Voting for Islamists: Mapping the Role of Religion

Much has been written on political advantages conferred to Islamist parties. These advantages are often viewed as resulting from the parties’ organizational strength, their economic policies, or the expected material benefits they award. The role of religion in motivating Islamist support has been largely underplayed, and even less attention has been given to the various dimensions of Islam. This gap in the research remains conspicuous, as evidence from European, African, and American contexts point to a very real relationship between various facets of religion and electoral patterns. This chapter reviews how historical legacies and social conditions in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt have shaped electoral behavior, including the ways in which organizational, economic, or religious factors are associated with Islamist support. Employing original survey data, it investigates the dominant explanations of electoral support as well as the influence of three religious factors—religious identity, practice, and preferences toward the role of Islam in the state. We find evidence in all three countries that citizens’ preferences for a role of religion in the state is strongly correlated with voting for Islamist parties. In Tunisia, religious practice was also significantly associated with support for Islamists. Religious identity was never significant in our cases, however. Attitudes toward party organization and toward service provision were associated with Islamist support in Tunisia and Libya, respectively. Importantly, religious factors were more consistently related to Islamist support than the organizational, economic, and material incentives that have been given so much attention elsewhere.