Among the many existing definitions, an ideology can be defined as a set of aims and ideas that directs one’s goals, expectations, and actions; an ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things. The word ideology itself does not carry any positive or negative semantics or connotation. According to Destutt de Tracy, the word ideology is assembled from two parts, idea and logy. In other words, ideology describes the logic which derives the set of goals, aims, rules, and systems from a basic and comprehensive idea. From this perspective, an ideology is just an ideology; it is neither positive nor negative, neither good nor bad, neither acceptable nor rejected. It provides a systematic way of describing ideas, concepts, systems, regulations, and methods. In this regard, the ideology of socialism cannot be criticized simply because it comprises an ideology. Socialism can be criticized based on the ideas and beliefs it carries; it is the content of the ideology that could be subject for scrutiny and criticism. By the same token, capitalism cannot be rejected or accepted simply because it stands as an ideology. It is the principles of capitalism and the impact of its application that should be subject for criticism and scrutiny. The same applies to Islam. We cannot accept or reject the notion of Islam on the basis that it formulates an ideology.

David F. Forte, professor of law at Cleveland State University, in an article published by the Heritage Foundation, takes the extreme point when he equates ideology to terrorism and killing and insists that Islam should be viewed only as a religion capable of providing charity. In his own words, “Our policy ought to be that all peoples, of all religions, who fulfill their religion with devotion, charity, equality and concern for others will be celebrated and protected, but that any person—whether in the name of religion or socialism or history—who seeks to take over a state and turn that belief into an ideology, an ideology which terrorizes and kills innocent people, is our enemy and the enemy of all religion.” Where it should be clear that terrorism cannot and should not be tolerated under any circumstances, it should also be clear that terrorism is not equivalent to “ideology.”.

What is at stake here is not the names or terminology used to describe Islam. What is more important than terms or names are the ideas and concepts underlying the definitions and terms. The term ideology is certainly more neutral than the term Islamism, fundamentalism, Extremism, phonetic-ism, or the like. To avoid any confusion, I will try to use the plain word Islam in lieu of the term ideology of Islam where applicable.

Around the year 610 CE, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) began to receive Quran in the form of revelation from Allah, god the Creator.8 Mohammad was living in Mecca. Mecca was famous for hosting the Sacred Mosque built around the place called the Ka’aba. The Sacred Mosque is believed to have been built by Prophet Ibraheem and his son Ismail. The religion propagated by Ibraheem in Mecca and its surrounding preached the oneness of god and the supreme values which were carried out by subsequent religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Over time, the Arabs in Mecca and its surrounding managed to distort the religion of Ibraheem and introduce polytheistic religion with multiple gods. The Arabs in Mecca and Arabia grew accustomed to worshiping stone idols as material representatives of Gods. Since the Ka’aba was considered a holy place by Arabs in the area, the tribes of Mecca worked out their way to become the hosts and custodians of all gods worshiped by Arabs in Mecca and elsewhere. This status has secured for Quraish, the main tribe of Mecca, a special status and prestige, and won them the title of the custodians of the holy place (Al-Haram). Besides the prestige, honor, and status, Quraish was in a position to gain financially and economically from their position as custodians of Al-Haram. The Quran later reminded Quraish of this special status in a Surah named “Quraish.”9

Before the declaration of Islam by Prophet Mohammad, the religion in Mecca was reduced to traditions and mythical stories and representations of god. The role of god as a source of legislation and commands was bestowed upon the influential and wealthy leaders in Mecca.10, 11 Eventually, the supreme values of the religion of Ibraheem were brought to null in Mecca and the Arab communities. The most sacred ritual of the old religion was the circulation around the Ka’aba in anticipation of god’s mercy and forgiveness. The Arabs under the influence of Quraish evolved that practice into a bizarre when they allowed the circulation to be conducted by nude men and women.12 This practice was officially and practically aborted after the conquest of Mecca by Prophet Mohammad twenty years after the revelation of Islam.

Slavery in Mecca and the rest of the Arab land was a practice, which enabled the rich and powerful to enslave the weak and poor. Slavery was coupled with male and female prostitution. The rich and powerful men were allowed to sleep with the wives of the less fortunate in order to improve their offsprings. The ill practices of Mecca included money lending for a percentage of usury. In case the indebted fails to pay the interest, the creditor had the right to enslave the indebted or any member of his family.

Those were some of the conditions which prevailed at the time when Mohammad was designated as a prophet. The mind-set of the Arabs had become so engraved with corruption, mythology, abuse, oppression, disorder, discrimination, self-proclaimed supremacy, and much more. The mind-set required a comprehensive change before any change on the ground could take place. Changing this environment and creating a new system to replace the corrupted one in Arabia could not have succeeded without a strong new foundation.

