Islamic Law as a Cure for Political Law: The Withering of an Islamist Illusion

This contribution attempts to situate Islamization programmes that are being pressed by groups variously known as ‘Islamists’—the term used here, ‘Islamic fundamentalists’, or proponents of ‘political Islam.’ In the legal domain, Islamization programmes entail measures for replacing imported Western laws by Islamic law. Islamists typically claim that reinstating Islamic law will both restore a cultural identity corroded by Western influences and establish an ideal society. Many Islamization programmes involve establishing an Islamic state, meaning a state where the government itself is meant to be reconstituted along Islamic lines.