Religious Studies
Activity 4.1: The nature of the Kemalist project
In the description of Kemalist project there is use of metaphoric arrows which were fired and success achieved where the few exceptions, political aspects of Turkish has continually since been experienced contained by the ideological vary of flight. The main objective of the Kemalist project was meant in the replacement of absolutist, royally, and monarchical regime constitution of Ottoman Kingdom where the state was based on the republican values of supremacy (Parla and Davison 55). The project was aimed at effecting cultural change in the country. This is because transformations tainted Turkey’s political aspects, societal and cultural changes for the purpose of resembling the west in every aspect.
The secular democracy was therefore achieved through the charismatic aspects which were present in Ataturk rule being transformed and the political sovereignty rising in military. Ataturk however benefited from the secularization attained in Turkey. In wrapping up, there was great commitment in the Kemalist leadership which promoted conspicuously harmony corporatist through the ideological commencement of the entire society and the role played by the political institutions as well as the functions. Even though there were shifts in different circumstances, the centralized element was never altered with the recognition of the commitments which offered answers to any question that was raised in the Kemalist project.
Activity 4.2: Arab nationalism’s problematic relationship with Islam
Arab nationalism propaganda was opposed to that of the Islamic in the sense that Arab horizon was intended to substitute, and take superiority above the Islamic one. Therefore, Arab nationalism propaganda presented the Islamic confrontation thus counteracting the Islamic faith. The Arab nationalist had held some attempts in illogically slicing out the grand land which was referred to as Islamic homeland which was created by Islamic for the Arabs originality. Therefore, Islamic can be viewed as an Arabic in its cultural aspects and also social phenomenon having been promulgated by Arabs (Yahya).
Arabs however received their new identity from the Islam. Arabic nationalism ignores the Islamic role of shaping social aspects, cultural or historical elements and cites them as their own. Arab nationalism put more emphasis on the secularism which was intentionally developed by the nationalist but it was not an idea of the Islam. Arab nationalism was widely affected by the westernization in the form of supporting secularism by the fact that it ended up losing its independence thus becoming a measly bough composed of some west ideologies with no intellectual complexity and equipment. Arabs democracy on nationalism was used as a shield in triumphing Islam (Kramer). Arab nationalism ended up losing almost all and it remained with little to be lost afterwards while its approval of democracy as well as the Islamic faith was just considered as a spirit.
Activity 4.5: Sayyid Qutb and the discourse of extremism
Sayyid Qutb and the discourse of extremism used some elements in the political philosophy which promoted the susceptibility of the extremist readings. The elements present were three which include: sultan which is the representation of power, hakimiyah which signifies sovereignty, and servitude which is represented by the term ubudiyah. Qutb hypothesized that the illumination of the regime issue in Islam was not a question which was first founded in political system but it in aqidah. Religion is therefore considered aside in the establishment of the modernized Islamic status. Therefore, Qutb urged people to first find assurance in religion which was meant to promote the rejection of laws made by man and restrictions while admonishing others so as to pursue the Islamic precepts (Abu-Rabiʻ 154).
Qubt considers servitude to be emancipated by Islamic religion. He therefore considers the state foundation being identical in reverence to the creed thus any deviation would create extermination of the freedom. He however views that polarization where man is considered as spiritual and at the same time material, is like allowing science to take over the religion as man is indivisible. In the political system only in Islamic where people were allowed to have a direct confrontation in question of Islamic polity as well as allowing free movement of people. On the sovereignty, he hypothesizes the paradox presentation of man as being God’s servant as well as the free being. He therefore considers this as the essential religious presupposition which promotes preservation against external pressures of skepticism, secularism, and chauvinism.
Review Question 4.1 Why was the Kemalist project relatively successful in post-caliphate Turkey?
The Kemalist project was relatively successful in post-caliphate Turkey due to the use of the trinity which involved: republicanism, patriotism, and laicism. Islamic politics were also incorporated into Turkey’s legislative body democracy while some Islamic movements experienced a pro-democratic revolution. In his use of republicanism, Turkish Republic was therefore presented on the sovereignty principle as opposed to the monarchical principle which was present on the Ottoman kingdom. Secondly, nationalism element represented the patriotism principle in that Turkish people represented the nation state as well as the Turkish as a nation. A laicism element was a denotation which was used to show the separation of the region as an institution with the state. This therefore led to the transformation of the multi-religious to Muslim religion which dominated Turkish in the notion of one nation and state agreement.
