The position of Islam toward nationalism and the nation-state has been subject to debate. According to some groups, the Qur’an overtly acknowledges and promotes nationalism and thus recognizes the nation-state. Such groups often cite Qur’an 49:13 (“O mankind! We divided you into nations [peoples] and tribes so that you may know each other better”) to contend that nationalism is not destructive or divisive to religious unity but instead that the Qur’an acknowledges diversity and reinforces different languages and cultural practices to advance cohesive human relationships. For others, Islam opposes any type of schism, including those instigated by nationalist ideologies, which are often exclusionary, divisive, and thus incompatible with Islam. For this group, the Prophet’s “farewell speech,” which was delivered during his final pilgrimage in 632 and summarized the fundamental beliefs of Islam, not only denounced ethnic and racial domination but also declared Muslims as members of one unified community. Muhammad is reported to have said on this occasion, “An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black—except through piousness. Every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and Muslims constitute one brotherhood.”
Discussion of these two principles continues to shape the policies endorsed by current Islamic movements. Some Islamic movements take a nationalist position by appropriating Islam as their main component, while others challenge national boundaries and seek to forge transnational ties based on the unity of and mutual responsibility for fellow Muslims under the umma—the global Islamic community. What form of the “state,” if any, Islam endorses poses a more complicated question. The Qur’an offers detailed rules pertaining to social interactions and legal issues (e.g., divorce, collective decision making, inheritance, and the like) that are regulated by the modern state. The presence of these rules makes “the state” a more controversial term. While some perceive Islamic rules to be applicable and sustainable under any state, others subscribe to the establishment of an Islamic state that would solely uphold Qur’anic rules. Against this background of contesting interpretations, Islamic groups privilege different Islamic dictums while the national or international contexts give advantages to certain positions. For instance, early 20th-century anticolonial movements provided fertile ground for national Islamic movements and parties (e.g., the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party in Malaysia), whereas the post-Iranian revolution context instigated the expansion of global umma-based movements (e.g., the Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Indonesia). Beyond their different forms, national-religious movements endorse the notion of the nation-state and share the view that nationalism serves as the first step toward resisting foreign influence and consolidating a broader range of Islamic identities. The views of umma-based political Islam on nationalism can be seen in the writings of Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb in the early 20th century. Qutb opposed nationalism in general and Arab nationalism specifically, stating that the “All-Wise God did not lead His Prophet . . . to free the Earth from Roman and Persian tyranny in order to replace it with Arab tyranny. All tyranny is wicked.” In Our Message, Banna, the founder of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, acknowledged the potential virtues of nationalism yet also declared, “Every region in which there is a Muslim . . . is our homeland.”
In the face of contradictory trends of globalization, national and broader umma-based Islamic movements and parties coexist in many countries and vie for support. Jama‘at-i Islami and the National Party in Bangladesh or Hizb-ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Action Front in Jordan exemplify movements that emphasize the universality of the umma and blend Islamic and nationalist ideologies. In many movements, one can see elements of contesting perspectives. For instance, the Muslim Brotherhood describes its goal as—in the words of one of its leaders—“achieving unification among Islamic countries,” yet it also qualifies it by recognizing the critical importance of achieving this aim “mainly among Arab states, to liberate them from imperialism.”
See also modernity; nationalism; Pan-Islamism
Further Reading
Said Amir Arjomand, ed., From Nationalism to Revolutionary Islam, 1984; Hasan al-Bannah, What Is Our Message, 2004; Asef Bayat, Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn, 2007; Robert W. Hefner and Patricia Horvatich, eds., Islam in an Era of Nation-States: Politics and Religious Renewal in Muslim, 1997; Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, 2003.
SULTAN TEPE