What Was The Significance Of Jihad In Political Islam And How Did It Influence The Nature Of Arab Na

What was the significance of jihad in political Islam and how did it influence the nature of Arab Nationalism from 1979 to 1999?

The rise of political Islam began in 1970 after the death of Nasser. "Millions turned out for his funeral and millions more mourned him throughout the Arab world" . "As a prominent Arab leader, he inspired those who heard his speeches; he was the undisputed voice of Arab nationalism, the movement that united so much of the Arab world in its defiance of the West and Israel." The foundation of Arab Nationalism within Arab nations is shown in their unification during times of war; it is a great example of the term pan-Arabism, which is a nationalist concept of "cultural and political unity" among Arabs. From 1979 onwards the nature of Nasser`s idea of Nationalism changed dramatically from a Nationalist movement, to political Islam. This was to finally become tainted by violence, described by the Western world as terrorism and known in the most of the Arab world as, martyrdom.

Political Islam or al-Islam al-siyasi refers to Islamic political ideology. Muhammad Said al-Ashmawi describes the Islamic religion through the eyes of a Sufi Muslim as the "love of God" and "not a political ideology of hatred" . However, Ashmawi provides little evidence for this point and it becomes a matter of perception and religious interpretation rather than historical fact. Esposito, Lewis and Mansfield all discuss the importance of the disparity between the Arabs endorsement of Nationalism and their belief in Islam. Naqvi also argues that there is no correlation between the two as Nationalism is a "secular notion" and is therefore fundamentally "incompatible" with not only the Islamic faith "but any non-secular notion" . Mansfield discusses the increase of "pan-Islamic feeling" as a "reaction" to the nineteenth-century "invasion of the world of Islam by Christian Europe" . The pan-Islamic feeling that Mansfield refers to is the "advocacy of a political union of all Muslim nations" . However, I disagree with Naqvi when he describes Nationalism and Islam to be "incompatible" as there is clear evidence for their correlation throughout history, for example, throughout 1988 radicalization of Nationalism grew and Osama bin Laden helped fund the mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. Along with "Palestinian Dr. Abdullah Azzam he set up the Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK), which worked to fund and supply the Afghanistan mujahideen from the Arab 'Islamic' world" .

In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini was "accredited with leading a 'cassette revolution' [throughout Iran]" against the Shah. Khomeini and his followers called for a government founded on "Islamic ideology and an end to foreign influence, particularly America" Khomeini even professed to his supporters to not "use this word `democratic`. That is the western style. We respect western civilisation, but we will not follow it" . The 'cassette revolution' was in response to the Shah's ambition to make "oil-rich Iran the fifth most powerful country in the world" . It began to go awry in 1977 during a mass protest movement and then in late 1978 it progressed to become what would be known as the Iranian Revolution.

The cause of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 was the rise in Islamic politics. The Iranian Revolution impacted the nature of Arab Nationalism within the Middle East through the forging of religion, specifically the Islamic belief, and politics . This can be seen as influential due to the original nature of the Arab Nationalist movement. The movement is specified by Dr. Ali Muhammed. Naqvi as "a temporal vision (thus secular)" , Dr Naqvi presents the idea of nationalism as a pure ideology untainted by religion. However, Professor Liah Greenfield speaks of a "national consciousness" , and those social and political movements alike, use "traditional means of mobilisation in the case of the Middle East [the] traditional mobilizer is Islam". The Nationalist movement, however, was not unique to the Middle East as Liah Greenfield states in her article concerning the relationship between `Nationalism and Terrorism`. She talks of the comparative nature of the Arab Nationalist movement and the "Kuomintang the People`s Republic of China`s Nationalist Movement" . However, there are also differences between nationalism in secular states such as China and those formerly based on religion such as the Middle East. Professor Greenfield presents Islam as a key feature in the Arab Nationalist movement, while Dr Naqvi states that there is no correlation between the rise in Arab Nationalism and the adoption of political Islam although Greenfield provides more evidence for her argument as an American political scientist her background is purely Westernised whereas Professor Naqvi is an Arab academic who specialises in the area of Arab Nationalism.

The changing nature of Nationalism can be put down to a few factors; clearly the earlier death of one of the most influential Arab leaders, Nasser would have had an impact on the Nationalist movement, however, other factors such as the rise in political Nationalism, and the influence upon this by the Arab`s Islamic faith would have also had an impact upon the nature of Arab Nationalism. Bernard Lewis discusses "Nationalism and patriotism" which was now facing new opposition and was being denounced as "anti-Islamic". However, he goes to write about the relationship between the "defenders" of the "old-style secular Nationalism" accusing the Islamic fundamentalists of "dividing the Arab nation" and "setting Muslim against Christian". Whereas, Naqvi argues that Nationalism itself is a shortfall of its own, as he believes that "Nationalism defeats its own objective".

Although Nationalism as Nasser believed it to be was in decline, a new type of Nationalism, born from the rise of Islamic fundamentalism was beginning to take its place. However, Bernard Lewis depicts the idea of Nationalism as being subject to perception influenced by the "context of Nationalism" . As a "motive behind historical revolutions" worldwide, for example, the French and the Russian revolutions, the idea of Nationalism itself is hard to debate. There is clear evidence of its existence, however, the nature or type of Nationalism is culturally specific. Whereas, Professor Liah Greenfield states the "changing nature of Nationalism" is subject to its "majoritarian influence, Islam", however, there is clear evidence in contention with Greenfield as the Nationalist ideals are not unique to the Islamic world. Contrasting her viewpoint with that of Bernard Lewis allows us to question the idea of Nationalism itself. For example, the influence of Islam upon Arab Nationalism segregates it on the Nationalist scale. Becoming more extreme "in the name of Islam?" asks John. L. Esposito, questions the role of Islam in the nature of Arab Nationalism and whether this religious influence was in fact the step over the line into ideological territory claimed by terrorists.

