Author: Ihab Shabana
Affiliation: University of Peloponnese, Greece
Organization/Publisher: MDPI
Date/Place: April 17, 2020/ Basel, Switzerland
Type of Literature: Journal Article
Number of Pages: 14
Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/4/196
Keywords: Political Islam; Islamism, Middle East, Britain, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Iran, Shi’a, Lebanon, Transnationalism
Brief:
The Middle East is a volatile region both politically and economically and remained under the influence of several empires. Britain had an immense influence on politics of MENA (Middle East and North Africa) until the world transformed into a unipolar world after the fall of the Soviet Union. Britain foreign policy in MENA has been analyzed by scholarship but there are still some aspects that need to be academically highlighted, including the rise of political Islam post-Iranian revolution. Although political Islam dates to the 19th and 20th century, this study focuses on the era between 1978-1990 with the help of archives available at the UK’s FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office). According to this study, which analyzes the period 1978-79, FCO adopted approaches focused on four things: the emergence of Shia-Sunni politics in MENA, inclusion of non-state violent organizations in political analysis, the threatening alliance of communists and Islamists, and Islamic solidarity movements at the international level. The study elaborates on the dichotomy faced by FCO while it analyzed the rise of political Islam, i.e. sometimes focusing on existing fault lines, other times assessing it as a threat for Britain’s influence in the region. The study concludes that officials at FCO lacked understanding in the evolving discourse of influence and its impact on sectarian divides in the MENA region. The forecasting of political Islam and Shi’a mobilization was there but Britain failed to assess the sentiments and ideological inspirations post-1979 Iranian revolution. The analytical tools as evident in the FCO archives were based on regional history, politics, and economics.
By: Muhammad Taimoor Bin Tanveer, CIGA Research Associate
