Islamist movements frustratingly criss-cross the boundaries of analytical frameworks that theorists of Islamist movements attempt to mould them in.  This thesis posits that such frustrations and confusions do not result from incoherent strategies or ideologies of the movements themselves, but from attempts to fit them into inappropriate frameworks that rely too heavily upon assumptions contained in the Westphalian model.  This thesis argues Islamists are employing a variety of strategies derived from historical Islamic assemblages which are transforming social, political, and geographic space. The Western imposition of the nation-state did not destroy pre-existing assemblages in Muslim countries, but was superimposed on top of existing political and social arrangements.  Memories of historic Islamic imperial understandings of sovereignty and just governance are being re-awakened by Islamist movements to meet the challenges and failures of specific temporal conditions.  This thesis advocates that in many instances an imperial framework is a more appropriate tool in analysing the motivations and strategies of Islamist movements. Incorporating imperial modes of praxis allows for an expansion on the definition of ‘political’ which, in turn, grants an opportunity to examine the politicisation of movements and activities deemed as merely pious by the logic of the nation-state.  Aspects of the imperial past are remembered and re-imagined to meet specific requirements of Islamist movements in given temporal periods and locations which facilitate explanation of the nuances in Islamisms.  Islamist movements are in various ways de-nationalising key elements of the nation-state.  These elements include nation-state sovereignty, national solidarities, and legitimate violence and by challenging these assumptions Islamist movements are constructing alternative geographies that are transforming the territoriality of the nation-state.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a transnational Islamic fundamentalist group that operates in more than forty countries with main emphasis in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The group claims to be a political party that proceeds with non-violent means and its ideology being Islam. Its objectives are strictly political, and its main goal is to topple an existing regime to resurrect the caliphate with structures and conditions similar to the ones of early seventh-century (C.E.) Islam. The proposed Islamic state will be responsible for transforming societies in a united Ummah, and for spreading the word of Islam throughout the world. Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) rejects the modern, secular state structures and democracy as something "man-made," humanly derived and "un-Islamic," and therefore, does not participate in any secular electoral process. However, HT does not reject modern technology and its advantages. This research will focus on Hizb ut-Tahrir, its objectives, and its preferences as the group adjust its strategies according to the political environment in which it is embedded. The thesis will investigate how HT often uses a legal framework to spread its Islamist ideology and how this multifaceted phenomenon is context specific. The conclusion will address policy recommendations that reflect area- and context-related specifics with a special focus on the group's major threat--its ideology. / German Navy author.

This dissertation focuses on religious fundamentalism. For the past two decades, fundamentalism has been discussed in the social sciences as a style of belief by which beleaguered followers attempt to preserve their distinctive identity as a people in the face of modernity and secularization. However, it is my contention that this universalistic approach often undermines religious diversity and oversimplifies cultural particularities. Moreover, I find that the term ‘fundamentalist' is, more often than not, a label for the ‘Other'; one that is invariably negative and thus, dismisses and vilifies. With this argument in mind, in my research I present how different Muslim groups in Madrid and Barcelona understand the concept of ‘fundamentalism'—a term widely used by the Spanish media after the Madrid bombings claimed by Al-Qaeda in 2004. By examining how different Muslim groups repeat, alter, adapt, and argue ‘fundamentalism' in their daily lives, I explore who uses the term, under what circumstances and with what intent. In doing so, we also analyze broader, everyday problematics pertaining to Muslims in Spain. Rather than providing an universalistic definition of ‘fundamentalism' that offers an all encompassing meaning, in my research I present an analysis that is entangled with the individual. Centered on agency, this work first examines the category-construction process of the concept of fundamentalism; second, it explores how Muslims in Madrid and Barcelona understand this concept; and finally, it analyzes the the [sic] how the popular rhetoric of fundamentalism impacts the ways in which some Muslims their religiosity in a Muslim-minority context like Spain.

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As a case-study, this thesis investigates the political challenge posed by Darul Arqam, an Islamic movement, to the Malaysian state from 1968 until 1996. As a general manifestation of Islamic resurgence, the challenge sheds light on three important issues: the tactics, methods and strategies pursued by Islamic movements; the secular authorities' pattern of response to Islamic movements; the impact of repression on Islamists. The Darul Arqam challenge was unique in dispensing with conventional Islaniist ideas and practices, in generating an atypical reaction from the state and in producing an unconventional counter-response to state-initiated suppression. Darul Arqam's roots are traced to Malaysian Islam's largely sufi inclinations, which have been neglected by most contemporary Islamists for their perceived disadvantages, but which Darul Arqam successfully harnessed to its benefit. Given Darn! Arqam's disavowal of political violence and the state's strategy of emphasising cooptation and accommodation of Islaniists, its full-blown repression of Darul Arqam in 1994 deserves scrutiny in its myriad aspects and implications. The paradox of Darul Arqam's challenge is underlined by its innate capacity to weather external pressure, showing that wholesale repression would not necessarily amount to liquidation of a grassroots movement. - Applying the case-study of Darn! Arqam to wider historical and situational seftings, this thesis urges a rethinking of issues and concepts of general theoretical and practical significance. Malaysia and Darni Arqam are contextually situated within the Islamic periphery: a subject area which has eluded the serious attention of scholars intent on unearthing the phenomenon of Islamic resurgence. Yet, unconventional cases in the periphery, often guided by a pragmatic appreciation of indigenous mores, may be a more appropriate yardstick to gauge the potential of political Islam on account of its inherent grassroots appeal. Within the context of political Islam in Malaysia, this study examines the relative impact of long-term internal structural processes and global developments in moulding the contemporary scenario. Ideologically, the empirical case-study of Darul Arqam as a dynamic movement, combining the theory of sufi-messianic Islam with an achievement-oriented economic ethic, challenges conventional theories which postulate an incompatibility between religion, especially in its otherworldly dimensions, and modernisation, as measured mainly in terms of material development. Darn! Arqam, despite its heavily spiritual inclinations, emerged in the 1990s as an independent economic powerhouse which threatened the status quo of Malaysian politics. It is the successful marriage between apparently contradictory modes of social organisation, arguably unprecedented among contemporary political Islaniists, which underlines Darn! Arqam's distinctiveness and merits as a case-study with global implications.

Thesis (M.S. in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy)--Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School, 2007. / Vita. "National Defense Univ Norfolk VA"--DTIC cover. "05 April 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-116). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Political Science, June 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2006. / Thesis Advisor(s): Anna Simons. "."December 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-68). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2006. / Thesis Advisor(s): Thomas Bruneau, María Rasmussen. "December 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-158). Also available in print.