Philosophy Today

Volume 68, Issue 1, Winter 2024

Special Topic: On Political Theology

Perspectives on Modern Islamist Political Theology

This paper addresses the notion of political theology by way of accounting for modern manifestations of transnational Islamism with a particular emphasis on the establishment of theocratic rule through the contemporary political spheres of praxis in Twelver-Shiism (Shīʿa Ithnā-ʿAsharīyya). This is undertaken by way of giving some principal highlights concerning the conceptual aspects that can be accounted for from the standpoint of political theology in the broad context of Islamist fundamentalist movements. A more detailed focus is also presented in this context on the eschatology that underpins the theocracy of contemporary Twelver-Shiism in terms of its religious outlooks on history, and the conduct of its communal affairs along with the organization of its associated politicized institutions.