1.

Political Islam
Irans Islamic revolution
The Iranian Islamic revolution came to life after one of the most popular Islamic
democratic movements and the end result was the establishment of the first global universal
state. It was a defining moment during the new century transition; the turning point of the Iranian
society.1 Before the Iranian Islamic revolution happened, the Iranian society was under the rule
of Shah Reza Pahlavi. Based on close Colonial insights and displaced trust, the Iranian
leadership sovereignty was distributed among Shahs close friends and family. And as time
passed by, the gap between the rich and the poor steadily increased. The dawn of the 1970s
began to see extreme resentment towards Shahs autocratic leadership style. In addition, the
deteriorating monetary policy only rejuvenated further the distrust and resentment towards
Shahs regime.
Expectedly, Shahs regime began to encounter opposition; Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini being
the focal point of the oppositions voice. The sheer fact that he was living in exile in Paris France
did not stop him from Voicing his reformation promises. The Ayatollah promised both economic
and social reformations. He voiced out his concerns towards the degradation of the traditional
and religious values and advocated means towards the necessary restructurings. This alone
created the vital societal harmony and gained him the support of many Iranians. The new dawn
crept in with a gathering storm. Countless Iranians converged to form a series of extensive
opposition groups. These anti-Shah groups were specifically focused towards sweeping away the

1 Sami Zubaidi. 'Trajectories of Political Islam: Egypt, Iran and Turkey'. The Political Quarterly

71.s1 (2000), 62.

Shah era. The opposition protests were characterized by increased strikes, violence, instability
and a crippled countrys economy.
Later on in the beginning of 1979, the raging and intense era of violence and protests saw
Shah and his leadership sovereignty leave the country for a presumed vacation. They were never
to return. The Ayatollah supporters pulled down every single Statue of Shah that existed within
the Iranian borders. Before running away, Shah Reza authenticated the appointment of Prime
Minister Shahpur Bakhitiar into the regency council. Mr. Bakhtiar was supposed to run the
country on behalf of Shah. He tried his best to quiet the opposition and rendered extreme
resistance towards the rise of Ayatollahs government. And on the beginning of February 1979,
Ayatollah decided to make a dramatic return to Iran. His returned from exile only fuelled further
the ongoing violence. The streets raged with battle between the Ayatollahs supporters, the
colonial regime supporters and the police. As expected, the ongoing battle only propelled further
the social, economic and political instability.
On mid-February 1979, rumors began to materialize concerning a forthcoming military
coup. Amid those rumors, war tanks were deployed on the streets of Tehran. Nonetheless, it was
crystal clear that this would do very little to suppress the ongoing revolution. Furthermore, the
deployed armies had a very diminutive appetite towards seizing back power. After invading
Tehrans upmost radio station, the revolutionaries declared, This is the voice of the revolution of
the Iranian people!2 This marked the beginning of a new era. Mr. Bakhtiar stepped down and
two months later there was a national referendum. Ayatollah Khomeini emerged as the clear
winner with a massive victory. After the victory, Ayatollah Khomeini declared and proclaimed an
Islamic society. He was later on appointed as Irans permanent political and religious leader.
2 Ibid. 78.

The depth of political Islam in Contemporary Middle East

Islamism in Contemporary Middle East can generally be accredited to the fall of Arabic
Military forces at the hands of Israel forces during the 1967 war. This defeat proclaimed the
downfall of pan-Arabism and marked the rise of an Islamic revival which blossomed and
challenged nations in the Middle East. The foundation of this Islamic revival can be traced back
to 1928 when Hassan al-Banna established the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Within a few years
of its establishment, the MB had become a vital force in political and religious issues. At the
time, secularization, westernization and materialism were major threats towards the Muslim
societies and the ability to provide alternatives to these threats made the MB even more popular.
In-order to counter these threats, Hassan al-Banna advocated a restoration towards the essential
basics of religion. Originally, the primary objective of MB was not political but religious. The
spreading faith facilitated the expansion of the group which laid down the foundation of a
stronger MB which later on survived difficult years of vicious suppression, the death of Hassan
al-Banna and captivity of its followers. Despite all the major setbacks, the movement extended
its roots beyond Egypt to other major Middle-East countries such as Palestine, Jordan and Syria.
Towards the end of the 1960 era, the social unrest, economic decline and other political
developments in the Middle East created an Islamic revival based on Qutbian politicization of
religion which is now commonly referred to as Political Islam.3
The successes and failures of political Islam in Egypt and Iran
Iran

