Introduction
In recent decades, one of the most significant questions occupying the minds of scholars in political science and Islamic studies has been how Salafist and fundamentalist movements emerged and expanded in the modern world. From the Taliban and al-Qaeda to ISIS and other extremist groups, all seem to justify their actions through religious teachings, yet their deeper roots lie in a form of ideological political Islam that was theoretically articulated in the twentieth century, particularly through the ideas of thinkers such as the political thought of Maududi.
Indeed, if we wish to trace the theoretical origins of modern fundamentalism in the Islamic world, we must inevitably return to the political thought of Maududi—a framework that combined religious concepts with modern ideological structures, laying the groundwork for a kind of political Islam that would later pave the way for religious radicalism.
Abul A‘la Maududi (1903–1979), an Indian and later Pakistani thinker and political activist, is regarded as one of the most influential theorists of twentieth-century political Islam. He founded the Jamaat-e-Islami and sought to present Islam not merely as a spiritual or moral faith but as a comprehensive political and social system. Maududi believed that Islam possessed not only its own law (sharia) and ethics but must also be implemented as a governing ideology encompassing the state, law, economy, and culture. In his view, the Islamic state should embody divine will on earth—a form of caliphate in which absolute sovereignty belongs not to the people, but to God.
For this reason, the political thought of Maududi, though seemingly a response to the crises of modernity and Western colonialism in Muslim lands, in essence negated the human being as a free political agent and rejected intellectual and religious pluralism, thereby creating the conditions for closed, authoritarian, and ultimately violent systems. An intellectual project that initially aimed to “revive Islam” gradually turned into an ideology of exclusion and takfir (excommunication). This ideology later manifested itself in various forms in the thought of Sayyid Qutb in Egypt, in the Taliban’s doctrine in Afghanistan, and in the caliphal vision of ISIS.
The essential question, therefore, is how an intellectual current that ostensibly called for a return to authentic Islam indirectly fostered violence, exclusivism, and Salafism. To answer this, one must both understand the historical and social context in which Maududi’s ideas arose and examine the key elements of his intellectual system. Islamic fundamentalism is not merely the result of superficial interpretations of religion but the outcome of a complex combination of political ideology, cultural reaction to colonialism, and a distinctive interpretation of divine sovereignty.
Accordingly, this article seeks to critically and analytically examine the role of the political thought of Maududi in shaping Islamic fundamentalist movements. It will first outline the historical and intellectual background of Maududi’s life, then analyze the main components of his thought—such as his theory of the caliphate, his concept of Islamic ideology, and his notion of divine sovereignty. The discussion will then explore how these ideas, through their influence on thinkers like Sayyid Qutb and organizations such as Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami, contributed to the rise of more radical movements like al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS. Finally, the article will critique and evaluate the consequences of this mode of thought—one that, while beginning with the goal of religious revival, ultimately legitimized violence and the elimination of others.
In other words, the present study aims to demonstrate that the political thought of Maududi serves as a conceptual link between political Islam and violent fundamentalism. Since many contemporary jihadist groups, directly or indirectly, draw inspiration from Maududi’s teachings, a precise understanding of his intellectual system is essential for analyzing the ideological roots of today’s crises in the Islamic world. For this reason, a critical study of Maududi’s thought is not merely a historical exercise but an attempt to comprehend the persistence of religious violence in the modern world.
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The Life and Intellectual Background of Abul A‘la Maududi
From Colonialism to Ideology: The Formation of the Political Thought of Maududi in Its Historical Context
To understand the roots of the political thought of Maududi and its influence on political Islam and Islamic fundamentalist movements, one must first examine the historical and social conditions in which this thinker matured. Maududi’s life and times were deeply intertwined with the political transformations, the collapse of Islamic empires, and the expansion of Western colonialism—circumstances that drove many Muslim intellectuals to redefine Islamic identity and its relationship with modernity.
Abul A‘la Maududi was born in 1903 in Aurangabad, India, during a period when the Indian subcontinent was under British rule and Muslims, following the fall of the Mughal Empire, faced a profound crisis of identity. During this era, Muslims were not only deprived of political power but also experienced social and cultural disintegration and a sense of alienation. In this context, a new generation of Muslim thinkers—including Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, and later Maududi—sought ways to revive the Islamic community.
