Pan-Islamism (from Arabic: الوحدة الإسلامية) is a political movement advocating for the unity of Muslims in one Islamic state, often in a caliphate, or in an international organization with Islamic principles. As a form of religious nationalism, pan-Islamism distinguishes itself from other pan-nationalist ideologies, for example, pan-Arabism, excluding culture and ethnicity as the main factors for unification.
Movement history
In the second half of the XIX century, a religious and political ideology was formed, which was widely adopted and supported in countries that preach Islam. The movement became an official ideology in the Ottoman Empire under the rule of Abdul Hamid II, which had a great influence on the entire policy of the state. The thesis on the ideas of pan-Islamism, proposed by Muslim reformers Jamal al-Din al-Afghanistan (1839-1897) and Muhammad Abdo (1849-1905) and their followers, was based on the classical principles of Islam formed in the Middle Ages. A quote attributed to Abdo reads:
I went to the West and saw Islam, but not Muslims. I returned to the East and saw Muslims, but not Islam.
If for Muslim reformers of the late 19th century this pan-Islamism was primarily an ideological weapon to counter the influence of the West, then for Abdul Hamid II he became a religious and political doctrine, thanks to which he justified the preservation of the Ottoman Empire and its transformation into a global Muslim state (until 1924 the Turkish sultan was considered a caliph, that is, the spiritual leader of all Muslims).
Leading Islamists, such as Sayyid Qutb, Abul Ala Maududi and Ayatollah Khomeini, emphasized their belief that a return to traditional Sharia law will make Islam one and strong again. Extremism in Islam dates back to the 7th century to the Kharijits. They developed extreme doctrines that distinguished them from the main Muslims: Sunnis and Shiites. The Kharijites attracted close attention due to the adoption of a radical approach to takfir, in which they stated that other Muslims were unbelievers and therefore they were considered worthy of death.
The ideology of pan-Islamism
The priority of belonging to any Muslim religious community at the end of the 19th century was as follows: Islam is supranational and of the same form among all Muslim peoples. The territory is divided into two parts: the world of Islam (Dar al-Islam) and the world of war (Dar al-Harb). The principle of turning Dar al Kharb into Dar al Islam through holy war (jihad) in the 19th century was defined by Pan-Slamists as follows: all territories where Muslims live must be freed from the yoke of infidels, and believers in Islam must unite into one global Muslim country - the caliphate, which will be governed by Sharia law.
Stages and the formation of ideology
Pan-Islamism went through various stages, starting from the first days of Islam as a religious concept and went over to modern political ideology in the years 1860-1870 at the height of European colonialism. According to the Oxford Islamic Studies website, it was then that the Turkish intelligentsia began to write and discuss a possible way to save the collapsing Ottoman Empire. The goal was to establish a “favorable state policy” as a “defensive ideology” directed against European political, military and economic and missionary penetration into the East, the ruling bureaucratic and intellectual pan-Islamist elites, the desire to present the Sultan as a universal caliph, to whom devotion and obedience should be shown everywhere by Muslims .
It is this pan-Islamism and its ideas, excluding culture and ethnicity, that are the primary factors for the purpose of the Ummah association. Early pan-Islamists wanted to compensate for military and economic weaknesses in the Muslim world, preferring the central government over the periphery and Muslims over non-Muslims in dismembering the Ottoman Empire after the Great War (World War I). In fact, socio-political solidarity in Muslim countries, which seeks coordination through political and economic cooperation at the international level, has become an important political tool for the recruitment of extremists and terrorists in foreign aggression of the post-war period of World War II.
Literature to study
For a more in-depth study of pan-Islamism, it is worth reading books written by knowledgeable and learned scientists. Among them is "Pan-Islamism. History and Politics" by Jacob M. Landau, an outstanding professor at the Hebrew University (Jerusalem). Professor Landau's study, first published in 1990 as the “Panislam Politics,” is the first comprehensive study of pan-Islamism, these ideologies, and movements over the past 120 years. Starting with the plans and actions of Abdulhamid II and his agents, he covers the fate of the movement up to a significant increase in pan-African sentiment and organization in 1970-1980. The study is based on the scientific analysis of archival and other sources in many languages. It covers the territory from Morocco in the west to India and Pakistan in the east and from Russia and Turkey to the Arabian Peninsula. This is a unique source of knowledge for those who want to understand the impact of this ideology on international politics today.
Modern Pan-Islamism
The modern doctrine of pan-Islamism subordinates man to Allah, praises the Islamic community, its national, ethnic and hierarchical division contrasts with the global Islamic state. There are many modern Islamic parties and groups that have chosen various options for their activities - from propaganda to terrorism and armed uprisings. Many people believe that pan-Islamism is one of the biggest obstacles to the integration of Muslims in modern times.
The division of the Muslim world into nation-states has given rise to new directions of pan-Islamism. First, transnational organizations, such as the Organization of Islamic States (OIC), were created to express the collective feelings and concerns of Muslim peoples. It remains unknown whether DECs or similar organizations can be quite effective in the modern world. The issue has become more serious in the light of the events that occurred after September 11, 2001.