The Political Philosophy of Islamic Movements

The contemporary resurgence of Islam is primarily seen from a political perspective, hence the popular appellation—political Islam.1 The challenge that political Islam has posed to the present world order has in many ways undermined or threatened to undermine immediate western political and economic interests in the Muslim World. The loss of Iran in 1979 to Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution deprived the United States of a rich and servile ally that guaranteed and subsidized the perpetuation of U.S. hegemony over Middle East and its oil resources.2 Similarly, with the growth of Islamic movements in Sudan, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine, the threat to western influence and their authoritarian ruling allies has become increasingly more potent.3