Around the year 623 CE, thirteen years after the initiation of Islam, Prophet Mohammad and his companions migrated from Mecca to the city of Medina (called Yathrib until the day of migration). That same year marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Muslims chose this year to mark the calendar instead of the year Islam physically began thirteen years earlier. The significance of this year is that it marked the transfer of Islam from being a theoretical model into a practical one.

Prophet Mohammad added to his role as a messenger who receives god’s revelations, the role of a statesman who applies the rules upon people. His leadership position in Medina was unanimously approved without the least challenge, not even from Jewish tribes living in the vicinity of Medina or the group which did not thoroughly accept Islam.

Right after the migration to Medina and the creation of the nucleus Islamic state, the revelation of the Quran took a new direction. The emphasis now is more focused on the rules, regulations, structure, organization, and relationships between people. The people in Medina, who were under the rule of Islam, were requested to bring their issues, problems, disputes to Mohammad for ruling and judgments.

Prophet Mohammad did not spare any time before he began to organize the relationships in the new society. He established a matching system, by which he matched individuals who migrated from Mecca to counterparts from Medina. This matching or coupling schema allowed the new immigrants to make smooth transition into a new place and locality after they have left all their wealth and belongings back in Mecca. Wealth sharing was the most visible result of the matching program. Prophet Mohammad also drafted a treaty governing the relationship between the Jewish tribes and the Muslims in Medina. The treaty defined the mutual responsibility for the safety and protection of Medina and its surrounding.

The rules of marriage, divorce, inheritance, maternity, and fatherhood were soon revealed. One of the largest chapters, Surah Al-Nisa21 (chapter 4, “The Women”), contains numerous rules which govern the relations between husbands and wives. Rules of war and peace were reveled over an extended period of time following war and peace incidents.22 Rules of trade were also revealed over extended period of time and can be found in many chapters, especially Surah Al-Baqara (chapter 2).23

In the meantime, many of the day-to-day activities were addressed and resolved by Prophet Mohammad as people brought forward their daily issues. Occasionally, people brought issues of pure technical merit thinking that these issues also should be addressed by the Messenger of Allah. In one incident the Prophet advised the people of Medina on palm tree pollination; his advice was counterproductive, although the people took his advice as binding. He then told the crowd, “You know the technical issues of your life better than I do.”24

In a short period of time, the Islamic state in Medina under the leadership of Prophet Mohammad grew to a stable position with coherency among constituents of diverse tribes and ethnicity.25 The two main tribes of Medina, the once-rivals Aws and Khazraj, became grateful of the new bond of brotherhood. The Quran drew their attention to their state of affairs before the arrival of Mohammad and his companions and how it has changed.26

The Islamic state came to be known since then as the state of the caliphate (khilafah). The state continued to function in the same manner: rules and regulations derived from the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah.

With the appointment of Abu Bakr as the first successor of the Prophet, the shape and the context of the Islamic structure has taken its distinct character and shape. The structure included a state with the khalifah as the head of the state. The khalifah assumes the post of the head of state through a process of election followed by a process of bai’ah. A council representing the people is charged with the process of appointing the khalifah. The khalifah appoints assistants to help him carry the governing responsibilities. Disputes within the state are handled by judicial personnel. Remote areas within the state are governed by governors appointed by the khalifah. Over time, these organs of the state became more stable and better defined. The state of the khilafah collectively became responsible for the implementation of the systems of Islam. Through a large set of rules derived from the Quran and the Sunnah, it can be shown that the structure of Islam comprised economic, social, political, and judicial systems. Of particular interest to this publication is the economic system, which will be discussed in greater details in subsequent sections.

The ideological structure of Islam is summarized in figure 28. The intellectual foundation consists of the basic creed which in turn contains the belief in Allah as the one and only god, in Mohammad as the last messenger of Allah to all people, and in the Quran as the final divine revelation to mankind. The method of implementing the ideology is the Islamic state, which is responsible for the implementation of the various systems.

The systems of Islam include the social, economic, political, legal, and moral systems. The social system treats the issues that emerge out of man woman relationships such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and parenthood.

The economic system deals with issues related to ownership definitions, partnerships and corporations, monetary system, internal and external trade, sources of revenues for the state, and poverty resolution mechanism.

The political system defines the structure of the state and governance organs. It includes the post of the khalifah, the assistants to the khalifah, the people council structure as well as its composition and responsibilities, the governors of state, the army structure and its responsibilities, the administration departments, and the financial department.

The legal system defines three court systems: the supreme court, the regular court, and the market court. It defines the scope and code for each court type. The moral system defines the basic traits and qualities of the people in the Islamic society, a society that stands on piety more so than law. The moral system aims at creating people who would rather provide their scarce food to the ones who are in more need for the food