Islam and International Relations in the Middle East
Founded on the ideals of a true Islamic state, the other nations for example Saudi Arabia opted to use geopolitical dominance as well as their position in the global market within the region to assert their position among the other Muslim nations. Others on the other hand, sought to use both the symbols and language of Islam as a benchmark for their respective foreign policies. As noted by Mandaville, here Islam is used as a complement for the wider the nationalist discourse. Although the regions Organization of the Islamic Conference, (OIC) has for a long time attempted to represent these Muslim countries in the multilateral diplomacy, the interests of individual nations has continued to take center stage at the expense of the common Islamic vision. During the emergence of Islamic revolution of the 1979, the author notes Iran emerged to be a chief competitor to Saudi Arabia in an apparent move to criticize its close ties with America. In the latter stages of the cold war, America and its allies within this region regarded Islam to be a useful tool in combating communism especially as the Soviet Union sought to invade Afghanistan. At the same time, Iran decided to develop cross-boarder associations with the Shii groups within the other parts of Middle East, hence had a significant impact on the overall transnational structure, for instance the Lebanon Civil war. During the onset of the cold war, several networks or associations have been presented with globalization and have thus been able to get new audiences as well as reform their political objectives. This has also given rise to other new players and voices seeking to present the relationship between globalization, Islam as well as the international relations framework for this new generation.
As noted by the author, the interaction between the political communities in this region has been in the Islamic tradition since its inception during 7th century. Apart from the Sunna and Quran which provide literature evidence through their reference to key concepts of international relations in relation to power, nations, political authority and treaty making (Quran 8.72) there are several Muslim political leaders as is captured in the in the Islamic history. These were actively involved in trade negotiations, diplomacy in addition to warfare with the neighboring polities. In a nut shell, as early the 11th century, centralized system of political administration in the Islamic world had become non-existent and was thus replaced by distinct regional empires. This went on through the history up to the 17th century which in turn resulted to a major paradigm shift in the larger Europes relationship structure with the Middle East. Of importance to note is the fact that Islam has no demarcation between politics and religion contrary to Christianity as is captured in the Quran.
Indeed c loser look at the Islamic history presents evidence that almost all their leaders operated under religious authority together with the associated political power. Furthermore, Islam has extensively debated the sovereignty while the other conservative groups are of the idea that this concept should not be used since it belongs to God. A deeper analysis of its records, points to the fact that sovereignty is a concept which is well established in the Islamic traditions. According to the author, the Islamic world is composed of two realms the domain of war and Islam respectively. The latter has the connotation of those lands under the control of Islamic laws with the former referring to the lands that are not under Islamic rule and hence seen as to be in potential conflict. Hence, one can not afford to overlook the idea of jihad when talking about the above domains of Islam. However, despite the misconceptions of this term, there is the general consensus that it is entrenched into Islamism and thus impacts on the international relations framework of Middle East. According to the author, the Ottoman Empire, a pre-eminent within the modern Muslim polities was integrated in the international system participating in an intricate system of alliances with the European powers. By the late 19th Century, Islam had risen to be the focal point in the anti-colonial agitation within the Middle East alongside other parts.
The Pan-Islam movement of 1838-97 citied European imperialism a common experience among the Muslim community right from Africa all the way to the South-East Asia. The breaking of the Ottoman Empire culminated into the creation of a couple of new nations within the Middle East such as Syria, Iraq and Jordan among others. However, this did not mark the end of Islam and instead sparked heated debates among the various schools of thought. This resulted to the unprecedented expansion within the international system as several colonies under the European rule became independent nations after the world wars period. In particular, Egypts liberation from the British rule under the tutelage of Nasser helped to strengthen the concept of Arab nationalism within Middle East.
Arab nationalism from the standpoint of an ideology placed much emphasis on the cultural as well as historical affinity of the Arab Speaking individuals. Just as the former, Saudi Arabia is also the other nation that presented a platform for the cross-linkage between politics, international relations and Islam as argued by the author. On the other hand, the contemporary Islamic revival within this region can be traced back to 1967 during the Six Day War. At the time, the failure of the national-secular model was brought to the fore through the poor performance by Arab militaries at the expense of Israels success their quest to capture Jerusalem. Although the symbolic power of such periods can not be overlooked, it is imperative to focus on the Islamic symbol and language in relation to the political economies of Middle East. Globalization and its impact on the nations within the region is the other vital aspect worth noting and its link to political Islam from as early as 1970s.