Unlike Syed Ahmad Khan, who advocated religious reform within the framework of Western modernity, Maududi took a different path. From a young age, he strongly resisted the cultural and intellectual influence of the West in Muslim societies, viewing it as a form of “intellectual invasion.” In his view, Muslims could only liberate themselves from Western domination if they understood Islam not merely as a religion of worship but as a complete system for social and political life. This conviction later became the core of political Islam in Maududi’s thought.
Historically, the 1930s and 1940s were a period of intense political conflict in India—among Hindu independence movements, Muslims, and British colonial power. During this time, Maududi began using journalism as a means to promote his ideas, founding and editing several publications. In his writings, he emphasized that Muslims must establish an independent community based on Islamic principles. He argued that if Muslims lived within a secular and mixed society alongside non-Muslims, Islamic values would gradually erode and the “identity of the ummah” would disappear. Consequently, he opposed not only secularism but also the Indian nationalist movement led by Gandhi and Nehru. Maududi believed that any form of nationalism—whether Hindu or Muslim—was incompatible with the concept of the Islamic ummah.
With the partition of India in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan, Maududi’s ideas entered a new phase. He founded a political party called Jamaat-e-Islami, declaring its goal to be the establishment of an “Islamic government” based on sharia and divine sovereignty (hakimiyyat Allah). For Maududi, the Islamic state was a form of divine caliphate on earth, where humans served only as “vicegerents of God” in implementing divine law and had no right to legislate independently of the sharia. In his view, neither Western democracy nor traditional monarchy was acceptable; the only legitimate form of governance was the caliphate that had existed in early Islam, in which the ruler merely executed God’s will.
At this point, the political thought of Maududi acquired an explicitly ideological nature. He introduced Islam as an “ideology”—a concept originating in modern political discourse but redefined by him within a religious framework. In Maududi’s perspective, Islam was not only a system of worship and ethics but also a comprehensive political and social model for organizing society. This understanding transformed religion from a personal and spiritual matter into a full-fledged political project. For this reason, many scholars, including Olivier Roy and Gilles Kepel, regard Maududi as one of the founders of “ideological Islam”—a form of Islam whose goal is not merely personal piety but political domination of society.
From this perspective, the political thought of Maududi was a response to the crisis of Western domination, yet instead of fostering dialogue between tradition and modernity, it chose the path of ideological confrontation and total rejection of the West. Relying on concepts such as “modern jahiliyyah” and “taghuti system,” Maududi viewed any society that did not implement divine law as un-Islamic and illegitimate. This binary worldview—dividing the world into the “Islamic” and the “non-Islamic”—was later echoed in the thought of Sayyid Qutb and, subsequently, in the doctrines of jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS.
In conclusion, the historical and political circumstances of Maududi’s era—colonialism, identity crisis, and the partition of India—provided the fertile ground for the emergence of an intellectual movement that began as an effort to revive Islam but gradually evolved into a closed and totalitarian political ideology. Maududi’s political Islam was essentially a reaction to Muslim weakness in the face of the West; yet instead of intellectual and cultural reconstruction, it proposed a return to the past and the establishment of a religious state. This orientation, perhaps unintentionally, laid the ideological foundations for many fundamentalist and Salafist movements that later appeared in the form of the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIS.
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The Main Components of the Political Thought of Maududi
From Caliphate to Divine Sovereignty: The Foundations of Political Islam in Maududi’s Thought
To understand the influence of the political thought of Maududi on the rise of radical Islamist and fundamentalist movements, it is essential first to analyze his theoretical and intellectual components carefully. Maududi’s thought constitutes a coherent ideological system in which concepts such as “Islamic Caliphate,” “Divine Sovereignty,” and “Islam as Ideology” occupy a central position. Through these notions, he constructed a political worldview that, during the twentieth century, inspired numerous Islamist and Salafist movements.
