160 Islam/Islamic/Islamic political thought
outlook that permeates the Muslim world and
explains the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the late
20th century as a reaction to radical economic, tech-
nological, and social changes in the world. Until the
whole world is Islamic, Muslim political thought
holds, Earth will be disordered and chaotic. This leads
to a tendency toward Islamic evangelism that seeks to
spread Islam to the world, especially Europe and the
United States.
Another strain of Islam (MODERNISM) sees a more
flexible religion which can accommodate DEMOCRACY,
CAPITALISM, religious FREEDOM, individual LIBERTY, and
EQUALITY. First expressed by Turkish leader Kemal ATA-
TÜRK with the founding of the Republic of Turkey,
Kemalism, like Jeffersonian American democracy, sees
religion separate from the state and the human in-
dividual pleasing God by freely investigating all reli-
gious faiths and, guided by liberty of conscience,
choosing the belief that he or she is led by God to
accept. This has allowed religious and political PLURAL-
ISM, democracy, economic development, and modern
scientific education to flourish in Turkey. On the other
end of the political spectrum, Iran under the Ayatollah
Khomeini restored a conservative Islamic state ruled
directly by Muslim religious leaders, suppressing all
political and religious DISSENT.
Like other theological cultural traditions, Islamic
political thought is evolving and diverse, both influ-
encing and being influenced by non-Islamic traditions.Further Readings
Hafeez Malik, ed. Central Asia: Its Strategic Importance and
Future Prospects, 1st pbk. ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press,
1996.
Enayat, H. Modern Islamic Political Thought.Austin: University
of Texas Press, 1982.
Lambton, Ann Katharine Swynford. State and Government in
Medieval Islam: An Introduction to the Study of Islamic Politi-
cal Theory: The Jurists.Oxford, Eng.: Oxford University
Press, 1981.
Rosenthal, E. Political Thought in Medieval Islam.Cambridge,
Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1958.