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Kepel Jihad
Islamization in Algeria and the Sudan
In this chapter, Kepel traces Islamization of Algeria to the first and most serious riot since independence in 1962. The rioting groups were members of young urban poor people. An Islamic Salvation Front was formed in 1989 by a coalition of several leaders. The followers were former jihad fighters. Radical Islamism had started to surface in 1982 led by Mustafa Bouyali, who aimed at fighting to remove the current rule and replace it with an Islamic sharia one. The chapter also traces the sources of Sudan Islamization that happened between 1974 and 1989. The first sharia rule in the Sudan was instituted by President Jaa’far in 1983, which lead to a second civil war.
The Forced Secularization of Turkish Islamists
In this chapter, Kepel focuses on the historical accounts that led to the secularization of Turkey, as we know it today. Turkey had been under the Ottoman Empire before gaining independence. Secularization of Turkish Islamism was a result of defeat in the polls all the time. The Islamists tried to set up political parties to compete in the elections but hardly succeeded. Their negative attitude towards the western economic system made it hard for them to achieve success, which forced them to secularize.
Conclusion
In this chapter, Kepel summarizes
the whole book and the way Islamism failed in many of the Middle Eastern
countries. He cites that Islamism in Sudan
and Afghanistan
had already consolidated power, but were put down by the first obstacle they
encountered (Kepel 362). This was trying to solve internal problems using
democracy. It was clear Islamism does not match the democratic procedures,
especially because it was based on military force (Kepel 362). He summarizes
the whole trail of Islamism, which mostly resulted after Arab countries gained
independence.
Work Cited
Kepel, Gilles. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. London: I.B. Tauris, 2006. Print.