The Changing Role of Islam in International Relations

Abstract

This paper examines different aspects of the global Islamic movement and its impacts and

implications. We study the theoretical background and different perspectives in Islamic ideology .We

discuss the basis of inter-state relations between a Muslim polity and other Muslim or non-Muslim

polities that can be found in traditional and neo-traditional literatures relevant to the topic. This paper

argues that peace is the original basis in Islam and rejects the idea of perpetual war between Islamic

and non-Islamic polity as espoused by Jihadist groups that have raised concerns among security

agencies and non-Muslim political and community leaders. Political Islam is undergoing a

transformation from being an opposition and marginalised political project to becoming a counterhegemonic

movement fighting at the front line between the West and the rest of the world. The strength

of Islamism is shaped not only by its Islamic discourse and rhetoric, but also by its social components

and political programs. This paper argues that the West must in one way or another understand,

recognize and accommodate Islamisms political motivations and visions. Religious re-awakening,

often in the form of fundamental revivalism, is a major phenomenon in the international relations today,

especially in the Islamic regions.