Islamic socialism
Encyclopedia
Islamic socialism is a term coined by various Muslim
leaders to describe a more spiritual
form of socialism
. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an
and Muhammad
are compatible with principles of equality
and the redistribution of wealth.
, a Companion
of Prophet Muḥammad, is credited by many as a principal antecedent of Islamic socialism.
He protested against the accumulation of wealth by the ruling class during ‘Uthmān's caliphate and urged the equitable redistribution of wealth.
The first experimental Islamic commune was established during the Russian Revolution of 1917
as part of the Wäisi movement
, an early supporter of the Soviet government. The Muslim Socialist Committee of Kazan
was also active at this time.
(in Shariati and Marx: A Critique of an "Islamic" Critique of Marxism by Assef Bayat). It is also sometimes used in discussions of the 1979 Iranian revolution
, including parties such as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
leaders to describe a more spiritual
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
form of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
are compatible with principles of equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
and the redistribution of wealth.
History
Abū Dharr al-GhifārīAbu Dharr al-Ghifari
Jundub ibn Junādah ibn Sakan , better known as Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī was an early convert to Islam. When he converted, Muhammad gave him a new name, Abdullah. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Ghifar tribe. No date of birth is known...
, a Companion
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
of Prophet Muḥammad, is credited by many as a principal antecedent of Islamic socialism.
He protested against the accumulation of wealth by the ruling class during ‘Uthmān's caliphate and urged the equitable redistribution of wealth.
The first experimental Islamic commune was established during the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
as part of the Wäisi movement
Wäisi movement
The Wäisi movement was a religious, social and political movement in Tatarstan and other Tatar-populated parts of Russia which took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also incorporated elements of class struggle and nationalism...
, an early supporter of the Soviet government. The Muslim Socialist Committee of Kazan
Muslim Socialist Committee of Kazan
Muslim Socialist Committee of Kazan was an organization which existed briefly in Kazan during the Russian Revolution.It was the best known of a number of Muslim Socialist Committees set up between February and April 1917...
was also active at this time.
List of notable Muslim socialists
- Jamal al-Din Afghani, one of the founders of Islamic modernism
- Rafi Ahmed KidwaiRafi Ahmed KidwaiRafi Ahmed Kidwai , was an Indian independence activist and a socialist, sometimes described as an Islamic socialist...
, Indian politician and cabinet minister from 1947–1954 - Jalal Al-e Ahmad, Iranian social and political critic
- Tan MalakaTan MalakaTan Malaka was an Indonesian nationalist activist and communist leader. A staunch critic of both the colonial Dutch East Indies government and the republican Sukarno administration that governed the country after the Indonesian National Revolution, he was also frequently in conflict with the...
, Indonesian Communist of Minangkabau descent and philosopher of dialectical materialismDialectical materialismDialectical materialism is a strand of Marxism synthesizing Hegel's dialectics. The idea was originally invented by Moses Hess and it was later developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels... - Abdul Kahar Muzzakar,Indonesian Islamist rebel which support some socialist and egalitarian policies like land reform, and abolition of local aristocracy and religious title
- Agus SalimAgus SalimHaji Agus Salim was one of Indonesia's founding fathers and prominent diplomats. He played a leading role in the creation of the Indonesian constitution in 1945 and served as Indonesia's Foreign Minister between 1947 and 1949.-Early life:...
, Indonesian hero, patron of Jong Islamienten Bond - Sjafruddin PrawiranegaraSjafruddin PrawiranegaraSjafruddin Prawiranegara, also written Syafruddin Prawiranegara, was an Indonesian politician, economist, and latterly Islamic philosopher.- Early life :...
, Masyumi politician - SukarnoSukarnoSukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
, first President of IndonesiaPresident of IndonesiaThe President of the Republic of Indonesia is the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Indonesia.The first president was Sukarno and the current president is Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.- Sukarno era :... - Shamsiah FakehShamsiah FakehShamsiah Fakeh was a Malaysian nationalist and feminist. She was the leader of Angkatan Wanita Sedar , Malaysia's first nationalist women organization and a prominent Malay leader of the Communist Party of Malaya ....
