| Summary: | Islamist movements frustratingly criss-cross the boundaries of analytical frameworks that theorists of Islamist movements attempt to mould them in. This thesis posits that such frustrations and confusions do not result from incoherent strategies or ideologies of the movements themselves, but from attempts to fit them into inappropriate frameworks that rely too heavily upon assumptions contained in the Westphalian model. This thesis argues Islamists are employing a variety of strategies derived from historical Islamic assemblages which are transforming social, political, and geographic space. The Western imposition of the nation-state did not destroy pre-existing assemblages in Muslim countries, but was superimposed on top of existing political and social arrangements. Memories of historic Islamic imperial understandings of sovereignty and just governance are being re-awakened by Islamist movements to meet the challenges and failures of specific temporal conditions. This thesis advocates that in many instances an imperial framework is a more appropriate tool in analysing the motivations and strategies of Islamist movements. Incorporating imperial modes of praxis allows for an expansion on the definition of ‘political’ which, in turn, grants an opportunity to examine the politicisation of movements and activities deemed as merely pious by the logic of the nation-state. Aspects of the imperial past are remembered and re-imagined to meet specific requirements of Islamist movements in given temporal periods and locations which facilitate explanation of the nuances in Islamisms. Islamist movements are in various ways de-nationalising key elements of the nation-state. These elements include nation-state sovereignty, national solidarities, and legitimate violence and by challenging these assumptions Islamist movements are constructing alternative geographies that are transforming the territoriality of the nation-state.
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