Behind all Islamic reform movements is the rejection of the western idea of nation-state and the principle of separation between the church and state. All Islamic reform movements seek to change Islam and society on the basis of a return to a strict adherence to the Qur’an and the Hadiths. To reform Islam and society, reform movements advocate the taking of political power in order to command that which is proper and forbid that which is reprehensible. In brief, this means that life and societies have to be governed by the Shari’a. Governance according to the Shari’a can only be realized and guaranteed by a government based upon it. An Islamic government ensures the application of the Shari’a thereby preserving the moral order upon which the integrity of the community of believers depends. Contemporary The following beliefs provide the ideological framework for Islamic reform movements: Islam is a total way of life. Therefore religion is integral to politics, state and society. The political, military, and economic weaknesses of the world of Islam are due to having strayed from Islam and followed western, secular and materialistic ideologies and values. Both western liberal nationalism and Marxist socialism have failed, because they are antithetical to Islam. Islam as found in the Qur’an and the Hadiths, and in the example of the early Islamic community/state provides the true alternative ideology for Muslims. Muslims must re-establish God’s rule, the sovereignty of God on earth by re-instituting Islamic Law, the blueprint for society for all time. The new Islamic order does not reject science and technology. However, modernization is subordinated to Islam to guard against the westernization and secularization of Muslim society and community. The process of Islamization requires organizations or societies built around dynamic nuclei of committed and trained believers who call on all to repe...