3 Ibid. 65.

Iran has experienced a range of positive outcomes from political Islam. Owing to an
admirable and Islamic oriented leadership of Khomeini, the abolishment of the Iranian monarchy
and the establishment of the Iranian Islamic society was imminent.4 In addition, Irans new
constitution was inaugurated based on the Islamic principles. In respect to this, Iran has emerged
as the most successful nation in terms of marrying religion with politics.
On the other hand, Irans policy making has often been influenced by other vital factors
such as geopolitical issues, national security and the desire to kick away all the foreign
interruptions. These factors have often been Irans main drawbacks. For the sake of Irans
economy, independence is crucial. Religion hasnt been able to play a role in this. The Ulama
dynasty was clear proof that even though Islam has played a major role in the constitution and
government structure, it was eventually muted and its role in the political decision system
expansively diluted.
Egypt
Unlike Iran, Egypt has experienced a rather constricted range of positive outcomes from
political Islam. For long periods, Islamist groups have found themselves under the limited roles
of the opposition. Regardless of this, Egypt can proudly boast of the brotherhood which reflects
the extensive success of political Islam. Consequently, Egypt is no longer a slave of foreign
control.
However, after the extermination of the MB by Nasser, Islamists struggled to generate
significant impacts on the decisive political levels.5 In 1985, the Egyptian parliament rejected the
implementation of Islamic legal code and surprisingly gained the public support. More
4 Carl Brown, 'Reinventing Khomeini: The Struggle for Reform in Iran'. Foreign Affairs 80.5

(2001), 172.

surprisingly, the support of the more radical Militant Islamic groups in university campuses is
clear evidence of how far political Islam has failed in Egypt.

2. The Arab Spring

The Arab spring was an insurgent and rebellious protest movement whose fundamental aim
was to express a deep-rooted bitterness regarding years of dictatorship, brutality, economic
decline, unemployment, extreme poverty and corruption. The protest movements initially began
on Dec 2010 in Tunisia and within a short period of time the demonstrations had spread to other
Arab league countries and the corresponding environments. And even though the raging waves
of the initial protests began to fade in mid-2012, a succeeding larger revolutionary discourse took
over and was popularly referred to as the Arab winter.
The trajectories of the rebellion in Tunisia and Egypt
Tunisia
After the martyrdom of Mohamed Bouazizi, a street Vendor in Tunisia who set himself on fire
following a series of humiliation and harassment by municipal officials, the streets raged with
anger and resentment. Bouazizis act catalyzed the Tunisian revolution inciting street riots and
demonstrations which eventually saw President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali overthrown from power
in January 14th 2011. These demonstrations were impelled by the poor living conditions in
Tunisia, the high unemployment rates, food inflation, corruption and the lack of freedom of
speech. Following the raging waves of political and social unrest, the streets of Tunisia
5 Mahmoud Jaraba. 'Why Did The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Year-Long Rule Fall? ZfP

(2014), 66.

encountered brutality and violence which resulted to injuries and deaths of many people.6 The
outcome of this viciousness saw President Ben Ali flee to exile in Saudi Arabia bringing an end
to his 23 year dynasty.
Following the departure of President Ben Ali, the Coalition government declared a state
of emergency. However, the appointment of non-RCD ministers was followed by an immediate
resignation by the same appointed members. On Jan 27th 2011, the ongoing raging protests forced
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to reshuffle the government and eliminate all the former
RCD members. Later on in March 9th, the ruling party was dissolved. Further raging protests
forced Ghannouchi out of power and Bji Cad Essebsi appointed as the new Prime Minister. The
first post-revolution election transpired in October 23rd 2011 and 217 representatives of the
Constituent assembly were elected. Ennahda, the leading Islamist party at the time managed 37%
of the votes with 42 women elect in the Constituent assembly. Way afterwards on Jan 26th 2014,
a new progressive constitution was elected. This new constitution made Tunisia an Open
government with increased obligations towards the people, increased gender equality and most
importantly, increased human rights. To wind up the transition, the country carried out its first
parliamentary elections which marked an evolution towards a democratic state.
Egypt
The Inspiration of a rather successful uprising in Tunisia Instigated rage and turmoil in
the Egyptian hearts. On Jan 25th 2011, raging protests began in Egypt.7 In order to counter these
raging protests, the Egyptian government attempted to cut off the Countrys internet access to no
6 Eberhard Kienle. 'Egypt without Mubarak, Tunisia after Bin Ali: Theory, History and The

Arab Spring. Economy and Society 41.4 (2012), 539.

