The Muslim movements after the Caliphate
After the abolition of the Ottoman Empire, and later the Caliphate in 1924, in the modern Muslim world began "non-Caliphate" period. This process was historically logical, because the theocratic form of government suffered a crisis in the Muslim world, where national movement and bourgeois relations were growing.
Nominal power of the Sultan still existed, but only in name. In this situation, the Sultan resorted to Pan-Islamism policy, however corrupt administrative apparatus, a weak army and a weak economy, led this policy to the failure. By the early twentieth century in the country were rapidly spreading European ideas and values, as many intellectuals saw them as the basis of the high level of development and power of the European states.
In the country were also spreading masonic lodges, which became the centers of spread of European ideas. The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Egyptian theologian Muhammad Abduh, and many other famous thinkers were members of Masonic lodges, through which penetrated the idea, common in Europe, particularly the ideology of nationalism.
At the same time, the Zionist ideology occurred in Europe - nationalist modification of the European Jews. Representatives of the Zionist movement officially appealed to the Sultan Abd al-Hamid with the request to allow them to create a hearth of nationalism in Palestinian. Ottoman Sultan rightly saw the greatest threat in the transfer of the Muslim holy land to the Zionist movement. Sultan was still caliph of all Muslims. Being in power, 'Abd al-Hamid tried to reform the administrative management of the country, in order to return the country to its former power, based on the ideology of Pan-Islamism. However, it was too late. Any attempt to reform encountered resistance, in the guise of the corrupt system or intellectuals, inspired by the ideas of European humanism.
Attempts to reform the country has led to the acceleration of anti-Ottoman movements in the country, supported by the European powers, especially by Britain and France. The refuse to transfer the Palestine to Zionist movement led to the fact that representatives of Zionism began to support the anti-Ottoman movement, in particular Ataturk.
The British took an active part in the formation of Arab nationalism. Britain has established contact with the Sheriff Hussein of Mecca, who sought to get rid of corrupt and backward power of the Turks, and to unite the country under his command. Britain gave him a promise to help in the creation of a unified Arab Islamic state and to provide him with military support.
With the advent of Arab nationalism, Islamic identity has not disappeared. R.G. Landa writes: "In the 1920-1960-ies nationalism in Islamic countries, as in most countries of the East, dominated unconditionally. But Islam remained almost universally an important part of their ideology."
As I have mentioned previously, the national movements in the Ottoman Empire were associated with the idea of getting rid of the corrupt government of the Turks. The Turks have become associated for many Arab with oppression, arbitrariness and tyranny. The Arab national movement in the Ottoman Empire was not directed against Islam, but against the corrupt model. Intellectuals and politicians saw in getting rid of "Turkish yoke" the ability to create a strong modernized state. An example for them was stronger European countries, which ultimately resulted in the Islamic revolution of 1905.
However, the desire to recreate a single state on a new basis did not come into life. The main obstacle was the policy of the colonial powers. European powers: Britain, France and Russia concluded a secret treaty of Sykes-Picot, which divided the empire into the control zones. The Ottoman Empire and its allies defeated in the war, which culminated in the collapse of a single Islamic state into many political entities, which came under the protectorate of the European powers, especially those Britain and France.
During the British and French mandates over this region there have happened significant events that shaped the development of the region throughout the twentieth century. Britain and France divided the region into small states, provoking the emergence of "the country’s nationalism" instead of pan-Islamism or pan-Arab nationalism. Thus, was provoked the appearance of the Syrian Nationalist Party, the historical division of Syria and the emergence of small states. Artificially created, Jordan was headed by the son of the Sheriff of Mecca; another son was put in charge of Iraq. France provoked the creation of "Great Lebanon". Ataturk's nationalist movement was supported in Turkey.
During all this time, a new theory to unite all Muslims under the auspices of the Sultan-Caliph were discussed by some reformers, and even Turkish nationalists However, the severe defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the war undermined all these hopes.
Particularly interesting were the theories of the Egyptian reformers at the early 20th centuries, which considered it necessary to mix the theocratic government with the parliamentary and democratic principles.
Of particular interest are the philosophical views of the famous Egyptian mufti Muhammad Abduh. He denied the existence of the priesthood and authority in religion. The caliph, or any other governor in the first place has purely earthly power, which is not illuminated by divine motives. The Head of State is obliged to play the role of a political leader of society without interfering into the proper religious sphere. But at the same time the governor has to defend religion and propagate its ideals.
Then Muhammad Abduh advocated the democracy and parliamentarism. He pointed on the advantages of the parliamentary system, because according to him the idea of good governance itself, when the interests of the people are respected, laid in the Muslim doctrine, supported by statements of religious leaders. He believed that the constitutional control can be achieved through a peace agreement with the government.
Later Mufti M. Abduh became a supporter of the idea of a gradual movement towards parliamentarism, which provided a temporary govern of the strong, but fair personality of the dictator. His duties included maintaining justice in society and preventing arbitrariness and chaos.
Lübben explains, that the ideas of mufti-reformer Muhammad Abduh had a great influence on the development of Islamic thought in the 20th century. So, after the falling of Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, Rashid Rida - one of the disciples of M. Abduh, formulated the basic principles of an Islamic state in a particular country, which has a theocratic government in conjunction with the parliamentary system. The idea of creating such states was stated by a number of Muslim ideologues reformers, some Islamic parties and movements.
The idea of an Islamic state was especially popular are especially popular in Pakistan, during the struggle for independence in 1947. It was most consistently defended by A. Maududi. He was a supporter of the separation of the northern territories, mostly populated by Muslims from India and the creation of an independent state there. For struggle for independence, he created the party "Jamaat al-Islamiya." He put a lot of efforts to ensure that the Constitution of Pakistan was adopted on the basis of the provisions of Islam and that the public life in the country was controlled by religion. Currently, Islam is the state religion in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. However, in reality the state is a synthesis of secular and theocratic model.
Another modern model of Islamic government is the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was established in the country after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Its essence lies in the fact that the Islamic society should be guided by the divine law, even in the period of hiding the expected Shiite Imam Mahdi, who should come to the earth and save the world from injustice.
Works Cited:
Lübben, Ivesa. The Rise of Political Islam and the Implications for European Foreign Policy.
Gütersloh: Verlag Berlemann Stiftung, 2008. Print.
