Why does the idea of Islamic government attract so many supporters in the Middle East and so many opponents abroad? Readings: Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge:...

The Attraction of the Idea of Islamic Government
The idea of Islamic government attracts myriads of supporters in the Middle East and quite astonishingly it has got its own appeal before its opponents abroad. The primary reason why Islamic government has appealed to too many followers and oppositions is that, Islam is not merely a religion, it is also something else. Yes, Islam is a religion just like Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc, but it is more than being simply a religion. As a matter of fact Islam is also a “socio-political entity which might exist apart from the complex of religious beliefs and cult practices which are usually associated with it.”[footnoteRef:1] It is the socio-political essence of Islam that has rendered Islamic government a uniqueness of its own. [1: Jeffery, A. (1941). The Political Importance of Islam. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1(4), 383-395. ]
It can be interesting to learn that in many countries across the globe special importance is given to Islamic form of government due to the very political nature of the religious belief.[footnoteRef:2] Many predominantly Muslim countries, which are...