<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Essay in Political Science, Advanced Continuation Course, 61-80 credits, by Jonas Nilsson</p><p>”The democratic islamist? - a study of three islamist movements and their potential role in a</p><p>democratization process”</p><p>Supervisor: Jonas Linde</p><p>The purpose of this work has been to explain to what extent islamist movements can be said to be</p><p>bearers of democratic values and if they have a role to play in future democratization processes. The</p><p>purpose of this work is also to examine the democratic views of the different islamist movements and</p><p>to compare them with each other in an effort to find a specific islamist definition of democracy.</p><p>The essay is a qualitative analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Front Islamique du Salut in</p><p>Algeria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The analytical framework is based on the political institutions</p><p>included in Robert A. Dahl polyarchial democracy. The institutions provided by the polyarchial</p><p>model is used to define the islamist movements stand on democracy which is defined by three different</p><p>standpoints. The movements can either accept, decline or modify the various institutions and the</p><p>results from the analysis helps us to evaluate the future role of islamist movements in the</p><p>democratization process. The results also provides the opportunity to define a version of democracy</p><p>specific for the islamist movements. The conclusion I have made is that the islamist movements</p><p>included in the study have a part to play in a future democratization process. They have shown that</p><p>their commitment to the democratic ideals defined by Dahl is quite extensive and that they as</p><p>separate movements have developed a more advanced view of the relationship between islam and</p><p>democracy as a social order. Though democratic at first glance there are signs that the islamists</p><p>standpoint on democracy comes with certain reservations. The most significant of these</p><p>reservarvations is the islamists regard of islam as an overarching ideology and the subordinate role</p><p>of man made political systems such as democracy. However, the islamists have found ways to handle</p><p>this problem and points out the inherent democratic values in islam and thereby tries to circumvent</p><p>the problematic relationship between democracy and religion. The study also concludes that we can</p><p>define the islamist version of democracy as a specific form of democracy, a value-based participatory</p><p>democracy. This conclusion is based on the islamist emphasis on the importance of ethics, decency</p><p>and virtue in a society, at the same time as they also emphasize the need for legitimacy provided by</p><p>the people through free, fair and frequent elections.</p>

La thèse est consacrée à un problème scientifique très important – l’étude de l’activité des mouvements islamistes sur l’arène internationale présentée sur l’exemple de l’Algérie. Présence d’un parti actif d’opposition a mis dans l’embrras le régime militaire algérien et a aggravé la crise socio-économique et politique. La comparaison du développement de la politique extérieure de l’Algérie aux confins des siècles et des étapes de l’accroissement du FIS montre que les phases essentielles de l’établissement du FIS ont rejoint les événements importants sur la scène politique à l’intérieur du pays et les moments clefs de l’activité internationale de l’Algérie. Ce que présente une nouvelle approche d’étude des relations internationales et de la société moderne. / This thesis research is consecrated to a very important scientific problem – study of activities of Islamists movements at the international arena presented at the example of Algeria. Existence of an active opposition party embarrassed Algerian military regime and complicated socio-economic and politic crisis. Comparison of evolution of the external politics of Algeria at the turn of XX century and of stages of the rise of the IFS shows that the main phases of the IFS evolution is congruent with the important events at the political scene inside of the country and the key moments of the international activity of Algeria. This is a new approach to the study of international relations and modern societies.

This dissertation is a study of Islamist ideas on and visions of the Islamic state. It begins with the observation that although a growing amount of research explores Islamism; few studies closely investigate Islamist ideas. The aim of this dissertation is to empirically and theoretically contribute to the understanding and interpretation of contemporary Islamism and its intellectual origins. Sayyid Qutb, Abu al-Ala al-Mawdudi and Ruhollah Khomeini are generally considered as sources of inspiration to Islamists currently active. Their ideas are analysed and compared to those of two Islamist parties; the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Pakistan and the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) in Algeria. Islamism is part of a global religious resurgence that has taken many politicai and other social scientists by surprise. According to modernization and secularisation theories, such a resurgence was not to be expected. The focus in this study is therefore on the relationship between visions of the Islamic state and modernity. In this respect, two theoretical positions are critically assessed; one stating that we should understand Islamism in terms of a rejection of modernity and the other that Islamism can be understood and interpreted as an expression of there being multiple or alternative modernities. A key issue in this regard revolves around the question of how modernity is alternative and what that means. A content-oriented analysis of ideas — based on a social constructivist approach and anchored in practical hermeneutics - is utilized in the reconstruction and analysis of Islamist texts. A framework for analysis is developed in which dimensions of modernity are constructed. Islamist ideas on and visions of the Islamic state are analysed in terms of what is rejected, accepted or possibly added to these dimensions. The empirical contribution to research on Islamism is the content-oriented analysis of Islamist ideas. This analysis also helps to explore similarities and differences between the ideas of Qutb, Mawdudi and Khomeini and those of the JI and the FIS. The comparisons show that Islamist ideas are under evolution; there are important differences between the two contemporary parties and their sources of inspiration. Moreover, the content-oriented analysis reveals the complexity of the relationship between modernity and visions of the Islamic state. The theoretical contribution involves both theory-testing and theory-development. It is concluded that theories of multiple or alternative modernities, with some reservations, can be applied to Islamist ideas on and visions of the Islamic state. / digitalisering@umu

