27.-28.5.2016 International Conference "Islam and Politics - the Illusion of an Islamic State"

Since the time of the Prophet Muhammad, many Muslims have sought to theorize, recover or establish an ideal state modelled on the Prophet's community in Medina. The notion of an ideal or utopian Islamic state later became an integral element of the program advanced by 20-21^st century Islamist thinkers and movements. Current developments show that representatives of political Islam blame the West for the failure of this Islamic utopia to achieve realization. While the form posited for this imagined Islamic state differs across diverse Islamic movements including Wahabbis, Salafis, Neo-Salafis, and Extremists, strategies for implementing Islamic political utopias have included various top-down and grass roots approaches as well as the deployment of violence and terror. In the meantime alarm spreads as Muslim youth are being attracted by the recruitment activities of certain organisations and movements such as ISIS/Da'esh, posing a security threat within Western democratic societies.