World Religions › Contemporary
Islamic revival and political Islam
1970s – today· Belief or practice· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Mostly agreed by scholarsMost historians agree; some details uncertain.
A broad turn since the 1970s toward more visible Islamic practice and toward movements seeking to base law and government on Islam.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Disillusion with secular nationalism after the Arab defeat by Israel in 1967, oil wealth after 1973 and rapid urbanization drew many Muslims back toward their faith. Mosque attendance, headscarves, Islamic banking and religious media grew. Political Islam, or Islamism, took many forms: parties contesting elections, like Turkey's AKP; a revolutionary state, Iran after 1979; and violent fringe groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS. Islam, with about 2 billion followers, is the fastest-growing major religion, mainly through births.
Why it matters
It reshaped politics from Morocco to Indonesia, challenged the assumption that modernization brings secularism, and became central to Western foreign policy after 2001.
Sources and history
Surveys such as Pew's of Muslims worldwide, election results, movement writings, and studies by scholars including Gilles Kepel and Olivier Roy.
Questions and debates
Scholars disagree on its causes (faith, politics, economics or identity) and on whether Islamist movements can become stable democratic parties.
Inside this (3)
Connections (7)
▸Hagia Sophia became a mosque again amid Islamic revival and political IslamMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Atatürk's secular republic made the former church and mosque a museum in 1934. Turkish Islamist and nationalist groups campaigned for decades to restore it as a mosque. In July 2020 a top court annulled the 1934 decree, and President Erdoğan, whose AKP grew out of Turkey's Islamist movement, reopened it for Friday prayers.
When and where
Istanbul, July 10, 2020 court ruling and decree; first Friday prayers July 24, 2020; President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey's religious affairs directorate.
How do we know?
The court ruling and presidential decree are public, as are protests from UNESCO, Greece, the World Council of Churches and Orthodox leaders.
Questions and debates
How much the move reflected religious conviction versus domestic nationalist politics is debated; Erdoğan framed it as national sovereignty and the legacy of the 1453 conquest.
▸Wahhabism inspired strands of Islamic revival and political IslamMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Wahhabism teaches strict monotheism and rejects saint veneration. After the 1973 oil boom, Saudi Arabia funded mosques, schools, scholarships and free Qurans worldwide, spreading Salafi ideas of returning to Islam's first generations. Most Salafis are quietist, but jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS fused Salafi theology with revolutionary ideas.
When and where
From the Muslim World League (1962) and Islamic University of Medina (1961), expanding sharply after 1973 and after the 1979 seizure of Mecca's Grand Mosque.
How do we know?
Records of Saudi-funded institutions and textbooks, studies of their graduates, and jihadist writings that cite Ibn Abd al-Wahhab.
Questions and debates
How much Saudi funding caused extremism, versus local wars and repression, is debated; spending estimates vary widely, and since 2017 Saudi leaders have promoted 'moderate Islam'.
▸Founding of the State of Israel became a focus of Islamic revival and political IslamMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Arab defeats in 1948 and especially 1967, when Israel took East Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque, discredited secular Arab nationalism. Many turned to Islam as the answer, and Islamist movements framed the conflict as religious, with Jerusalem, Islam's third-holiest city, at its center. Hamas, founded in 1987, grew from the Muslim Brotherhood.
When and where
Middle East, 1948 and 1967; an arson attack on al-Aqsa in 1969 prompted the founding of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; Hamas in Gaza, 1987.
How do we know?
Islamist writings and charters, such as Hamas's 1988 charter; the OIC's founding records; and studies by scholars like Gilles Kepel.
Questions and debates
How much the conflict drives Islamism versus local repression and economic failure is debated; many Palestinians and Arab states frame it in national, not religious, terms.
▸Muslim Brotherhood pioneered Islamic revival and political IslamHistorical record
The connection
The Brotherhood was the first mass Islamist movement. It combined preaching, welfare and politics, aiming at a society and state guided by sharia. Its branches across the Arab world became the backbone of the later revival; Qutb's radical writings shaped militant offshoots, while other members contested elections.
When and where
Ismailia, Egypt, 1928; Hassan al-Banna; Sayyid Qutb's 'Milestones' (1964); branches in Syria, Jordan, Sudan and Palestine.
Historical evidence
Al-Banna's and Qutb's writings, Brotherhood records, and historians such as Richard Mitchell.
Questions and debates
Whether the Brotherhood is a democratic movement or a gateway to extremism is sharply debated; several states ban it, others allow its parties.
▸Islamic revival and political Islam seeks to apply Hadith collections and Sharia lawMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
A central aim of political Islam since the 1970s has been making Sharia the basis of state law. Some countries wrote it into constitutions or penal codes, such as Pakistan's Hudood laws (1979) and Sudan's 1983 laws, while many Muslims see Sharia mainly as personal ethics and worship, not state legislation.
When and where
Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan and beyond from the 1970s; Egypt's 1980 constitutional amendment made Sharia 'the principal source' of legislation.
How do we know?
Constitutions and legal codes, movement manifestos, and Pew's 2013 survey, which found majorities in many Muslim countries favoring Sharia as official law, but wide disagreement on its meaning.
Questions and debates
What applying Sharia means today is hotly debated among Muslims: traditional punishments, family law only, or broad moral principles compatible with democracy.
▸Iranian Revolution energized Islamic revival and political IslamHistorical record
The connection
The revolution showed Islamists across the Muslim world that a secular, Western-backed ruler could fall. Iran backed Hezbollah in Lebanon from 1982 and issued Khomeini's 1989 death decree against novelist Salman Rushdie. It also sharpened Saudi–Iranian and Sunni–Shia rivalry.
When and where
Tehran, 1979; Ayatollah Khomeini; Hezbollah, 1982; the Rushdie fatwa, February 14, 1989.
Historical evidence
Khomeini's writings, the 1979 constitution, Iranian state records, and studies such as Vali Nasr's 'The Shia Revival' (2006).
Questions and debates
Historians debate whether 1979 was mainly a religious revolution or a broad political revolt that the clergy captured.
▸September 11 attacks were carried out by an extremist fringe of Islamic revival and political IslamHistorical record
The connection
Al-Qaeda belonged to the small jihadist wing of Islamism, born in the 1980s war against the Soviets in Afghanistan and drawing on Qutb and militant Salafi ideas. The vast majority of Muslims and many Islamist parties condemned the attacks, but in the West they made 'political Islam' a security concern, sometimes blurring all Islamist movements together.
When and where
Afghanistan under Taliban protection; Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the 1998 declaration of war on Americans; planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Historical evidence
Bin Laden's own statements, including a 2004 video claiming responsibility; the 9/11 Commission Report; and al-Qaeda documents seized in 2011.
Questions and debates
Scholars such as Olivier Roy and Gilles Kepel debate whether jihadism is radicalized Islam or radicals using Islam, and how much politics drives it.