2.1. The Theory of the Islamic Caliphate: Politics as Servitude to God
At the heart of the political thought of Maududi lies the concept of the Islamic Caliphate. He believed that the ultimate goal of Islam was to establish a society in which absolute rule belongs to God alone, and human beings act solely as “God’s vicegerents on earth.” According to Maududi, no human being has the right to legislate, for legislation belongs exclusively to God. For this reason, he drew a distinction between “Western democracy” and “divine democracy.” From his perspective, Western democracy is a system in which people regard themselves as lawmakers and thus “rebel” against God, whereas in an Islamic system, people are merely executors of divine will, not its originators.
This understanding of the caliphate, though seemingly rooted in Qur’anic teachings, in practice leads to the negation of human will and political agency. In Maududi’s view, politics is not a field for collective deliberation or choice but a domain of obedience to divine command. Consequently, political freedom, elections, and even civil institutions are acceptable only insofar as they operate within the framework of sharia. He called this system a “Theo-democracy”—a polity in which sovereignty belongs to God, and the people merely implement His laws.
From this perspective, the Islamic Caliphate in Maududi’s thought is not a revival of the historical caliphate of early Islam but rather a re-creation of religious authority in the form of a modern state. This idea was later reflected in the political theories of Islamist groups such as Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, and Afghanistan’s Taliban, all of which embraced the ideal of “rule by sharia” and the “restoration of the caliphate.”
2.2. Divine Sovereignty (Hakimiyyat Allah): The Total Rejection of Secularism
The second foundational component of Maududi’s political Islam is the concept of Divine Sovereignty (Hakimiyyat-e-Ilahi). In his view, the greatest deviation in Muslim societies arises when humans consider themselves the source of legislation. Maududi insisted that only God possesses true sovereignty, and any system that violates this principle is a “jahili” (ignorant) and “un-Islamic” order. To explain this, he used terms such as “taghuti system” (idolatrous order) and “modern jahiliyyah,” expressions that were later extensively adopted by Sayyid Qutb and other radical Islamists.
While the concept of Divine Sovereignty appears to affirm the principle of divine unity in politics, in practice it eliminates the human being as a social and political agent. Under this view, only interpreters of the sharia possess the authority to define laws and limits, and any opposition to them is seen as defiance of God’s will. Consequently, a political system founded on Divine Sovereignty effectively paves the way for religious authoritarianism and the suppression of dissent.
For this reason, many scholars describe Maududi’s political model as a form of “modern theocracy”—a system in which religious language serves as a vehicle for exercising political power. During the second half of the twentieth century, this model inspired numerous movements that rose against secular Muslim governments under the slogan of “implementing sharia.” From this perspective, Hakimiyyat Allah in Maududi’s thought provided the theoretical foundation for many modern Islamic fundamentalist movements.
2.3. Islam as Ideology: From Faith to Revolution
One of Maududi’s most influential yet perilous innovations in Islamic thought was his presentation of Islam as a political ideology. He borrowed the term “ideology” directly from modern Western discourse and redefined it within a religious framework. For him, Islam was not merely a set of beliefs but a revolutionary system aimed at transforming the world. This conception moved Islam from the sphere of faith and ethics into that of politics and struggle, thereby paving the way for the rise of revolutionary Islam in the twentieth century.
As a result, Maududi’s followers came to see Islam not simply as a religion of worship but as a political program for seizing power. Within this framework, anyone who did not actively strive for the establishment of an Islamic state was, by implication, aligned with the forces of falsehood. This binary worldview—dividing humanity into the “Islamic” and the “un-Islamic”—became one of the central pillars of Islamic fundamentalism.
In Maududi’s conception, Islam as a comprehensive system encompasses all aspects of life—from economics and politics to family and culture. In his works, particularly Toward Understanding Islam and Islamic Law and Constitution, he emphasizes that no domain of human existence should be exempt from sharia oversight. This stance effectively denies any separation between religion and politics, equating secularism with apostasy and jahiliyyah.
2.4. The Relationship Between Religion and Power: From Sharia to the Islamic State
Ultimately, all components of the political thought of Maududi converge toward a single objective: the establishment of an Islamic state based on sharia. He believed that an Islamic society could not exist without an Islamic government. Therefore, the duty of devout Muslims was not merely worship or preaching but active political struggle to establish an Islamic order. In his view, religion without power was incomplete. This idea provided theological justification for the notion of political jihad within modern Islamism.
