Pan-Islamism (
الوحدة الإسلامية) is a
political movement advocating the unity of
Muslims under one
Islamic state — often a
Caliphate. As a form of
religious nationalism, Pan-Islamism differentiates itself from other
pan-nationalistic ideologies, for example
Pan-Arabism, by excluding
culture and
ethnicity as primary factors towards unification.
Mujahideen
The concept of
mujahideen volunteer
Islamist fighters is closely related to pan-Islamic thought. Mujahideen may come from all over the
Islamic world to assist in a conflict that they deem to be religiously important.
History
The model pan-Islamism aims for is the
early years of Islam — the reign of
Muhammad and
the early caliphate — when the Muslim world was thought to be strong and uncorrupted in one united state.
In the modern era, Pan-Islamism was championed by
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani who sought unity among Muslims to resist colonial occupation of Muslim lands. Although sometimes described as "liberal",such as by a contemporary English admirer,
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, (see: Wilfrid Scawen Blunt,
Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt (London: Unwin, 1907), p. 100.) al-Afghani did not advocate constitutional government but simply envisioned “the overthrow of individual rulers who were lax or subservient to foreigners, and their replacement by strong and patriotic...
Read More