Islamic Politics and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Islamic Politics and Culture - Essay Example In fact Islamic dictatorship is prevailing in majority of the Arab countries. However, the recent revolutions in Libya and Egypt have forced many of the Arabs to think about a democratic political system in their country. However, the fundamentalists in those countries are against this idea. The concept of political Islam has been evolved out under the above context. According to Mohammed Ayoob, â€Å"Political Islam is a product of modernity as much as a response to it†(Rajesekhar). However, westerners are watching the dawn of Political Islam suspiciously. â€Å"In April 2014 Tony Blair urged the West to set aside its differences with Russia and China to focus on the growing threat from radical Islam† (Veerman). Westerners believe that Political Islamic movements are trying to destroy modernization and civilizations in the name of religion. This paper analyses the impact of the encounter between Western expansionism and Muslim-majority societies on the rise of politica l Islam. A crucial factor generating tensions in the West is the presence of ‘Islamism’ or ‘political Islam’, in all of its different manifestations, within Muslim communities. Islamism can be defined as "forms of political theory and practice that have as their goal the establishment of an Islamic political order in the sense of a state whose governmental principles, institutions and legal system derive directly from the shari’ah" (Veerman). The interference of religion in politics is unacceptable to westerners. They believe that religion should be separated from politics in order to create a stable and advanced society in a country. They have many examples to prove their arguments. For example, in countries such as Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, women get less freedom and power in politics and social life. Westerners believe that the over involvement of religion in politics is the major reason behind these problems. They try to empower