ABSTRACT

Islamic radicalism postulated the restoration of Islam as an eminently political endeavor. Contemporary Islamic thought, particularly in its radicalist variety, accords political struggle and power the most pivotal function in its strategy as a whole. The second Gulf war afforded various Islamist movements a rare opportunity to put some of their ideas into practice. In contemporary Islamic thought, democracy is denuded of its neutral connotations and descriptive attributes. The rhetoric of fundamentalist notions made it possible for a whole host of Islamic movements to rally to Baghdad's cause. The discourse of contemporary Islamic radicalism derives its possibilities and rules of formation from the writings of three Muslim thinkers and activists: Abu al-ATa al-Maududi, Sayyid Qutb, and Ayatollah Khomeini. Qutb, al-Maududi, and Khomeini articulated a new Islamic theory and established the contemporary discourse of a variety of Islamic political organizations. Society as a whole had to be remolded in the image and spirit of Islam.