The Islamists - Part 1 - Islam and politics - Arabic with English subtitles

The Islamists Islam and Politics *Muslim call to prayer* *scenes of Muslims praying* Islam is the religion of millions of people around the globe And the heritage of Islam represents one of the major narratives in human history which has given rise to, and still gives rise to various other narratives. The aspects of Islam are manifested in the fields of thought and behaviour and in the fields of morality and spiritual inclinations. But the aspect which has been the most controversial in the past, and still remains so, is the political aspect of Islam. *crowds chanting in a rally* Dr. Mohammad Amara: "This phenomenon which I call political Islam, I think that it began with the beginnings of the Nahda (a renaissance/revival). When the French invasion occurred, a civilizational shock was formulated, I do not say that the French invasion was a reason for the Nahda (revival) However, it indicated to the Ummah the threat and the need for tajdid (renewal) and Nahda (revival), in order to face this new wave of European colonisation." Waheed Abd Al-Majeed: "The roots of political Islam can be traced back to reactions to the fall of the Islamic Caliphate. The fall of the Caliphate had a deep impact in the Arab and Islamic world, and caused reactions throughout." Dr. Abdel Wahhab El-Messiri: "The religious aspect was always embedded in the consciousness and the minds of the people, and what happened was that some of the values and understandings of religion were secularised, or was covered in a secular garb, but as a matter of fact, these matters were deeply rooted in a religious view. Take for example, the matter of defending one's homeland, or that of national pride, these understandings, in their essence, are rooted in religious tradition." "Political Islam derived its power in the initial stages from the weakness of the other ideologies in the Arab world, whether they were tried and tested on ground in a proper manner, or not. This applies to the leftist trends, whether they were socialist or communist, along with all their variations." In Egypt and Pakistan, the Islamists are considered as an important part of political life since the 1950's, even when they are prevented from legal political participation. As for in Yemen, Jordan and Morocco, the Islamists hold a central place in political considerations. And since the end of the 1990's, when many in the world are celebrating the victory of neo-liberal capitalism over communism, there has not remained a single Muslim state from Mauritania to Indonesia, where the Islamists have not played a visible role in the political scene.