98
POLITICAL MODERNISATION: WEAK AND AUTHORITARIAN STATES
traditions rather than their decline (cf. Bauman 1997, Sztompka 1993). This is what is taking place in the Middle East at present. Not only members of Islamist movements, but broad swathes of Middle Eastern populations react positively both to the politically relevant classical concepts of Islam and to the newly formulated and interpreted traditions. Unlike secular political actors, these traditions speak in the familiar language of Islam. Middle Eastern societies are religious and secularisation has not taken place (cf. Inglehart and Norris 2004, Espozito and Mogahed 2007). Moreover, with its emphasis on individual morality and the resurgence thereof, the ideology of Islamism is intellectually undemanding and accessible. In a vaguely formulated alternative it offers simple solutions to a wide range of complex problems. However, the major cause of the rise of political Islam over the last few decades is the prevailing conviction in Muslim societies of a deepening crisis and the moral degeneration of their political elites. Here is where the political potential of Islam is realised, at the point of intersection between Islam and reality in the Middle East. In post-modern Europe a moralising discourse is regarded as ridiculous, embarrassing and almost indecent. On the contrary, in the Middle East and in the Christian United States, the political discourse is full of terms like good and bad, God and Satan. And this language resonates amongst a segment of the politically aware public.
(4) COSMIC WAR AND THE SATANISATION OF POLITICAL ENEMIES What this means is that not only Islam, but quotidian existence and a frustrating political reality may provide a text suitable for interpretation, especially for Islamists, in whose attitudes and activities this world and its politics are often more important than a transcendental faith (Kepel 2002, Juergensmeyer 2008). For the Islamists, Islam, with its social critique and politically relevant imaginary, is becoming the context for a critical reading of the corrupt world in which they live. Culture, including religion, is a storehouse of interpretations and meanings for understanding and making sense of everyday life, apparent social chaos, and life on the margins. The social appeal of political Islam does not therefore derive simply from a propagandistic popularisation of a specific interpretation of Islam, but above all from the popularisation of a critical interpretation and moralising reading of the real condition of society and its powerful elites. For moderate, let alone militant Islamists, this world is a place where “cosmic war” is being waged4. Islamists share a tendency to read the world in this 4
This way of reading the world is common to all religious and nationalist terrorist movements and is by no means restricted to Islamist circles.
Ukázka elektronické knihy, UID: KOS233570