At this time, Anwar Sadat, having taken over from Nasser shifted Egypts geopolitical orientation to the West. In particular, this was made possible through the open door policies which encouraged for direct foreign investments in the nation as well as integrate it into the emerging framework of within the global economy. Against this backdrop, Sadats successor, Mubarak further pushed Egypt into the global arena, a move which saw the country join the IMF. Economic globalization also resulted to the establishment of several charitable organizations within this nation by the Islamists who took advantage of the power vacuum created by the apparent scaling back by Mubaraks administration. Hence, the Brotherhood movement came into existence through such organizations which they used to colonize the civil space. Through their dominion, they also managed to assert their control in the professional fraternity within the country.
Operating in antagonism with the general global-domestic framework was Islams key role in relation to the cold-war geopolitics. Against the backdrop of an unprecedented oil shock during the early 1970s, Saudi Arabia embarked on a mission of consolidating its position within the Middle East. This was done through its involvement in a range of activities for example, building of mosques alongside religious education across the globe. This idea of petro-Islam later emerged to be a dominant force within the Middle East and other parts of the world as it joined hands with other conservative but like minded groups in nations such as Pakistan. This move was welcome by the United States since it viewed Saudi Arabias religious outreach as the ideal tool for checking the rapid growth of communism. Hence, the Saudi royal family later became powerful within the Middle East in terms of both economic and political power. In 1979, there was another significant form of Islamic Revolution in Iran as Ayatollah Khomeini managed to mobilize popular support against Shah Reza Pahlavi on grounds that the latter was promoting the ideals the west since he was a close ally of America. Khomeini thus brought together elites who were against the status quo which in turn led to the toppling of the Royal family and thereby creating the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, this can not be translated to imply notable changes in the international relations structure of the region as claimed by the author. Instead, it represents an internal struggle for autonomy.
Most notably, this Islamic revolution brought with repercussions on the international arena. In particular, it symbolized the removal of a secular regime by the Islamic forces within the region perceived to be operating under the ideals of the Western community. During this time when the Saudi Arabias leaders were very vulnerable to the wide spread accusations of their associations with the West, this revolution allowed Iran to catapult itself as a direct competitor of the Saudi royal family. By so doing, it forged an alliance with leaders from Pakistan for a stake in Muslim leadership within the region. This aspect later surfaced into the earlier periods of 21st Century which has continued to be complicated owing to the fact that this region is largely occupied by the Muslim community. Though it might be impossible to discern the true relationship between Islam and international relations, it is however possible to capture the manner in which it affects political relationship of the Middle East and the rest of the World. Through the analysis of its norms and ideals, it is possible to highlight struggling leaders. In this light, one can not overlook the vital role played by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, (OIC) which for a long time has attempted to reconcile the interests of its powerful member states such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey among others. The OIC has emerged to be a powerful and united when presenting the broader Islamic issues which have been agreed upon by the members as opposed to when it does present cases from individual countries of the block.
The recent past has seen a considerable increase in both the range and extent of Muslim transnationalism within the Middle East region. This is especially shown through the growing prominence of the non-governmental actors. To this end, conventional Islamists have been able to see globalization as a perfect opportunity to foster their political influence internationally. As a result, this new Islamist generation has been able to exploit this opportunity and come up with responsive democratic structures founded on the premise of upholding accountability and transparency. Hence, this group has emerged to be pragmatic modern generation which is purely focused on democratic process and are thus seen to more interested in the realization of results other than strictly following the ideological line. Through the formation of political agendas, platforms, as well as priorities of the various parties within this region point towards the need for this group to accommodate itself. From the above discussion as put forward by the author, it is justifiable to note that he does not exhaust the concept of international relations within Middle East but rather chose to focus on Islam without however providing the clear link between the religion and international relations as indicated in his thesis. Hence, religion can not be used as tool for fostering nationalism in relation to international relations in Middle East region.
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