Explaining the Foundations of Islamic Countries Divergence and the Failure of Islamic Unity Idea in the Modern Era

Document Type : مقالات علمی -پژوهشی

Author

• Hadi Veicy

Associate Professor of Political Geography, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/pg.2022.68679.1018

Abstract

The world of Islam with a historical brilliant civilization in the framework of a unified Islamic state has suffered fragmentation and nationalism due to the collapse of the caliphate system in the face of modernity and the nation state system in the contemporary period. In the last century, some reformers and Islamic political activists, influenced by the early history of Islam and the Qur'an teachings of the “United Ummah” or "Islamic Ummah", have proposed the unity and solidarity of the world of Islam to rebuild and revitalize Islamic civilization and to confront the dominating Western powers. Although many efforts have been made, so far no tangible achievements of unity and convergence have been observed in the world of Islam. Therefore, the main question is what are the main problem and root causes of lack of convergence and domination of divergent forces over convergent elements in the world of Islam and why the idea of Islamic unity has been failed. This research has attempted to explain the roots and fundamental causes of divergence in the world of Islam. The results show that the conceptual ambiguity of the world of Islam, economic non-complementation of Islamic countries, dependence on the world outside of world of Islam and competition and ideological contradictions of regional powers in the world of Islam have caused divergent Islamic countries.

Keywords

• World of Islam
• Islamic Countries
• Convergence
• Divergence
• Islamic Ummah

References

1. Brown, D.W., (2011). A New Introduction to Islam. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
2. Dehghani Firoozabadi, S.J., (2015). Theories of Regional Convergence and International Regimes. Iran, Tehran: Mohkatab Publishing. [In Persian].
3. Ezzati, E., (2000). The Geopolitics of the Islamic World and the Status of North African Countries. African Studies, 5(2), 2-21. [In Persian].
4. Fawcett, L., (2015). Drivers of regional integration: historical and comparative Perspectives, In Book: Drivers of Integration and Regionalism in Europe and Asia. Edited by Louis Brennan and Philomena Murray, London: Routledge.
5. Flemes, D., (2010). Regional Leadership in the Global System. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Company.
6. Golizavareh, G., (1997). The Land of Islam: Recognition of Islamic Countries and Muslim Areas of the World. Qom: Islamic advertisement Office of Qom Seminary. [In Persian].
7. Hafeznia, M.R., Ghorbaninejad, R., & Janparvar, M., (2012). Geopolitical Analysis of Convergence and Divergence Factors in the Islamic World. Quarterly Journal of Islamic World Studies, 1(2), 56-72. [In Persian].
8. Huntington, S., (1997). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Penguin Books India.
9. Kazemi, A.A., (1991). Theory of Convergence in International Relations. Tehran: Qoms Publishing. [In Persian].
10. Liu, Z., & Fan, P.,(2018).Islamic Factors in Inter-State Cooperation of the OIC Members.Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 12(1), 1-15.
11. Liu, Z.,(2013).Commentary on “Islamic State” Thoughts of Islamism.Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 7(3), 22-42.
12. Mayer, H., (2015). Historical narratives as normative drivers of integration and disintegration in Europe and Asia, In Book: Drivers of Integration and Regionalism in Europe and Asia. Edited by Louis Brennan and Philomena Murray, London: Routledge.
13. Mostofi Al-Mamalaki, R., (2002). The Islamic World and the Distribution of Islamic Lands and Population. Al-Zahra University Humanities Quarterly, 12(43), 162-183. [In Persian].
14. Motahari, M., (2003). Imamate and Leadership.Tehran: Sadra Publications. [In Persian].
15. Movaseghi, S.A., (2009). Seyed Jamal Asadabadi: a thinker and politician. Qom: Qom Book Garden. [In Persian].
16. Movaseghi, S.A., (2017). Contemporary Islamic Movements. 16th Edition. Tehran: SAMT. [In Persian].
17. Murray, P., (2015). Drivers of Regional Integration: Some Comparative Considerations, In Book: Drivers of Integration and Regionalism in Europe and Asia. Edited by Louis Brennan and Philomena Murray, London: Routledge.
18. OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) (2017). OIC Environment Report 2017, Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).
19. OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) (2018). OIC Economic Outlook 2018, challenges and Opportunities towards Achieving the OIC-2025. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).
20. Pew Research Center (2009). Mapping the Global Muslim Population. Washington, D.C.: the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
21. Putnam, R., (1993). Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
22. Roberts, N.E., (2019).Making Jerusalem the center of the Muslim World: Pan-Islam and the World Islamic congress of 1931. Contemporary Levant, 4)1(, 52-63.
23. Safavi, S.Y., (2008). Political Geography of the Islamic World. Sepehr, 67, 13-17. [In Persian].
24. Slocum, N., & Van Langenhove, L., (2005). Identity and Regional Integration, In Book: Global politics of Regionalism: an introduction. edited by Mary Farrell et al, London: Pluto Press.
25. Tabatabaei, M., (2001). Seyed Jamaluddin Asadabadi and the Eastern Awakening. Qom: Shorouq Kolbeh. [In Persian].
26. Wallerstein, I., (1974). The Modern World-System. New York: Academic Press.