, Malaysian feminist and guerilla fighter - Siad BarreSiad BarreMohamed Siad Barre was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ....
, former from President of SomaliaSomali Democratic RepublicThe Somali Democratic Republic was the name that the communist regime of former President of Somalia Major General Mohamed Siad Barre gave to Somalia after seizing power during a bloodless coup d'état in 1969...
;1969-1991. Turned his back to communism in 1978 after the betrayal of the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. - Chaudhry Rehmat Ali
- Yasser ArafatYasser ArafatMohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
- Ahmed JibrilAhmed JibrilAhmed Jibril is the founder and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command , part of the left-wing, Palestinian national liberation movement....
- Mohammed Iqbal
- Faiz Ahmed FaizFaiz Ahmed FaizFaiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...
- Habib JalibHabib JalibHabib Jalib was a Pakistani revolutionary poet. A left-wing activist and politician, he was a staunch democrat who opposed martial law, authoritarianism and state oppression.-Early life:...
- Ibn-e-InshaIbn-e-InshaIbn-e-Insha was a Pakistani Leftist Urdu poet, humorist, travelogue writer and columnist. Along with his poetry, he was regarded one of the best humorists of Urdu...
- Sadat Hassan Manto
- Hanif RamayHanif RamayMuhammad Hanif Ramay was an internationally renowned intellectual, journalist and former Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab, and he was among the founding fathers of the Pakistan Peoples Party .He was also speaker of Punjab Assembly from October 1993 to November 1996.-Early life and...
- Zulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
- Ali ShariatiAli ShariatiAli Shariati was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist, who focused on the sociology of religion. He is held as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century and has been called the 'ideologue of the Iranian Revolution'.-Biography:Ali....
Islamic Marxism
Islamic Marxism is a term that has been used to describe Ali ShariatiAli Shariati
Ali Shariati was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist, who focused on the sociology of religion. He is held as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century and has been called the 'ideologue of the Iranian Revolution'.-Biography:Ali....
(in Shariati and Marx: A Critique of an "Islamic" Critique of Marxism by Assef Bayat). It is also sometimes used in discussions of the 1979 Iranian revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
, including parties such as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization.
See also
- Islamic economic jurisprudence
- Islamic economics in the worldIslamic economics in the worldIslamic economics in practice, or economic policies supported by self-identified Islamic groups, has varied throughout its long history. Traditional Islamic concepts having to do with economics included...
- Islamic capitalismIslamic capitalismProto-capitalist economies and free markets were active during the Islamic Golden Age and Muslim Agricultural Revolution, where an early market economy and form of merchant capitalism took root between the 8th–12th centuries....
- Islamic economics in the world
- Zanj RebellionZanj RebellionThe Zanj Rebellion was the culmination of series of small revolts. It took place near the city of Basra, located in southern Iraq over a period of fifteen years . It grew to involve over 500,000 slaves who were imported from across the Muslim empire and claimed over “tens of thousands of lives in...
- QarmatiansQarmatiansThe Qarmatians were a Shi'a Ismaili group centered in eastern Arabia, where they attempted to established a utopian republic in 899 CE. They are most famed for their revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate...
- Bayt al-malBayt al-malBayt al-mal is an Arabic term that is translated as "House of money" or "House of Wealth." Historically, it was a financial institution responsible for the administration of taxes in Islamic states, particularly in the early Islamic Caliphate. It served as a royal treasury for the caliphs and...
- Arab SocialismArab socialismArab socialism is a political ideology based on an amalgamation of Pan-Arabism and socialism. Arab socialism is distinct from the much broader tradition of socialist thought in the Arab world, which predates Arab socialism by as much as fifty years...
- National communismNational communismThe term National Communism describes the ethnic minority communist currents that arose in the former Russian Empire after Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik Party seized power in October 1917....