Global Intifada

One of the problem with Islamists is that they tend to reduce all of the Ummah’s problem into one of the implementation of certain legal injunctions and ignore that society has a variety of needs that must be fulfilled in order to be functioned or they become fixated on the fetish of fighting some foreign power. What they fail to understand is that merely because a state changes its legal system from a European one to a full fledged Shari’ah system does not ensure that the laws will be implemented effectively and fairly. There must be something more to an Islamist program other than seizing power and engaging in warfare in order for it to be successful. Thus, all Islamist movements must develop a comprehensive program that goes beyond the realm of legalism and into the realm of social justice.

This program must promote the following:

(1) the rule of law (some sense of legitimacy for the ruling class rather than the arbitrary exercise of power based on tribalism or sheer force),

(2) the elimination of corruption and promoting systems of checks and balances on various political institutions ensuring an equal distribution of power preventing the formation of arbitrary governance,

(3) the promotion of economic growth so as to eliminate economic inequalities to prevent the ruling class from exploiting the masses (which goes back to preventing arbitrary governance),

(4) tackling social inequalities directly (patriarchy, domestic violence, tribalism, honor killings, impinging on the rights of children) by developing programs that provide access to welfare, healthcare, and education.

(5) developing a diplomatic mission in international relations rather than the belligerent approach that many Islamist movements tend to develop that often obfuscates xenophobia with sovereignty.

Thus, Islamist movements, must transform themselves from movements concerned with ideology to movements that are concerned with sociology. They must not view the world from the perspective of political parties but from the perspective of political systems and as such must also concern themselves with fulfilling the basic rights and needs of the people. The absence of these objectives will result in Islamist movements that will alienate the population almost immediately and enable foreign powers to intervene with ease. Islamists fail to realize that popular support is not an expendeble asset, but a non-renewable resource that takes a long time and particular conditions to manifest themselves.

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