Summary and Comments on Kota Suechika's "Islamism: Envisioning Another Modernity" - Recommended for understanding the modern Islamic trend!
We are pleased to present "Islamism: Envisioning Another Modernity" by Kota Suechika, published by Iwanami Shoten in 2018.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
The "old and new question" of the relationship between politics and religion was released from its long sealed position in the wake of the "Arab Spring. One of the answers to this question was Islamism, which seeks to reflect Islamic teachings in politics. What role has Islamism played in the Middle East, where the search for the "ideal order" has continued since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire? This article approaches the real image of Islamism in the Middle East.
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In this book, you will learn about Islamism, which we know very little about, and about the complexities of the Middle East situation.
It is striking that in the first chapter about the book, "What is Islamism?" the book states the following.
Today, Islamism is seen as a threat to the "order that ought to beonlyIt is often perceived as such. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States (hereafter 9.11), which marked the unfortunate beginning of the 21st century, pushed Islamism to the forefront of security threats and security crackdowns. The rapid rise of the Islamic State (IS) after the Arab Spring in 1999 accelerated this trend.
Islamism is not only equated with terrorism, but is often regarded as an enemy of the "universal values" of the modern world, such as democracy, separation of church and state, equal rights for men and women, and freedom of expression. In recent years, in Japan, too, discussions that link Islamism with terrorism without distinguishing between Islam and Islam have become scattered in the wake of the kidnapping and threatened murder of Japanese citizens by the Islamic State, which was exposed in early 2003.
However, if we only view Islamism as a threat to the already established "order to be," our understanding of Islamism will be emaciated.
Iwanami Shoten, Kota Suechika, "Islamism: Envisioning Another Modernity," p. 4-5
It is true that our image of Islam seems to have changed since 9/11.
But simply looking at Islam as a threat or a fear is a misrepresentation of it.
Needless to say, not all adherents to Islamism are potential terrorists. Nor do all of them aspire to state power, and conversely, movements and organizations that aspire to state power do not solely engage in terrorism.
Let us look, for example, at whether it is oriented toward state power. In the early days of Islamism as an ideology, there was little intention to struggle for power. Rather, the emphasis was on the deepening of faith within the Muslim individual, and the gradualist view that this would eventually make society and the state good/good. (omitted).
The way of dealing with the modern West is not uniform. Looking at the inner reality of Islamism as an ideology, there are cases in which Islamists actively accept the ideas and science produced by the modern West as the creation of God, and there are cases in which Islamists reject them as contrary to the teachings of Islam. Islamists who participated in democratic politics during the Arab Spring accepted the reality that modern Western democracy has become one of the "universal values" of the modern world, and they struggled to come to terms with their own version of Islam. (omitted).
In this book, we will portray the complex and rich reality woven into this kind of Islamism. Easily dismissing this reality can lead to conflicts and hatreds that could have been avoided. Throughout history, excessive security crackdowns and repression by state authorities, driven by subjective, one-sided, and vague fears, have repeatedly driven Islamists into a corner, resulting in the emergence of extremists among them.
Unthinking creates a negative cycle. We need to be fully attentive to the diversity and changes in Islamism and "rightly fear" the threat of extremism and terrorism.
Iwanami Shoten, Kota Suechika, Islamism: Envisioning Another Modernity, p. 5-7
Islam is not something that we are usually exposed to in our daily lives. Therefore, most of the conflicts and terrorist incidents we see in the news are inevitably related to Islam.
But as the author states above, things are not that simple.
Of course, not everyone approves of terrorism and violence. In fact, most people who believe in the teachings of Islam do not want such violence.
So why do Islamic extremist organizations continue to justify terrorism and fight jihad (holy war)? What are the reasons for their rise?
You can learn more about this background in detail in this book.
This is a very gratifying book to learn about Islamic thought, the connection between doctrine and politics, and the situation of the people of the Middle East.
Also on this blog, by Takamitsu ShimamotoThe Spirit of the Islamic Revolution.and by Tamim Ansari.A History of the World from the Perspective of Islam."I have recommended reference books for learning about Islam, such as the following, but I highly recommend this book for learning about the modern Islamic world.
The above is "Kota Suechika's "Islamism: Envisioning Another Modernity," recommended for understanding the current trend of modern Islam.
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