Commentary on “Islamic State” Thoughts of Islamism

Abstract: In the theories of modern Islamism, the terminology of “Islamic state” has special political meanings that include: objecting to modern nation state based on national sovereignty, reestablishing the Islamic state which carries out Islamic law and Allah’s sovereignty. This article probes the theories of modern Islamism thorough analyzing the thoughts of Islamism theorists, such as Muhammad Rashid Rida, Maududi, Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Khomeini, and Husan al-Turabi. The common characteristics of their theories on the “Islamic state” include: they objected to national identity and advocated religious identity; they refused the secular national sovereignty and advocated Allah’s sovereignty; they opposed the separation of politics and religion and claimed to establish the Islamic state; they rejected tyranny and despotism and advocated Islamic democracy based on the principle of “consultation”.