This interpretation of the relationship between religion and power later became a theoretical foundation for diverse movements—from Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, and later the Taliban and al-Qaeda—which all defined politics as a “jihad against taghut” (idolatrous rule).
In summary, the Islamic Caliphate, Divine Sovereignty, Islam as Ideology, and the sharia-based State constitute the four central pillars of the political thought of Maududi. Together, these elements formed an intellectual system that, despite its religious appearance, closely resembled the structure of modern totalitarian ideologies. As we shall see in the next section, this system of thought profoundly influenced Sayyid Qutb’s writings and eventually took shape in modern jihadism and groups such as ISIS and the Taliban.
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The Connection Between Mawdudi’s Political Thought and Islamic Fundamentalism
From Theory to Jihad: Mawdudi’s Influence on the Rise of Radical Islamism
To understand the evolution of political Islam in the twentieth century, one must recognize that Abul A‘la Mawdudi was not merely a religious thinker but the architect of a distinct religious–political ideology. His system transcended the borders of India and Pakistan, spreading across the entire Muslim world. Mawdudi’s political thought forms a bridge between the reformist Islam of the nineteenth century and the jihadist fundamentalism of the twenty-first century. He transformed Islam from a moral and spiritual creed into a revolutionary and totalizing ideology, structured around two core principles: the rejection of secularism and the establishment of an Islamic state. These two principles were directly or indirectly reproduced in Salafi and fundamentalist movements.
3.1. From Mawdudi to Sayyid Qutb: The Transmission of Thought to the Arab World
One of the most important channels through which Mawdudi’s ideas entered the Arab world was Sayyid Qutb, the prominent theorist of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. During the 1950s, Qutb read Mawdudi’s works and, under his direct influence, developed the doctrine of “modern jahiliyya.” This concept became the intellectual nucleus of later jihadist fundamentalism.
Mawdudi had repeatedly asserted that contemporary Muslim societies were, in essence, living in a state of ignorance (jahiliyya), since they had accepted human sovereignty in place of divine sovereignty. He compared this condition to the pre-Islamic era and called for an “Islamic revolution” to overthrow secular regimes. Sayyid Qutb radicalized this idea further. In his seminal book Milestones (Ma‘alim fi al-Tariq), Qutb, borrowing from Mawdudi, wrote that “today’s society is a jahili society—even if it calls itself Muslim,” because the law of God is not implemented within it.
Thus, the concepts of jahiliyya and Hakimiyyat Allah—first articulated by Mawdudi in the intellectual context of South Asia—were transformed in the Arab world into a revolutionary and militant doctrine. This provided a theological justification for the use of force to topple secular governments and directly influenced the emergence of jihadist movements such as Egyptian Islamic Jihad, al-Qaeda, and eventually ISIS.
3.2. Mawdudi and the Ideological Foundations of Islamic Fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism cannot be understood merely as a return to Islam’s sacred texts. What emerged in the twentieth century through figures like Mawdudi was a politicized and ideological reconstruction of religion. By formulating concepts such as Hakimiyyat-e-Ilahi (Divine Sovereignty) and Islamic Revolution, Mawdudi took religion out of the realm of personal faith and transformed it into a political project for seizing power.
He explicitly argued that Islam could only be realized when political authority rested in the hands of true believers. Hence, the path out of modern jahiliyya was, in his view, political jihad aimed at establishing an Islamic state. This idea manifested in movements such as Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan and later in the jihadist struggles of the 1980s and 1990s under the slogan “Jihad against Taghut” (the forces of tyranny).
Indeed, Mawdudi spoke of jihad not merely as defensive warfare but as a means of “establishing divine order” throughout the world. Consequently, his vision legitimized a form of global and revolutionary jihad whose goal was not simply to defend Islam, but to transform existing political systems. This interpretation was later adopted by groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS to justify their global “holy war.”
