Pan-Islamism Would Be Dreadful In Application

The main aim of this debate will be to deduce whether or not Pan-Islamism is a plausible aim in modern days. Historical Background: The model pan-Islamism aims for is the early years of Islam– the reign of Muhammad and the early Caliphate– when the Muslim world was thought to be strong and uncorrupted in one united state. In the modern era, Pan-Islamism was championed by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani who sought unity among Muslims to resist colonial occupation of Muslim lands. Although sometimes described as "liberal", al-Afghani did not advocate constitutional government but simply envisioned “the overthrow of individual rulers who were lax or subservient to foreigners, and their replacement by strong and patriotic men. ” In a review of the theoretical articles of his Paris-based newspaper there was nothing "favoring political democracy or parliamentarianism,” according to his biographer. While Afghani's interest in Islamic law and theology was scant, later Pan-Islamism in the post-colonial world was strongly associated with Islamism. Leading Islamists such as Sayyid Qutb, Abul Ala Maududi, and Ayatollah Khomeini all stressed their belief that a return to traditional Sharia law would make Islam united and strong again. [1] Opening Argument: It is clear and evident that a formation of a theocratic nation dominated by Islamic law will eventually result in a process of dehumanization, denial of basic liberties, and widespread corruption. A primary argument of a Pan-Islamist would be to state that idealistically, corruption will not occur. Idealistically, Communism is about extreme equality, where people cannot transpire between classes, as there are none. Realistically, a Communist nation will occur in deep poverty, corruption, and ultimate autocratic rule of the governmental elite. The same will occur in a Pan-Islamic nation. This specific Pan-Islamic nation will consist of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Sudan, Algeria, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia and Niger, as they are dominated by either a majority Muslim population or by a Muslim leadership and Islamic law. I have explained in my previous statement that these nations are picked due to their close proximity as well as all of them being connected somehow by borders. I have listed a total of 27 nations, but some are left out as they are minor nations or are not very prevalent. We will use this as a margin of error as well as a realistic margin, granted that not all Muslim nations would want to be unified under one, even more theocratic, all powerful and corrupt banner. Evidence and Statistics: 783,562 km2 – Turkey 86,600 km2 – Azerbaijan 1,648,195 km2 – Iran 437,072 km2 – Iraq 185,180 km2 – Syria 2,149,690 km2 – Saudi Arabia 528,076 km2 – Yemen 309,501 km2 – Oman 803,940 km2 – Pakistan 2,724,900 km2 – Kazakhstan 865 km2 - Bahrain 17,820 km2 – Kuwait 89,342 km2 – Jordan 83,600 km2 – UAE 1,010,407 km2 – Egypt 11,571 km2 – Qatar 652, 864 km2 – Afghanistan 10,452 km2 – Lebanon 491,210 km2 – Turkey 143,100 km2 – Tajikistan 448, 987 km2 – Uzbekistan 1,886,068 km2 – Sudan 2,381,741 km2 – Algeria 1,240,192 km2 –Mali 1,267,000 km2 – Niger 446,550 km2 – Morocco 163,610 km2 - Tunisia[2] This is the land mass of each of the 27 bordering Muslim dominated or theocratic Muslim ruled nations. All together, they would cover a land mass consist of 20,001,221 km2, covering all of the Middle East as well as all of Northern Africa. The total population of these 27 nations combined would amass 822,769,538 people. Argument Section 1: Social Clash Middle Eastern and North African nations are consistently throughout the world some of the most poverty ridden, corrupt, and underdeveloped regions in the world. Each of these nations have a widespread Muslim population, with most adhering to Sunni Islam, while nation such as Iran and parts of Iraq follow Shia Islam. Evidently, a religious disparity will occur, with Shia and Sunni Muslims clashing, due to their different religious ideologies. One can already experience this religious divide as Sunnis flock to different nations and regions within their nations. Some nations have already been deemed threatening to others, such as relations between Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Each nation also has its own traditions, history, background, and customs. Uniting people under the name of Islam has more idealistic than realistic application, as there are many details that coincide with a united Muslim Caliphate. Argument Section 2: Corruption This Muslim Caliphate will cover more land than Russia, as well as a population almost 6 times as large. We can already observe the amount of widespread corruption in China, which will have a larger population but a smaller land mass than this Muslim Caliphate. Evidently, corruption will occur, in regard to religious as well as monetary influence. The most prevalent part is surveillance, which will not be implemented accordingly. It is unrealistic to assume that one federal theocratic body could rule over such a massive nation and population. Due to this irregularity, regional governments will need to be formed, in order to maintain judicial and legislative balance in the nation. In order to maintain a fully functioning theocratic government, laws have to be created from Islamic law. The main issue here is that Islamic Law is to be interpreted, as not all is clear and evident. Interpretation varies significantly and can result in a changing of vernacular in order to create sufficient reasoning for the passing of a very controversial law or regulation. I can relate the theocratic government to the Papacy during Medieval Europe, where indulgences were sold in exchange for favors or monetary value. The Papacy and clergy was highly corrupt, and had complete dominion over Europe due to the religious influence, until the Reformation occurred. For the majority of the early stages of the Caliphate’s formation, the Islamic government will have complete and utter dominion over the majority of the nation. Additionally, the leader of this nation will have tremendous power across the world. It is palpable that an Islamic theocrat maintaining remarkable power will not transpire with the rest of the world. I shall provide additional arguments later on. You may begin your opening statement. Sources:[1] . https://en.wikipedia.org...[2]Information about each nation is taken from wikipedia (Mainly the numbers).