International Studies Journal (ISJ)

International Studies Journal (ISJ)

Islamic Radicalism and the Failure to Establish the Ideal Government

Document Type : Extension Article

Author
Lecturer in political science at the university and senior researcher at the Center for Scientific Research and Strategic Studies of the Middle East.
Abstract
The current of Islamic radicalism in the Arab World has been unable to attain its most important goal despite many years of serious and constant struggles: the establishment of Islamic government. In this article, the author examines the causes of this failure, considering the experiences of Egypt. While most experts on Islamism have focused upon the adoption of a policy of continued suppression by the Egyptian government and huge Western support for the country's political elites and have viewed these two variables as influential in the failure of the current in question, the author proposes a different hypothesis. On this basis, although the role the aforementioned factors play in this regard cannot be denied, ambiguities and simplifications towards the political and social questions found in the radical Islamists' thoughts have been introduced as two significant factors explaining their failure. In this respect, the thoughts and opinions of Seyed Qutb and Mohammad Abdussalam Faraj who are among the most salient theoreticians in this current have been studied and analyzed.
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