Islam and politics

Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Quran, ḥadīth literature, and sunnah (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his lifetime), the history of Islam, and elements of political movements outside Islam. The political suggestions of Islam are a series of arguments developed on the basis of the recommendations of the ulema to the ruling class (Ulu'l-amr) through the statements of the Quran and hadith and the stories of the sirah, similar to the development of the concepts of sharia. Islamic studies do not reveal a specific Islamic identity and political attitude with sharp boundaries for the early period. However, literature written in later periods and developed over centuries can provide a detailed conceptual basis for practice and guidance. Opinions regarding management emphasizes following of the religious/political leadership of Muhammad's successors, who, according to Sunnis, were chosen Caliphs by the representatives of the people (Arabic: أهل الحلّ والعقد, romanized: Ahl al-Ḥall wa’l-‘Aḳd; those who are qualified to unseated and to pledge allegiance), and according to Shiites, divinely chosen Imams through Muhammad's lineage; it also included the leader's obligation to comply with sharia and shura decisions and the condemnation or removal of unjust rulers for some. Olivier Roy writes that Classical Islamic thought is overflowing with treatises on governing, advice to sovereigns, and didactic tales. They do not reflect on the nature of politics, but on the nature of the good ruler and of good government (advice, techniques, paradigms, anecdotes). A significant change in the Muslim world was the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922). In the modern era (19th–20th centuries), common Islamic political themes have been resistance to Western imperialism and enforcement of sharīʿa law through democratic or militant struggle. Events such as the defeat of Arab armies in the Six-Day War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism as a viable alternative have increased the appeal of Islamic movements such as Islamism, Islamic fundamentalism, and Islamic democracy, especially in the context of the global sectarian divide and conflict between Sunnīs and Shīʿītes, along with the popular dissatisfaction with secularist ruling regimes in the Muslim world.