酒井 啓子

The term &ldquo;long distance Islamists&rdquo; sounds like &ldquo;long distance nationalism&rdquo; which B. Anderson adopted, but its meaning is different. Anderson pointed out the emergence of a new type of nationalism between people spread across various countries, generating a new mood of solidarity and utilizing the most advanced methods of communication, without being bound by territorial boundaries. On the other hand, &ldquo;long distance Islamists&rdquo; here means Islamists in exile and under the influence of a culture different from that of their native countries. Islamism basically originated as a transnational concept, but gradually came to be affected by the culture of the country where groups of Islamists reside. This is especially true in Western countries, where the result has been for Islamists to defend their thought against modern Western concepts, or to try to adopt them. This trend sometimes results in substantial transformation of the basic thought of Islamism. In this article I shed light on the Iraqi Islamists in exile, who have mainly settled in Iran, Syria, and Britain, and compare their theological development in each circumstance.<br>In Iraq, Islamism has emerged from within, not as imported thought, mainly in the international city of Najaf, a historical center of Islamic thought. During the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War, however, most of Islamists had been deported or exiled as a result of the repression by the Ba'th regime of Islamic political movements. Islamic movements thus moved their base to Iran and other countries, and were forced to &lsquo;export&rsquo; their thought from there to Iraq. Residing in countries which were enemies of Iraq, they easily became involved in international conflicts, and were used as tools for interfering in internal Iraqi politics and for meddling in diplomatic negotiation. Islamic political organizations, which used to be mere domestic anti-government bodies, turned to being important actors in international society. With this change of their position, the influence of the host country on the policy-making of each Islamic organization cannot be ignored. During the Iran-Iraq War, for example, the main bodies of Islamists were strictly against the United States and other Western countries which supported the Iraqi regime. During and after the Gulf war, on the contrary, they started making efforts to co-exist in some way with Western governments, which had come to be against Saddam's regime.<br>As opportunities to communicate with Western governments and institutions increase, Islamists residing in Western countries find it necessary to deal with the question of &ldquo;democracy&rdquo;. Originally, Islamic movements in Iraq attempted to offer a third way to overcome the limits of the Western capitalist-democratic system and the Eastern communist or socialist system. Being exposed to the criticism that their activities were not democratic, Islamists have begun discussing whether they can adopt Western democratic systems. This is especially obvious in the Da'wa Party, whose activity has the longest history and is most deeply rooted in the Iraqi Islamic movement, and it is made clear by its application of democratic institutions such as elections, freedom of will, freedom of thought, and respect for human rights in their political program. Its policy, however, is still controversial and recently resulted in friction between the London and Tehran branches.