7 Ibid. 547.

avail. The protests raged on with thousands of people dispensed across the Egyptian streets.
President Hosni Mubarak was forced to dismiss his government. He later on appointed a new
cabinet and a new vice president. This had never happened in over 25 years. However, the raging
protests lingered on more vigorously and the president was forced to hand over his powers to the
Vice president Omar Suleiman. A rather cheeky attempt to reclaim his presidential powers
initiated further violence and the vice president was quickly forced to announce that Mubarak
had resigned from presidency and handed over his powers to the Egyptian armed forces.
The military wasted no time in dissolving the Egyptian parliament and suspending the
Egyptian constitution. On March 4th 2011, Essam sharaf was appointed as the New Egyptian
prime minister to the satisfaction of many Egyptians. However, the raging protests lingered on
due to a presumed sluggishness by the supreme council of the armed forces to institute reforms.
Hosni Mubarak was then imprisoned on account of mass killings and Mohamed Morsi sworn in
to become the first democratically elected Egyptian president. Unfortunately, fresh protests
exploded again on Nov 22nd 2012 and the dawn of July 3rd 2013 saw the military overthrow
President Morsi from power.
The current democratic states of Tunisia and Egypt
Tunisia
Tunisia has emerged as an inspiration to the rest of the Arab world in terms of democracy.
Unlike its neighboring states, Tunisia has managed to translate the recent uprisings to a steadfast
pathway to democracy. Unlike Egypt where political diversity is still a future dream, Tunisias
politics is dominated by three dynamic political forces; Nida Tounes, UGTT, Ennahda and the
inclusion of the labor unions. Characterized by secular traditions, significant constitutional

progress and relatively high education levels, the country has an absolute chance of cementing its
pathway to democracy.8 But in order to achieve this dream, Tunisia must accomplish its
obligations with respect to the high unemployment levels, public security and the revival the
countrys economic growth. Not so long ago, the U.S government offered a substantial increase
in both security and economic assistance. This signifies Tunisias progress hasnt come
unnoticed. Being the only Arab country that has managed to convert the recent upheavals to a
steadfast pathway to democracy, Tunisia holds the key to unlocking the democratic future of the
Arab world.
Egypt
Whilst Tunisia is making large progressive steps on the path of democracy, Egypt has
basically reverted from the Semi- authoritarianism period to a path of full-authoritarianism.9
Consequently, the country is facing the risk a new political turmoil. Despite the present

8 Duncan Pickard. 'Prospects for Implementing Democracy in Tunisia'. Mediterranean Politics

19.2 (2014), 261.

9

Marcus Mietzner. 'Successful and Failed Democratic Transitions from Military Rule In

Majority Muslim Societies: The Cases Of Indonesia And Egypt'. Contemporary Politics 20.4
(2014), 442.

contemporary military support, the country is experiencing escalating concerns over the Military
rule. The doors to a possible lawful political competition avenue have completely been shut. In
addition, the country is currently experiencing an economic hardship which has triggered unrest
in several economic sectors. Unlike Tunisia where politics is dominated by three dynamic forces,
Egypt lacks political diversity. Moreover, the typical Muslim brotherhood has become powerless
in the presence of the judiciary, the military and the whole political administration. And given the
current nature of the political leaders, it is highly unlikely that Egypt would soon head itself in a
path of democratic transition.

References
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Kienle, Eberhard. 'Egypt without Mubarak, Tunisia after Bin Ali: Theory, History and The Arab
Spring. Economy and Society 41.4 (2012): 532-557. Web.
Mietzner, Marcus. 'Successful and Failed Democratic Transitions from Military Rule in Majority
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