The Revolutionary Global Islamism - Politicized or Political Religion? Applying Eric Voegelin's Theory to the Dynamics of Political Islam

Bibliographic Data

ID4299508
AuthorsLazaros Miliopoulos (University of Bonn, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume7
Issue4
Pages126-136
Publication date2013-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-8171 • E-ISSN: 1749-8171
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/rec3.12035
OpenAlexW2117994041
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

In recourse to the theory of fundamentalism Islamism can be defined as a form of "other" or "halved modernity." Therefore Islamism politicizes the understanding of Islam and has been described often as a 'politicized religion'. But it is further be necessary to differentiate clearer between Islamist tendencies of traditionalism and totalitarianism: On the one hand there is the aim to restore the 'naturalness' and purity of a pre-modern, monistic world. On the other the ideology of a specific revolutionary type of Islamism can be described partially as totalitarian, gnostic and messianic or defined as a 'modern political pseudo-religion', diametrically opposite to the spirit of the traditional religions such as Christianity, Judaism or Islam itself and rather comparable with ideologies such as Marxism-Leninism, Fascism and National Socialism. To answer the question whether the revolutionary Islamism is a politicized or political (pseudo-)religion, this essay applies Eric Voegelin's Theory of 'political religion' to the revolutionary global Islamism expressed by the al-Qaeda terrorist movement

Communism · Epistemology · Fundamentalism · Ideology · Islam · Modernity · Monism · Monotheism · Political science · Politics · Socialism · Sociology · Terrorism · Theology · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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