Islamic Political Thought

Sectarianism, Hybrid War and Rebuilding New CENTO; Finding a Transnational Initiative for Revival of Muslim Ummah

Document Type : Research Article (International Relation)

Author

PhD Candidate, Shanghai International Studies University, China

Abstract

The Ummah's unity has been shattered by the divide-and-rule machinations of the US through its "Global War on Terror", seemingly rendering the dream of pragmatic geopolitical cooperation between the world's majority-Muslim states a political fantasy. The so-called "Clash of Civilizations" hasn't just been weaponized to provoke inter-civilizational conflicts, but also intra-civilizational ones too, which in the Ummah's case took the form of violent sectarianism. While "conventional knowledge" would suggest that there's no surmounting these obstacles in the near future, Iran might actually be able to pioneer a breakthrough if it revives and reforms the Old Cold War-era CENTO alliance of itself, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iraq in order to symbolically contradict the sectarian trend and enter into mutually beneficial strategic relations with its three most important neighbors.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Abdo, Geneive (2017). The New Sectarianism: The Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of the Shi'a-Sunni Divide. Oxford University Press.
Abrahamian, Ervand (2013). The Coup: 1953, the CIA, and the Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations. The New Press.
Aden, John M. (1969). McLuhan: Pro and Con Man, The Sewanee Review, Vol. 77, No. 2.
Alibabaei, Gholam Reza (1995). Historical and Political Culture of Iran and the Middle East. Volume I, Tehran, Rasa Publication.
Al-Rasheed, Madawi, & Kersten, Carool, & Shterin, Marat (2012). Demystifying the Caliphate: Historical Memory and Contemporary Contexts. Oxford University Press.
Bensahel, Nora, & Byman, Daniel (2004). The Future Security Environment in the Middle East: Conflict, Stability, and Political Change. Rand Corporation.
Drysdale, Alasdair, & Gerald H. Blake (1997). Middle Eastern and North African Political Geography. translated by Mir Heydar, Tehran, Bureau of Political and International Studies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4th Edition.
Dunbabin, J.P.D.  (2014). The Post-Imperial Age: The Great Powers and the Wider World. Routledge.
Hadley, Guy (1972). CENTO: The Forgotten Alliance ISIO Monographs, University of Sussex, UK.
Hoffman, Frank (2007). Conflict in the 21st Century: The Rise of Hybrid War. Arlington: Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.
Hosseini Moghaddam, Mohammad Ejlal, & Sani, Maryam (autumn, 2012). Convergence of Islam world and future of Islamic civilization, Journal of political studies of Islam world. First year, No.3, pages 1-19.
Houtsma, M. T. (1987). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936. Brill.
Huntington, Samuel P. (1993). The Clash of Civilizations?, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 72, No. 3.
Meenai, S.A. Mohamed (2013), Islamic Development Bank, Rutledge.
Moshirzadeh, Homeira (2004). Constructivism as trans- theoretical issue. journal of college of laws and politica sciences, No.65.
Murden, Lynne S. (2011). Cultures in world affairs. In: Baylis J, Smith S, Owens P, editors. The Globalization of World Politics. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Qavam, Abdul Ali (1998), Principles of Foreign Policy and International Politics, Tehran, Samt Publication, 5th Edition.
Safavid, Seyyed Yahya (2008). Unity of the Islamic World: The Future of Perspective, Tehran, Shakib Publication.
Saikal, Amin (2014).  Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran. I.B.Tauris.
Salih, M.A. Mohamed (2014), Economic Development and Political Action in the Arab World. Routledge.
Stiglitz, Joseph (2002). Globalisation and its Discontents. London: The Penguin Press.
UNDP (2009). Human Development Report, New York. Palgrave Macmillan.
Islamic Political Thought
Volume 9, Issue 1
March 2022
Pages 39-53
  • Receive Date: 03 May 2019
  • Revise Date: 06 June 2019
  • Accept Date: 24 August 2019