3.3. From Jamaat-e-Islami to the Taliban: The Practical Translation of Mawdudi’s Thought
At the political level, the first organized attempt to implement Mawdudi’s vision took shape in Jamaat-e-Islami (founded in 1941). The party laid out a detailed program for “Islamizing society” and creating a Sharia-based state. Although it sought power through ostensibly legal and political means, its discourse was deeply exclusivist and anti-secular.
From within this ideological milieu emerged a new generation of Islamists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, many Jamaat members and sympathizers joined forces with Arab Salafi fighters. Mawdudi’s teachings on “jihad for the sovereignty of God” were even taught in the jihad training camps of Peshawar. The Taliban of the 1990s grew directly out of this same environment—a fusion of traditional Deobandi jurisprudence and Mawdudi’s political Islam.
Although the Taliban outwardly adhered to Hanafi jurisprudence and the Indian Salafi tradition, they inherited many of Mawdudi’s key ideological concepts: rejection of democracy, denial of secularism, establishment of a Sharia-based state, and exclusion of non-Muslims from political authority. This synthesis produced an intensely exclusivist version of political Islam, which ultimately crystallized in the Taliban’s political system.
3.4. From Qutb to Bin Laden and al-Baghdadi: The Global Legacy of Mawdudi
By the late twentieth century, as jihadist movements spread, Mawdudi’s influence extended far beyond South Asia. His ideas, transmitted through Sayyid Qutb, reached the Middle East and inspired groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri repeatedly cited Mawdudi and Qutb as sources of intellectual inspiration. The very ideas of “restoring the caliphate” and “jihad for divine sovereignty” stem directly from Mawdudi’s writings. When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, declared the caliphate in Mosul in 2014, he consciously employed Mawdudian terminology—speaking of “reviving the caliphate upon the prophetic model” and “the rule of Sharia.”
Thus, ideologically speaking, ISIS can be regarded as a direct inheritor of Mawdudi’s discourse. Although its manifestation was more violent and militarized, its underlying foundations were the same: rejection of the secular global order, abolition of national borders, division of the world into Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Kufr, and perpetual jihad for the expansion of the caliphate.
3.5. The Inner Contradiction of Mawdudi’s Political Islam: From Reform to Extremism
It is crucial to note that Mawdudi himself never advocated terrorism or indiscriminate violence. His activism was intellectual and organizational, centered on ideological reform through Jamaat-e-Islami. Yet, the structure of his thought inherently contained the seeds of ideological violence. By dividing the world into the absolute categories of “Islamic” versus “jahili,” he opened the door to exclusion—and, ultimately, to the annihilation of the “other.” In the hands of later disciples, this logic translated into actual violence.
Mawdudi’s political Islam thus represented a perilous synthesis of two elements:
- Religious revivalism aimed at returning to the purity of early Islam;
- A modern ideology of power seeking control over the state.
This combination transformed Islam from spirituality into politics, and faith into ideology. Sacred concepts became instruments for legitimizing the pursuit of power. Out of this process emerged the Salafi and fundamentalist movements that came to define radical Islam in the modern era.
In conclusion, Mawdudi’s political thought—though outwardly a call for returning to Islam—provided the theoretical groundwork for the rise of militant fundamentalism. From the Taliban in Kabul to ISIS in Mosul, the intellectual imprint of Mawdudi’s ideas remains unmistakably visible.
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From Theory to Reality
The Legacy of the Political Thought of Maududi in the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIS
Having traced how the political thought of Maududi laid the intellectual foundations of modern political Islam and Islamic fundamentalism, we now turn to the next stage: how his ideas were translated into political and military realities in the contemporary Muslim world.
From the 1970s onward, the ideas Maududi had formulated within the intellectual milieu of India and Pakistan gradually moved beyond the theoretical level and became practical models for the establishment of religious states, armed jihad, and ideological violence. This trajectory begins with Jamaat-e-Islami and culminates in the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIS.
4.1. Jamaat-e-Islami: The Political Laboratory of Maududi’s Thought
The Pakistani party Jamaat-e-Islami was the first organized attempt to put the political thought of Maududi into practice. Founded in 1941, it combined a disciplined party structure with systematic ideological training and strict organizational control, aiming to create a model of the ideal Islamic society. Its primary goal was the “establishment of an Islamic state based on Sharia.”
