The question of whether or not Islam has a particular or peculiar relationship with politics is a

complex one to address. First, it requires one to consider what they are comparing Islam to when they
address this question. Second, one must be aware and careful of how they are defining both Islam and
politics, and what historical, social, political contexts are informing their definitions of each. And lastly,
one should avoid drawing shallow and general conclusions.
The term political Islam is a Western construct with an inherent negative judgment about
Islam. Hence, it is not a neutral term; rather, it suggests a distortion or corruption of properly religious
practice and an irrational mixing of religion with politics (Hirschkind, 15). Scholars who employ this
Western construct thus approach the study of Islam and politics from a particular vantage point: they
inevitably are measuring Islam against Western conceptions of religion and politics. Alternatively, it is
much more beneficial for one to approach the question of the relationship between Islam and politics by
first acknowledging that there is no universal definition of what constitutes religion and no universal
definition of what constitutes politics, and that the West certainly does not possess the right
standards or definitions. Next, a discerning scholar will be aware of the inherent pluralism and diversity
of Muslim politics that is, on the impossibility of a single theory to account for political Islam
(Mandaville, 1). This allows for the scholar to avoid making sweeping generalizations resulting in a
monolithic study of such a diverse and complex reality.
How, then, can one attempt to address the question of whether or not Islam has a particular
relationship with politics? First, one must clarify how they are using the term Islam. In order to avoid
broad generalizations, or myopic analyses, Islam should always be considered in relation to how it is
understood and experienced in specific contexts and circumstances (Mandaville, 5). Similarly, one must
clarify what they mean by politics. Conventionally, something is considered political by virtue of the
involvement of a particular sort of political act (6). A more useful interpretation would be to consider
as political all actors and activities involved in the establishment, maintenance or contestation or
particular visions of public morality (the good) and of social order (6). Such a definition is broad
enough to study as political the circumstances in Muslim states that do not fit what is conventionally
considered as political under the modern concept of the nation-state. Looking at things from this point
of view, enables one to parse out how conceptions of religion and politics are biasedly informed by
the concept of the modern nation-state that has a particular European history (7). By operating from
this point of reference, one considers religion to belong to a private realm, whereas the political
pervades in the realm of the public. Thus, any mixing of the two results in a discomfort on behalf of the
surveyor, who then attempts to explain or account for what they consider as the inherent tension and

irrational joining of the two. Not only does this frame of reference distort what is considered religious
and political, but it also distorts what is considered secular as well.
On the other hand, by broadening ones definitions and being aware of the contexts from which
such definitions are situated, one is able to approach the study of Islam in a more fruitful manner, as
they are able to take into consideration the compatibility of Islam with secular norms (Mandaville, 7),
a prevalent view among many Muslims and scholars. By considering such, the common argument that
Islam fuses religion and politicsin a way incompatible with Western analytical categories (Hirschkind,
14) becomes difficult to make. Therefore, the major peculiarity that exists between Islams relationship
with politics versus that of the Wests, is that the specific domains designated by these terms *religion
and politics], and the structure of their interrelations does not mirror the situation in Europe in regard to
European states and the Church (14). What is generally regarded as secular in the West the distinct
separation between the realm of religion and the realm of politics/the worldly state has both
similarities and contrasts between the understandings of the secular by many Muslims.
A major reason why a direct comparison of Islam and politics with the experience of the West
and secularism is difficult to make is due to the lack of formal church-like institutions in Islam
(Mandaville, 11) which results in the absence of one uniform Islamic position on the relationship
between religion and politics. What Muslims consider to constitute the political and the religious, where
they draw boundaries, how much religion actually informs their political decisions and vice versa; all
varies based on who is asked and where. Some Muslims contend that from Islamic sources one can
derive the basis for the creation of a very distinct and defined form of Islamic governance; whereas
other Muslims argue that any system of government is acceptable so long as it is compatible with the
moral principles of Islamic teaching (12). Under the latter view, the Western conception of the
relationship between religion and politics is possible to an extent, in that according to such an
interpretation, there can exist a state that claims to follow the guidelines of the Quran, yet still
maintains some sort of distinction between governmental policy and the sphere of the religious.
However, it is important to note that the existence of the Islamic idea that Islam is both religion and
state, refutes the practical possibility of their disjuncture in Islam (12).
In addition to the general absence of a singular religious authority in Islam, Islam is also
inextricable from many Muslims identities. As a result of this, for many Muslims religion can play an
empowering role in social institutions, such as serving as a means to delegitimize oppressive forms of
governance. Similarly, religion can be significantly present in public consciousness; which means that for
many Muslims, shedding their religious identity when they enter a public or secular sphere is not even

considered an option (Mandaville, 15). Ultimately, the relationship between Islam and politics is only
considered peculiar when placed in comparison to that of the Wests. The plurality of relationships that
exist between Islam and politics is not an abnormal or irrational phenomenon; rather, it is a complex
reality that manifests in a multitude of ways depending on the actors involved and the surrounding
contexts.