession of faith -it represents a new form of postnational, political identity which is as profound as any extant nationalism.

Epistemic governance: an approach to the politics of policy-making

“…A similar identification of actors with an even more imagined community is evident in the way conceptions of the world as divided into competing civilizational blocs shaped the effect of the Danish cartoon controversy of 2005 (Eide, Kunelius, & Phillips, 2008;Lindekilde, Mouritsen, & Zapata-Barrero, 2009). Informing national politics as well as international diplomacy, the event was used by actors to discursively construct a new institutionalized player, the ummah or 'Muslim world,' to which actors related themselves in various ways (Powers, 2008;Saunders, 2008).…”

Achmed the dead terrorist and humor in popular geopolitics

“…Similarly, the recent Danish political cartoon representations of the prophet Muhammad, and the subsequent political firestorms and economic boycotts, demonstrate the power of humor (and the media) to reflect gross misconceptions of the Other (Hussain 2007). These incidents also highlight the role of transnational elites in using a specific form of humor as a motivation or rallying cry for political demonstrations by offended Muslims around the globe (Olesen 2007;Saunders 2008).…”

Die Soft Power des Heiligen Stuhls. Unsichtbare Legionen zwischen internationaler Gesellschaft und Weltgesellschaft

“…denn obwohl dieser "Krieg gegen den terror" (in Afghanistan) mit hard power, mit klassischen militärischen Mitteln begonnen wurde, zeigt sich doch immer deutlicher, dass es sich auch um ein Ringen zwischen verschiedenen Weltanschauungen handelt. im Zentrum stehen dabei verschiedene religiöse Werte, wie etwa die (islamische) Vorstellung der ummah (die religiöse Gemeinschaft aller Muslime), des "heiligen Krieges" oder (christliche) Lehren des "gerechten Krieges" (Saunders 2008;Hoffmann 2006;Johnson 2008;Webster u. Cole 2004). es existiert aber auch eine Reihe von weiteren indikatoren, die Religion als eine Quelle von soft power qualifizieren.…”