Running head: POLITICAL ISLAM AND THE WEST 1
CJUS820 week 2 Advanced Topics in Terrorism and Intelligence
The Rise of Political Islam
Discuss the concept of Political Islam and how policies and actions taken by
the West and, more specifically, the United States and how those actions and
policies may have served as a catalyst for the rise of Political Islam
throughout the Middle East.#
POLITICAL ISLAM AND THE WEST 2
Political Islam and the West
Political Islam is one of the concepts researched widely by criminal justice, law
enforcement, and other researchers interested in the connection between religion and terrorism.
The phrase started as early as the 1960s but gained popularity from the late 1990s and early
2000s as the Islamic militant groups proliferated their attacks on a global scale. In general,
Political Islam alludes to how people perceive Islam as the foundation for political identification
and action (Cesari, 2021). In its simple terms, Islamism or Political Islam can be interpreted to
mean an ideology or belief that Islam as a religion has a lot to say about world economies should
POLITICAL ISLAM AND THE WEST 3
conduct their political activities. The concept describes the ideologies, drivers, movements,
and/or state-supported policies that try to portray Islam as a politically authoritative entity
(Cesari, 2021). In other words, the conception denotes a spectrum of enterprises, individuals, or
associations whose goal is to convert a state or society to conform to the Islamic ideologies and
pursue political interests.
The West, particularly the United States, has been following the trends and
manifestations keenly within Islamic states that attempt to shape the global political landscape.
Governments from the region agreed that Islamism is an influential factor that undermines peace
and tranquility in the Middle East and South Asia. Countries like the United States view Political
Islam as a massive threat to the supply and distribution of oil and petroleum products and
facilitates the creation of Iranian-style governments across Arabic states (Browne-Michael,
2017). The United States undertook comprehensive and harsh actions after the 9/11 bombing and
a series of attacks that cost about 3000 lives. The policy and actions taken include creating and
revising its foreign policy to match the dynamic nature of contemporary terrorism activities.
One aspect of the foreign policy is its focus on protecting national borders, its citizens,
and political allies from the threat of violence. The U.S. policy associates Islamist movements
and enterprises with terror activities, viewing Political Islam as the main cause of instability and
insecurity in Arab states (Hamid et al., 2017). The actions include applying force, especially
through its allies, to defeat Islamists. The foreign policy regards Political Islam as a considerable
threat to national and worldwide democracy, with the ability to undermine human rights in a
religious context.
However, the policies and actions may have catalyzed the rise of Political Islam by
forcing the organization to metamorphose from violent militant groups into political entities. The
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outcome has weakened democracy in the Middle East and South Asia to usher in an era of
theocracy. For instance, the U.S. policy initially was based on sympathy, but later on, concerns
emerged about Islamic parties using elections to grab power and other potent instruments
(Nakhleh, 2021). Once Islamic parties win elections, they start substituting democracy with
theocracy. Such forces have been a huge impediment to political reform in the Middle East.
Islamists use substantial force and different types of violence to protect their anti-democratic
position and silence pro-western or humanitarian efforts (Nakhleh, 2021). The Holy Scripture
supports foreign policy and actions against political terrorism by asserting that people or states
should not be afraid of entities that use violence and slay people because only God can determine
those destined to heaven and hell (Luke 12:4). The U.S. acts vigilantly to keep threats far from
its borders and safeguard citizens and property. The use of force in fighting terror groups shows
that Americans do not fear those entities that seek to harm innocent civilians.
Respectfully,
Al
Reference
Browne-Michael, M. S. (2017). Political Islam and democracy. Honors Undergraduate Theses,
238. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1248&context=honorstheses
Cesari, J. (2021). Political Islam: More than Islamism. Religions, 12(5), 1-10.
https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12050299
Hamid, S., Mandaville, P., & McCants, W. (2017, October 4). How America changed its
approach to Political Islam. The Atlantic. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from
POLITICAL ISLAM AND THE WEST 5
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/10/america-political-islam/
541287/
Nakhleh, E. (2021, November 4). The rise and fall of Political Islam and democracy in the
Middle East. Responsible Statecraft. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/11/04/the-rise-and-fall-of-political-islam-and-
democracy-in-the-middle-east/