On the surface, Jamaat-e-Islami pursued power through peaceful and legal means, but its intellectual foundation rested on a sharp dichotomy between faith and jahiliyyah—a dichotomy that rejected any compromise with secular systems.
In subsequent decades, the party became active across political, educational, and cultural fields, creating an extensive network of religious schools, charitable institutions, and Islamic media. This network later became one of the key breeding grounds for Islamist cadres in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
When the Afghan war against the Soviet Union began in 1979, many of the young men educated in Jamaat-e-Islami’s schools went to the frontlines under the ideology of “jihad for the sovereignty of God.” As a result, Maududi’s ideas—initially formulated in the realm of theory—were transformed on the battlefield into an armed form of Islam.
Thus, Jamaat-e-Islami can be seen as the meeting point between political Islam and militant jihadism, where Maududi’s teachings moved from books and speeches into the stage of ideological mobilization.
4.2. The Taliban: Reproducing Political Islam in the Form of an Ethnic Caliphate
In the 1990s, from the religious seminaries of Pakistan and the Afghan mujahideen camps, a movement emerged calling itself the Taliban. The group followed the Deobandi school of jurisprudence, yet ideologically it was deeply influenced by the political thought of Maududi and his interpretation of political Islam. The Taliban entered the political arena with the slogan “establishing an Islamic system,” implementing Maududi’s key concepts—Sharia, Caliphate, and Divine Sovereignty—in a localized, ethnic form.
In 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul and established the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” In the unwritten constitution of this emirate, there was no trace of public participation, human rights, or democracy. Absolute sovereignty was attributed to God, and the Amir al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Faithful) was seen merely as the executor of divine will. This mirrored Maududi’s concept of Theo-democracy, but in an even more extreme and tribal form.
In cultural and social policy, the Taliban likewise followed Maududi’s exclusivist logic: excluding women from public life, banning music and art, and repressing religious minorities. They divided society into “believers” and “infidels,” and suppressed any dissent as “fitna (sedition) against God.”
Thus, the Taliban may be described as the field translation of Maududi’s thought—an ideology that transformed Islam into a doctrine of power, leaving little room for freedom or pluralism.
4.3. Al-Qaeda: The Globalization of Maududi’s Jihad
During the 1980s, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan—combined with Western support for the mujahideen—gave rise to a new generation of Islamists who blended the teachings of Maududi and Sayyid Qutb with battlefield experience. The result was the birth of the global jihadist movement that ultimately took shape as al-Qaeda.
Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and many other early theorists of al-Qaeda explicitly drew upon the ideas of Maududi and Qutb. Concepts such as “global jahiliyyah,” “jihad for the establishment of God’s sovereignty,” and “the Islamic Caliphate” formed the ideological pillars of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden repeatedly stated that the ultimate goal of jihad was not merely to expel occupiers but to “establish the Islamic Caliphate.” This slogan originates directly from the political thought of Maududi.
Through the use of modern technology and global networks, al-Qaeda expanded Maududi’s ideology from a local and regional framework to a global scale. In this sense, although Maududi never explicitly called for global violence, he provided the intellectual architecture for what later became global jihad.
4.4. ISIS: The Full Embodiment of Maududi’s Ideology of the Caliphate
If al-Qaeda marked the beginning of the globalization of political Islam, ISIS represented its climax. ISIS saw itself as the direct heir of the idea of the Islamic Caliphate and employed concepts first articulated by Maududi decades earlier: the restoration of the Caliphate, full implementation of Sharia, absolute sovereignty of Allah, and rejection of democracy.
In 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, speaking in the mosque of Mosul, declared: “We have restored the Caliphate and liberated the land from the rule of Taghut (tyranny).” These words directly echoed Maududi’s concepts, particularly his vision of a world divided between the “domain of Islam” (Dar al-Islam) and the “domain of Taghut.”
Following this dualistic logic, ISIS branded every opponent as an apostate or enemy of God, thereby legitimizing unprecedented levels of violence. Executions, enslavement of women, and the destruction of cultural heritage were all justified within this framework of “purifying the Caliphate from jahiliyyah.”
