Publication

Much of the recent literature on the evolution of Political Islam in the Middle East and North Africa has focused on the extent to which Islamist political parties have become ‘secularized’ or not, at least in terms of their political goals and rhetoric. This paper builds on this approach and makes it comparative in nature. It explores the historical, institutional, and theological similarities between political Islam and political Catholicism. In doing so, it reminds us that Catholic Christendom and Muslim ‘Dar al-Islam’ were transnational religious-political orders long before the Westphalian system appeared. That this common legacy continues to cloud today’s political discourse should therefore surprise no one.