The politics of Islamic social movements: Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait: A comparative study

This thesis examines the politics of social movements in three different contexts: Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. These modern Islamic movements advocate radical ideology as a way to reach power following the Western revolutionary model. They invented ostensible "Islamic Ideology" in order to compete with local regimes and Western hegemony. They advocate a restrictive interpretation of Islamic law (Sharia) such as the implementation of criminal law (hudud), enforcement of complete segregation between men and women; they call for a full revival of the Islamic caliphate. Despite their similar ideologies, these groups tend to differ in their political forms. They run the spectrum from political parties, dissident groups, separatist movements and other political structures.; This thesis is an investigation of the main reasons behind the multiple forms of Islamic movements. It adopts least similar comparison as research design and structuralism as school of thought to explain this newly emerging social phenomenon. Three case studies were chosen to demonstrate the interplay of different kinds of regime types and the political forms of several Islamic movements. While such movements constitute part of the democratic process in semi-democratic Kuwait, Islamic groups are dissidents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and separatists under the authoritarian presidential rule of Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan. This study argues that global and local structural ties help shape the different forms of Islamic groups. Their political contours have been fashioned by American policies in the Middle East, oppressive regimes and their own totalitarian ideologies and structures.; Therefore, this study concludes that regime types are significant in shaping the structure of Islamic movements. However, the totalitarian tendency is a substantial component of the ideology and constitution of Islamic organizations. Instead of suppressing others, the participation of Islamic groups with other forces is recommended to fight local authoritarianism and to help create an autonomous and vibrant civil society.