In essence, ISIS represented the pure and complete embodiment of the ideology that Maududi had designed at the theoretical level—an absolutist, exclusivist, and anti-secular form of Islam aimed at the conquest of global power. The only difference lay in the means: Maududi wielded the pen and the book, while ISIS wielded the sword and the screen.
4.5. From Political Islam to Global Crisis
Today, decades after Maududi’s death, his intellectual legacy continues to be taught in religious schools, universities, and political movements across the Muslim world. Some of these movements have taken a reformist and civic path, yet many others have drifted toward extremism and violence.
From Pakistan to Nigeria, from Afghanistan to Syria, from Somalia to Indonesia, one can trace the influence of a worldview that conceives Islam not as faith but as a ruling ideology. This understanding—initiated by Maududi—has placed the Muslim world before a critical dilemma: how to balance religion and power without allowing one to destroy the other.
From this perspective, Maududi’s legacy has two faces:
- An intellectual and reformist face, seeking to redefine Islamic identity in the modern world; and
- A darker, ideological face, which legitimizes violence and authoritarianism in the name of religion.
Unfortunately, in the contemporary world, it is the second face that has predominated—and movements such as the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIS stand as the political and military heirs of the political thought of Maududi.
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Critical Analysis of the Political Thought of Maududi
From Religious Ideal to Ideological Despotism
If we trace the political thought of Maududi from its inception to its culmination, it becomes evident that he sought to offer a meaningful response to the identity crisis of Muslims in the modern age. His central concern was to bring Islam back from the periphery to the center of politics and to construct an intellectual and political system grounded in Islamic faith against the dominance of Western civilization. However, in practice, his intellectual trajectory led not to the revival of faith but to the emergence of a form of religious authoritarianism and ideological violence. This section examines these contradictions and their theoretical consequences.
5.1. The Contradiction in the Concept of “Divine Sovereignty”
The core concept in the political thought of Maududi is Hakimiyyat-e-Ilahi (“Divine Sovereignty”). He believed that only God has the right to legislate, and that no human being—even Muslims—may create man-made laws. From this perspective, modern democracies based on the will of the people are a form of political polytheism.
The central problem, however, lies in the fact that in practice, the interpretation and implementation of God’s sovereignty are carried out by human beings. Thus, any group or leader claiming to represent God’s will can portray their rulings as “divine” and denounce opponents as taghut (false gods) or murtadd (apostates). This fundamental contradiction turned Maududi’s theory into a justification for religious despotism—a regime where absolute power rests with those who claim to speak for God.
From this very paradox arise totalitarian systems such as the Taliban and ISIS, which also claim to implement “divine law,” yet in reality impose their own interpretations of religion as God’s command.
5.2. The Elimination of Human Freedom from Religion
In Maududi’s thought, the human being is no longer a free and responsible moral agent but merely an instrument for executing God’s will in society. As he wrote: “Man is only a vicegerent, not a ruler; his duty is obedience, not decision-making.” This view effectively removes human freedom from both political and moral spheres.
Consequently, within Maududi’s system, there is no room for plurality of interpretation, freedom of thought, or individual rights. Any form of dissent or doubt is treated as deviation from the divine path. Hence, the movements that later emerged from his ideas quickly evolved into closed, monolithic societies—spaces where neither freedom of conscience, dialogue, nor tolerance could survive.
5.3. Turning Religion into Political Ideology
One of Maududi’s greatest theoretical missteps was his ideologization of religion. He redefined Islam not as a spiritual system but as a political and governmental order. In his view, Islam was a set of enforceable laws for governing the state—whereas, in the broader Islamic tradition, religion is primarily a moral and spiritual experience.
Through this redefinition, faith gave way to “ideology,” and religiosity became synonymous with loyalty to a political system. In such a framework, criticism of a religious government is not regarded as political opposition but as apostasy or hostility toward God.
This process eventually culminated in the phenomenon of takfir (excommunication), which reached its peak among extremist movements. Both ISIS and the Taliban followed this exact logic: whoever opposes their rule is, by definition, an enemy of God.
