Islamic resurgence
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Since World War II, the pro-Western secular regimes have either fallen or have been changed by a powerful force described as Islamic resurgence. Islamic resurgence can be dated with two watershed events:
• the energy crisis of the 1970s, which led to the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini to Iran in 1979 and his establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state
Both events signaled a shift in the relationship between the West and Islam. They restored confidence and pride to Muslims who for centuries felt that they were on the defensive against Western impact. They were inspired to recover their history, culture, and religion.
Basic tenets of Islamic resurgence include:
• a more critical acceptance of Western technology and science
• a rejection of Western materialism and globalism
• a return to the Five Pillars of Islam (belief in one God, prayer, pilgrimage to Mecca, fasting, and charitable giving)
• wearing traditional Islamic dress, especially the veil in the name of sexual modesty
• a jurisprudence based upon the teachings of the Shari'ah (Islamic law manifested in civil and other forms of jurisprudence)
Politically, Islamic resurgence runs the gamut from Islamist regimes in Iran, Sudan, and pre-invasion Afghanistan to conservative and liberal monarchies in the Gulf region, to the more secular, militaristic, and authoritarian regimes of Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Libya, and Pakistan. All governments have had to make concessions to the growing popularity of Islamic resurgence.
Islamic resurgence is a largely middle class/intelligentsia movement that attracts university students, professionals at every level, civil servants, merchants, traders, and bankers. For example, Ayman Zawahiri, a principal figure with Al-Qaida, is an Egyptian physician who founded the Islamic Jihad. This is the group that was implicated in the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981. Rural, traditional people who have migrated to cities are also attracted to Islamic resurgence; it has significant, established networks that address the religious, medical, and educational needs of the urban poor.
(This article was taken from the writing of Arthur Kane Scott, Dominican University.)
