Islamic anarchism is based on an interpretation
of Islam as "submission to God" which either
prohibits or is highly critical of the role
of human authority.
== Historical anarchist tendencies in Islam
==
Throughout Islamic history there have been
Muslim groups, movements, and individuals
which could be described as anti-authoritarian,
anti-capitalist, egalitarian, or opposed to
the rule of specific governments. Among these,
only a few are properly associated with the
anarchist label.
=== Kharijites ===
An early example of anti-authoritarianism
in Islam is the movement of the Khawarij,
which dates back to the time of the split
between Sunni and Shi'i Islam. The Shia claimed
Ali and his descendants (the Ahl al-Bayt)
were the rightful successors of Muhammad.
The Sunnis believed (at least initially) that
the leader of all the Muslims had to be from
the Quraysh tribe but could be chosen by the
Muslim community. Sunnis also tended to be
conservative; as long as certain minimal functions
were being carried out, it was wrong to rebel
against the lawful Muslim ruler, even when
they were being sinful.
The Khawarij initially supported the leadership
of Ali, but turned against him when they disagreed
with some of his decisions. They claimed that
any qualified Muslim could be the Imam, the
community's spiritual and religious leader.
They were also more willing to rebel against
Muslim rulers.
At least one sect of Kharajites, the Najdiyya,
believed that if no suitable imam was present
in the community, then the position could
be dispensed with. The Nukkari, a subsect
of the Ibadiyya, reportedly adopted a similar
belief.
=== Muʿtazili ===
A strand of Muʿtazili thought paralleled
that of the Najdiyya: if rulers inevitably
became tyrants, then the only acceptable course
of action was to depose them.
=== Sheikh Bedreddin ===
Sheikh Bedreddin (1359–1420) (Ottoman Turkish:
شیخ بدرالدین‎) was a proto-Socialist
revolutionary Sufi theologian and charismatic
preacher who led a rebellion against the Ottoman
Empire in 1416. His full name was Şeyh Bedrettin
Mahmud Bin İsrail Bin Abdülaziz.
His writings were condemned by a number of
Ottoman religious scholars such as İsmail
Hakkı Bursevi. Others instead praise him.
He is a popular figure among Turkey's left.
Nâzım Hikmet was jailed for inciting rebellion
after encouraging military cadets to read
Bedreddin's work. The musicians Cem Karaca
and O. Z. Livaneli composed a song based on
Hikmet's epic poem, the Şeyh Bedrettin Destanı.
In Hikmet's work, Bedreddin and his companions
emphasize that all things must be shared "except
the lips of the beloved."
Sheikh Bedrettin's proto-socialist ideas emphasised
direct action, direct democracy, international
and interfaith human solidarity, equality
and communal life. He is highly respected
among the Turkish anarchists.
=== Ali Shariati ===
An important and influential figure in the
20th century was Ali Shariati, who was considered
the principal theoretician and leader of the
popular movement that ultimately culminated
in the mass uprisings that led to the Iranian
Revolution and the overthrow and dissolution
of the Pahlavi Iran on 11 February 1979.
From the 1950s and on, Shariati was continually
persecuted and often imprisoned in solitary
confinement by the Imperial authorities with
the support of the mainline Shi'a clergy who
feared that Shariati was poised to become
a national leader in the same vein as Mohammad
Mosaddegh. Shariati's anticlerical and populist
interpretation of Twelver Shi'i Islam was
strongly influenced by the nationalist republican
historian and philosopher, Ahmad Kasravi,
who had advocated a secular reformist interpretation
of Islam, intertwined with a detailed study
of the history of the Iranian peoples.
However, while Kasravi was a conservative
nationalist, Shariati was on the opposite
end of the spectrum, embracing both the far
left and radical traditionalists. Shariati
was one of the very few national figures who
was popular and respected across the diverse
ethnolinguistic spectrum of Iran, as loved
by the Sunni Kurds and Baloch people as he
was by the Shia.The continuous persecution
of Shariati by both the Imperial State and
the followers of Ruhollah Khomeini began to
take its toll on his health. After his last
incarceration, having spent eighteen months
in solitary, Shariati spent the next three
years under close surveillance and his freedom
of movement highly restricted under virtual
house arrest. On 20 March 1975, under the
stipulation that he remain in exile permanently,
Shariati was granted permission to leave Iran
for the United Kingdom. Three weeks after
his arrival in London, Shariati suffered a
heart attack and shortly thereafter died.
Although Shariati was not an anarchist, his
vision of Islam was highly influenced by the
Third-Worldism that he encountered as a student
in Paris — ideas that class war and revolution
would bring about a just and classless society
— from one side, and the Islamic fundamentalist
movements of his time from the other side.
He is said to have adopted the idea of Gharbzadegi
from Jalal Al-e-Ahmad and given it "its most
vibrant and influential second life." was
that of a religion based upon the values of
social justice, women's rights, minority rights,
land reform for farmers and agrarians, advocacy
for the poor and indigent, as well as a direct
democracy that would allow for self-governance
instead of having to rely on career politicians
and elected representatives. He believed that
the only true reflection of the Islamic concept
of Tawhid (unity and oneness of God) is a
classless society.
== See also ==
Related movements
Pacifism in Islam
Islamic Socialism
Arab Socialism
Liberal movements within Islam
Third World Socialism
Islam and democracy
Post-colonial anarchismRelevant individuals
Ali Shariati
Isabelle Eberhardt
Gustave-Henri Jossot
Hakim Bey
Michael Muhammad KnightSocial groups/places
Bedouin
Khawarij
Pirate utopias
Taqwacore
Anarchism in Africa
Anarchism in TurkeyRelated concepts
Political quietism in Islam
Political aspects of Islam
Caliphate
Islam and democracy
Shura
Anarchism and religionOther religious anarchisms
Jewish anarchism
Anarchism and Orthodox Judaism
Christian anarchism
Buddhist anarchism
== References ==
== Further reading ==
"Imagining an Islamic Anarchism: A New Field
of Study is Ploughed" by Anthony T. Fiscella,
published in Religious Anarchism: New Perspectives
(2009) by Alexandre Christoyannopoulos ed.
"Varieties of Islamic Anarchism: A Brief Introduction"
by Anthony T. Fiscella, zine, downloadable
at Alpine Anarchist
== External links ==
Anarca-Islam by Mohamed Jean Veneuse
Toward an Anti-Authoritarian Islam / Natural
Islam by Salim
Muslim Anarchist Charter Julian Yaqub
