ВЕСТНИК КазНПУ имени Абая, серия «Исторические и социально-политические науки», №3(58), 2018 г.
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The term “Islamism”, as a rule, means the use of Islamic doctrine for achieving political goals. However, on
the question of the content of this notion, sharp discussions continue in the scientific community. The crux of the
matter lies in the extent to which this definition reflects the essence of the processes and phenomena occurring in
the modern Islamic world, whether it does not offend the feelings of believing Muslims. Islamism is mostly
understood as politicized Islam or its radical extremist trend. However, the phenomenon of activization of the
modern Islamic world is connected not only with the politicization of religion: socially active is also a non-
politicized Islam, imprisoned not for politics but for the cultural component of Muslim society, preservation and
protection of primordial Islamic values. The term “Islamism” is the most general and convenient for the
perception of the definition of both politicized and other socially active Islam for the number of reasons. This term
does not require additional explanations, it has a root “Islam” that is understandable for all, which is voluminous,
including several components: religious, ideological and cultural, emphasizing the features of political and social
action, the specifics of mass consciousness [8, p. 27].
By its very nature, Islamism is heterogeneous. In each specific Islamic sociocultural region, a special one is
formed, which takes into the account the version of politicized Islam that reflects local peculiarities. The common
features of this ideology are its reliance on religious fundamentalism. Organizational forms can be diverse:
totalitarian sects, Muslim communities, parties, terrorist organizations, and others.
Islamism as an ideology is based on the sacred Koran, the generalized doctrines of Muslim theologians, the
Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, where the supremacy of Islam is established in the organization of all spheres
of public and state life, including political life [7 p. 21]. 9 It follows that political values, goals, norms are an
expression of the Islamic religion, in which politics is an integral part.
At the current stage much is said about the reason for the emergence of Islamism. To develop such an
ideology, certain social prerequisites or conditions are necessary. The complex of these conditions includes both
objective factors: socio-economic and political crisis in society, radical transformations of the social system, and
subjective moments: the crisis of socio-cultural identity and national ideology, the competition of alternative
ideologies, the increased activity of opposition, anti-government political forces, etc.
According to E. Levin, Islamism as the ideology of a militant political movement is generated by the crisis
situation formed due to a combination in one place, in the Middle East, and at the same time unique economic and
geopolitical circumstances with the phenomenal specificity of Islam [5, p. 68].
Many researchers believe that one of the main driving force, exacerbating the politicization of Islam, is the
process of globalization which extremely accelerated the transition of Eastern society to the phase of modern
development, that is, the inevitable Westernization. It means that globalization further deepens the problems
associated with the phenomenon of Islamism. Researchers studying modern Islam write a lot about the impact of
modernization on Muslim perception. In their works, they give an assessment of the reasons for the intensification
of Islam, both in the socio-economic and political spheres. They believe that these changes occur under the
influence of domestic and international factors. The main international factor, in their opinion, is the ongoing the
Middle East conflict. For internal reasons, this is the nature of Islamic teaching. The unity of Islam with politics,
culture, economics and other aspects of society contributes to the activation of its role in Muslim countries.
Islamism is a reaction to the challenges of the age of globalization, above all, to the hegemony of the West.
This is the ideology of the struggle against authoritarianism and the pro-Western orientation of the elites in
defense of traditional values from the expansion of Western culture, an ideology that gives illusory hope for
solving all social, economic, and political problems [5, p.8]. Islamists consider all Muslim misfortunes to be a
result of the fact that they, the Muslims, have ceased to follow the Koran strictly, fell into the sphere of expansion
of the Western consumer civilization, the spread of materialistic ideologies in the Muslim world that threaten
Islamic spiritual values, Western moral norms, the principle of separation of religion from politics, pro-Western
orientation rulers of Muslim countries.
In many countries of the Middle East, the idea of creating a “new Caliphate” is popularized. This is in the
center of attention and study of many orientalists. Scientists have noted a different perception of this idea in
Muslim countries. The Arab world represents the “new Caliphate” in the form of an early caliphate, when the
right caliphs ruled. For example, for Iran it is the state of the Abbasid Caliphate. In Turkey the idea of creating a
caliphate of the times of the Ottomans is propagated. Taliban religious fundamentalists in Afghanistan tried to
oppose Islam to the Western world. The main goal of the Taliban was to unite all Muslim countries in a single
Islamic caliphate. At the same time, they considered Afghanistan as the center of this state. Today the so-called
Islamic state has taken on this task, which in a more severe form is trying to translate into reality the dream of
radical Islamists [8 p.10].
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