"The meaning of jihad can be traced as far back as the Kharijite movement in early Islam" . Esposito traces the different meanings that various Islamic scholars and groups have given to the belief of jihad. A person practising jihad is called a mujahid; jihad is an "important religious duty" for Muslims. There are two commonly accepted meanings of jihad: an inner spiritual struggle and an outer physical struggle . The "greater jihad" is the inner struggle by a believer to fulfil his religious duties. This non-violent meaning is stressed by both Muslim and non-Muslim authors. The "lesser jihad" is the physical struggle against the enemies of Islam. This physical struggle can take a violent form or a non-violent form. Under the violent form of jihad translates into "holy war", although some Islamic studies scholars disagree . The Dictionary of Islam and British-American Bernard Lewis both argue jihad has a military meaning in the large majority of cases. Although the development of jihad within politics throughout the Middle East is evident specifically form 1979 onwards, their presence has been felt in the Middle East, Praveen Swami speaks of the "evolution of jihadist groups in Kashmir since 1947" .

The influence of jihad upon the nature of Arab Nationalism is through the influence of Islam itself. As a religious concept, jihad meaning `struggle` in Arabic is usually the word chosen by many to describe actions taken by Arabs whether it is of a Nationalist nature or a terrorist one. Esposito shows that this "very important Islamic concept" has now become a "central pillar of Muslim consciousness and self-understanding." He also argues that the very understanding of jihad is "complex as well as contested." Although Esposito says that "It is clear that Jihad has shaped Islamic politics and its meanings have also been shaped by Islamic politics", he does not agree describing politics and Islam to be an "unconventional" pairing, as the rise in political awareness was derived from Nationalism, and as discussed previously Naqvi distinguishes the "incompatibility" of Nationalism and Islam. It becomes clear how different Muslims can have such differing understanding of Jihad. For example Esposito points to how "the present grand mufti of Egypt considers suicide bombing as martyrdom while the present grand mufti of Saudi Arabia declares it unIslamic". Through a study of global Islamic militancy, the origins of jihad can be traced this establishes how the different understanding of Jihad has shaped the various tactics adopted by Islamic movements and Islamic militants . My understanding of the influence of `jihad` within a Nationalist context upon Islamic politics, is the creation of a strong unified factor that combines Arabs together who all `struggle` to reinforce the Arab Nationalist message of sovereignty throughout the Arab world. However, many sources disagree with this conclusion, for example, Naqvi argues that the world of Islamic politics is "untainted by religion", i.e. Islam and therefore, the Islamic message of `jihad`.

The emergence of al-Qaeda within Afghanistan began in 1978, when Afghan communists were supported by the Soviet Union in the seizing of their government. They faced rebellion from Islamist groups not only because of the "resentment of foreign, communist influence of their pro-Soviet government" but it was also down to the "incompatibility" of communism and Islam. This type of politics presented a "different challenge" for Arab governments within the Middle East as Naqvi further questions the role of Islam within Nationalism as it is "incompatible with Islam, both schools having two opposite ideologies". However, both Greenfield and Esposito give evidence for the correlation between Islam and Nationalism through the media of Islamic politics. Terrorism is described by many scholars as "un-Islamic"; however, terrorists specifically the Taliban advocate a strict and extreme version of Sunni Islam.

Like Nationalism and the meaning of jihad, terrorism can be given a different meaning for each context in which it is placed. As Gerald Seymour wrote in his 1975 book 'Harry`s Game', "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". The very meaning of the phrase al-Qaeda can be used as an example of different interpretations of the Arab Nationalist `struggle`. `Al` in Arabic means `the` and `Qaeda` means `rule` or `law` therefore the Afghanistan freedom fighters, viewed by the West as terrorist groups, are what they see as 'the law'.

The relevance of jihad's use in political Islam is the possibility for misinterpretation, terrorist groups for instance al-Qaeda use this to their advantage claiming religious orientation for attacks such as the one on the Gold Mihor Hotel in Yemen on 29th December in 1992. Tibi says that to "overlook.the fact that political Islam is a major [element] within contemporary Islamic civilisation", can only "result in two opposed extremes" "either one decouples Islamism from Islam.or one identifies fundamentalism with Islam.spreading Islamophobia" .

Therefore, the significance of jihad in political Islam, with consideration for the influence of Islam throughout the Middle East it is clear that jihad is a religious duty rather than a terrorist agenda. Islamic fundamentalism and misperception of the Islamic teachings creates an opportunity for terrorists such as al-Qaeda to label themselves as 'jihadists', committing acts of terror "in the name of Islam". Furthermore, its influence upon the nature of Arab Nationalism from 1979 to 1999 can be seen in the nature of Arab nationals, their religious orientations and their political participation. The growth of protest movement into the Iranian Revolution was a political display of Arab unity, to remain a nation uncorrupted by Western influences which would have followed their oil exportations. The rise of the Taliban was encouraged by Western powers in Afghanistan in order to control the advancement of communism. The foundation of Islam throughout the Middle East clouds debate when questioning specific influences of the Islamic faith, such as the duty of jihad. A Muslim duty, written in the Qur'an which aims at guiding Muslims to religious and personal clarity, however, its influence upon political Islam and therefore Nationalism is done mostly by few Sunni Muslim extremists, for example the Taliban.