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Islam and Politics
Comparative Political Systems
Georgetown University
November 24, 2003
Important Terms
Islam = Abrahamic, monotheistic religion characterized
by the acceptance of the doctrine of “submission to God”
and to Muhammad as the chief and last prophet of God
Allah = “God,” as in the God of Judaism and Christianity;
non-Muslim Arabs also use this word
Muslim = follower of Islam
Sunni Islam = accepts the first four caliphs as rightful
successors of Muhammad
Shi`i Islam = regards `Ali and his descendants as the
legitimate successors to Muhammad and rejects the first
three caliphs
Sheikh = head of an Arab family, or of a clan or a tribe;
the chief magistrate of an Arab village; a scholar learned
in Islamic traditions
Umma = supranational community of Muslims
Dawla = Arabic, “state”
Majlis = Arabic, “chamber,” “house,”
“parliament”
Jihad = internal struggle; often (mis)translated
as “holy war against infidels”
Qur’an = sacred text of Islam, to Muslims the
revelations of God to Muhammad
Hadith = report of the sayings or actions of
Muhammad or his companions, together with
the tradition of its chain of transmission
Sunna = way of life prescribed as normative in
Islam, based on the teachings and practices of
Muhammad and on Qur’anic exegesis
`Ulama’ = religious scholars
Shari`a = Islamic law (4 Sunni schools, 1 Shi`i
school)
Shura = Islamic principle of consultation
Sufism = Islamic mysticism
Five Pillars of Islam
1. Prayer (five times daily facing Mecca)
2. Pilgrimage (to Mecca, once in one’s lifetime if able)
3. Faith (“There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his messenger”)
4. Fasting (during the month of Ramadan)
5. Zakat (alms to the poor)
Organization of the Islamic Conference - Member States
Islam is not confined to the Arab states in the Middle East. In fact, most Muslims
are not Arabs. The largest predominantly Muslim state is Indonesia, where 87
percent of the country's 206 million people are Muslims. The people of Pakistan and
Bangladesh, the second and third most populous, predominantly Muslim countries,
are also not Arabs.
Arab League
Algeria (Algiers)
Bahrain (Manama)
Comoros (Moroni)
Djibouti (Djibouti)
Egypt (Cairo)
Iraq (Baghdad)
Jordan (Amman)
Kuwait (Kuwait)
Lebanon (Beirut)
Libya (Tripoli)
Mauritania (Nouakchott)
Morocco (Rabat)
Oman (Muscat)
Palestine (Arab East Jerusalem, Al-Quds Al-Sharif, as future capital)
Qatar (Doha)
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)
Somalia (Mogadishu)
Sudan (Khartoum)
Syria (Damascus)
Tunisia (Tunis)
United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi)
Yemen (San’a)
Key Topics in Arab Politics Today
Understanding Political Economy of Development
Religion and Politics
Role of Military in Politics
Economic and Political Reform
Political Succession (a fad topic?)
The Persistence of Authoritarianism