Shadid characterizes the Turabi-led Islamist program -- achieved through a military coup -- as the attempt to establish Islamic politics in a viable modern way without division between political and religious life. Islam is seen as an encompassing identity, not just a belief set. Shadid gives its aims: "a revival of the umma, adoption of sharia, social and economic development and trepidation about the West's cultural, economic and political influence" (Shadid168). It can bring about the end of war, famine, and poverty independent of the West. The key is that the system relies on interpretation of Islam through the Qur'an and traditional law. It only secondarily references the model of Muhammad when it talks about how the social community is built. Muhammad's example in Mecca and Medina are cited for this (Shadid 171). At the same time, political power usurped by the elite came through a critique of the religious...
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