In wrapping up, there was great commitment in the Kemalist leadership which promoted conspicuously harmony corporatist through the ideological commencement of the entire society and the role played by the political institutions as well as the functions. There was therefore an exclusive endorsement accompanied by the pro-republican as well as the pro-laicist explanation of the Islam which advanced further state secularism. The success was also promoted by the use of education in the dictatorship aspects, republican promotion, and laicist thus, formation of a strengthened national identity (Karakas).
Review Question 4.2 In what sense was the discourse of Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism was the notion which held an integral part in the political discourse as it was dated from 19th century up to Nasserite era. It was used as a means of uniting the Arabs in the term known as the Arabism. Arab states had already been divided and therefore the slogan was used in promotion of unity. The discourse was involved in the resentment of the Ottoman supremacy and the critical distrust of the infringing together with the alien west. Arab nationalism promoted the shift in entailed Islamic in to the state of nationality with much struggle so as to win on the sovereignty within Ottoman kingdom, with the attempts to promote independent state (Moaddel).
Arab nationalism, articulated in special radical and at the same time the socialist discourse which became official ideology dominance in the Arab states. It was then turned into authoritarian entity in the attempts of modernization. It also became the overriding discourse which happened to displace the initial traditional vocabulary which was present in the political affiliation as well as the political action. Out of it, there were a sequence of confrontation which happened involving the Arab pro-independence nationalist and the present Islamic political armed forces. In these confrontations, there were raised questions regarding power, identity together with the intertwining of legitimacy.
Review Question 4.5: What element of Muslim brotherhood ideology contributes to it having a tense relationship with the mainstream religious establishment in Arab countries?
Muslim brotherhood is a party in which its central goal is to make Muslim countries into the state where they are all ruled under the Sha’aria law, which is contained in the reinstallation of Caliphate dominance. In Arab countries, it rose above the slender sectarianism which had its roots on the traditional political revelry where there was use of Sufism an occult which promoted effective functioning of the Muslim brotherhood. The party was fully prepared in the achievement of its religious goals, even if it meant the practice of violence. There was however the argument that only Islamic religion which held the nationalist ideas by believing that only Islamic religion which holds God’s revelation in the promotion of the revolution and acknowledging human dignity as well as his well-being.
It still holds a tense relationship with the mainstream religious establishment in Arab countries in that when it posted a menace to the Arab’s states, there were measures which were taken in order to ban its existence as there was disobedience of the factual Islamic spirit. There was prominence of the religious insignia which were meant to seek religious circles inclusive of the fundamentalist organizations. Arab countries however held cultural features which promoted strong influence of the state politics by the religion (Li).
Works Cited
Abu-Rabiʻ, Ibrahim M. Intellectual origins of Islamic resurgence in the modern Arab world. New York: SUNY Press, 1996.
Karakas, Cemal. Can Turkey Be an “Inspiration” for Other Muslim Countries? The “Kemalist Trinity” of Republicanism, Nationalism, and Secularism, and the Prospects of Turkish EU Membership. 2010. 15 December 2010 <http://stockholm.sgir.eu/uploads/Karakas_SGIR_1.pdf>.
Kramer, Martin. “Arab Nationalism: Mistaken Identity.” 14 December 2010 <http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/ArabNationalism.htm>.
Li, Weijian. Cultural Factors in Arab-West Relations . 2010. 15 December 2010 <http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-20/chapter_ix.htm>.
Moaddel, Mansoor. Islamic modernism, nationalism, and fundamentalism: episode and discourse. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Parla, Taha and Andrew Davison. Corporatist ideology in Kemalist Turkey: progress or order? New York: Syracuse University Press, 2004.
Yahya, Muhammad. “A Criticism of the Idea of Arab Nationalism.” 1985). 14 December 2010 <http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/arabnationalism.htm>.
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