ABSTRACT Essay in Political Science, Advanced Continuation Course, 61-80 credits, by Jonas Nilsson ”The democratic islamist? - a study of three islamist movements and their potential role in a democratization process” Supervisor: Jonas Linde The purpose of this work has been to explain to what extent islamist movements can be said to be bearers of democratic values and if they have a role to play in future democratization processes. The purpose of this work is also to examine the democratic views of the different islamist movements and to compare them with each other in an effort to find a specific islamist definition of democracy. The essay is a qualitative analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Front Islamique du Salut in Algeria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The analytical framework is based on the political institutions included in Robert A. Dahl polyarchial democracy. The institutions provided by the polyarchial model is used to define the islamist movements stand on democracy which is defined by three different standpoints. The movements can either accept, decline or modify the various institutions and the results from the analysis helps us to evaluate the future role of islamist movements in the democratization process. The results also provides the opportunity to define a version of democracy specific for the islamist movements. The conclusion I have made is that the islamist movements included in the study have a part to play in a future democratization process. They have shown that their commitment to the democratic ideals defined by Dahl is quite extensive and that they as separate movements have developed a more advanced view of the relationship between islam and democracy as a social order. Though democratic at first glance there are signs that the islamists standpoint on democracy comes with certain reservations. The most significant of these reservarvations is the islamists regard of islam as an overarching ideology and the subordinate role of man made political systems such as democracy. However, the islamists have found ways to handle this problem and points out the inherent democratic values in islam and thereby tries to circumvent the problematic relationship between democracy and religion. The study also concludes that we can define the islamist version of democracy as a specific form of democracy, a value-based participatory democracy. This conclusion is based on the islamist emphasis on the importance of ethics, decency and virtue in a society, at the same time as they also emphasize the need for legitimacy provided by the people through free, fair and frequent elections.

Islamic fundamentalism is a hotly debated and contested issue in the global arena and is often depicted as having replaced communism as the predominant threat to the West in the post-Cold War world. This study analyses the ideologies espoused by Islamic fundamentalist groups in Algeria, Sudan and South Africa by means of the dialogic model of interpretation in order to arri ve at a more thorough, less judgment al understanding thereof. The study begins with an in -depth analysis of various definitions of the concept Islamic fundamentalism. This is followed by a critical discussion of rationalist approaches to Islamic fundamentalism as well as reference to the ir shortcomings in order to justify the use of the dialogic model of interpretation. This model aims to critically evaluate Islamic fundamentalist ideas through interaction with the irrespective originators, thereby questioning the validity of a s ingle Western rationalist- inspired version of the truth. Structural factors, the political, cultural and soc io-economic conditions in Algeria, Sudan and South Africa, are also accommodated by the model. Consequently, the rise of Islamic revivalism is discussed within the historical context of the increasing influence of the West in the world of Islam and the introduction (and eventual failure) of secularist ideologies in the post-independence era. The focus is on different strands of Islamic political thought, Islamic fundamentalists, Islamic traditionalists, Islamic modernists and Islamic pragmatists. The country case studies, Algeria, Sudan and South Africa are then approached by means of an indepth analysis of the ideologies of prominent Islamic fundamentalist groups, as well as a consideration of structural (political, economic and social) factors. [n the case of Algeria, a detailed discuss ion of the ideology of the Front Islamique du Salut (F1S - Islamic Salvation Front) is placed in the context of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the dynamics of the current civil war. When it comes to Sudan, the ideology of the ruling National Islamic Front (NIF) is discussed, and is also placed in the context of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in that country, as well as a discussion of government policies since 1989, with specific reference to the Sudanese civ il war and the current crisis in the Darfur region. In terms of South Africa, the focus is on the ideology of People against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD), which is placed in the context of the urban terrorist attacks that characterised the Western Cape a few years ago. The final chapter looks at what has been learned from using the dialogic model of interpretation (with an additional evaluation of structural factors) as a theoretical approach. Recommendations are made with regard to each of the respective case studies which may be potentially useful for a future resolution of the conflicts in Algeria and Sudan, and, in the case of South Africa, may help ensure continuing stability as far as Islamic fundamentalism is concerned. Copyright / Dissertation (MA (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Political Sciences / unrestricted