5.4. The Dualistic and Dangerous Worldview: Dar al-Islam vs. Dar al-Kufr
Maududi’s insistence on distinguishing between the “Islamic society” and the “ignorant society” divided the world into two opposing realms. He believed that no reconciliation was possible between Islam and non-Islamic systems—one must prevail and the other be destroyed.
Such absolute dualism closes the door to dialogue, coexistence, and mutual understanding, while paving the way for violence and holy war. Psychologically, it places believers in a perpetual “siege mentality” against a hostile world and prepares them for endless struggle.
ISIS explicitly drew upon this dichotomy, dividing the world into “the land of faith” and “the land of disbelief.” This reductionist worldview became the ideological foundation for unending wars and the destruction of civilizations.
5.5. The Contradiction Between Ideal and Outcome
Perhaps Maududi genuinely wished to rescue Muslims from passivity before the West—but the outcome of his project was nothing short of the reproduction of sacred tyranny and ideological violence. He sought to revive “Islamic civilization,” yet his theory turned civilization itself into a tool of power.
As the Egyptian sociologist Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd observed: “The political Islam of Maududi and his disciples is not a religion that uplifts humanity, but an ideology that uses God to secure its own rule.” This instrumentalization of faith transformed Maududi’s discourse into a dangerous weapon in the hands of radical groups.
Thus, although Maududi rejected physical violence, he embedded intellectual and cultural violence deep within his theoretical framework—a violence that began in the mind and later manifested in the bloody fields of Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
5.6. The Crisis of Modernity and the Failure to Engage with the Contemporary World
Another fundamental weakness in the political thought of Maududi was his inability to comprehend modernity. He equated Western civilization entirely with jahiliyyah (ignorance) and made no distinction between modern rationality, philosophical secularism, and colonial domination. As a result, his political Islam was built on total negation rather than engagement.
This rejectionist approach placed Muslims in a defensive and antagonistic posture. Instead of reconstructing religious rationality and engaging constructively with modernity, Maududi-inspired movements turned toward total hostility against the modern world. This animosity ultimately produced intellectual isolation, cultural regression, and the spread of violence.
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Conclusion: From Thought to Crisis – Maududi’s Dual Legacy in the Muslim World
From a comprehensive perspective, Abul A‘la Maududi can be considered one of the most influential figures in modern Islamic political thought of the twentieth century. He emerged at a time when Indian Muslims were trapped in an identity crisis and political decline. With intellectual brilliance, he sought to liberate Islam from inertia and present it as a comprehensive political and social system. Yet from this very ambition arose a path that culminated in fundamentalist political Islam and ideological violence.
6.1. From Reformist Intent to Extremist Outcome
Maududi’s original intent was reform. He aimed to reclaim Muslim identity in the face of Western influence and secularism. But his approach, rather than fostering inner religious renewal, politicized faith itself. He transformed religion into an ideology whose goal was the seizure of political power.
In this way, Islam in his vision ceased to be a spiritual experience and became a framework for state organization. This perspective planted the seeds of totalitarianism within religion. Wherever faith becomes an instrument of power, the door opens to sacred despotism and the elimination of the “other.” This process later manifested starkly in al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS.
6.2. The Direct Link to Contemporary Fundamentalism
Today, no serious scholar of political Islam can ignore the direct link between Maududi’s thought and the rise of modern fundamentalism. Concepts such as “divine sovereignty,” “modern jahiliyyah,” “jihad for the establishment of an Islamic state,” and “global caliphate”—later adopted by ISIS and the Taliban—all trace their roots to Maududi’s writings.
In essence, the political thought of Maududi provided the theoretical foundation for movements that transformed the face of the Middle East and the Muslim world in the decades that followed. From Sayyid Qutb in Egypt to bin Laden in Afghanistan and al-Baghdadi in Iraq, all were, in one way or another, his intellectual heirs.
Yet none of these movements achieved Maududi’s vision of an Islamic civilization; instead, the outcome was the destruction of cities, the collapse of states, and the spread of a violent image of Islam across the globe.
6.3. The Crisis of Rationality and the Absence of Dialogue
One of the gravest consequences of Maududi’s thought was the eradication of rationality and dialogue from religion. When truth is confined to the interpretation of a single group, there is no room for diversity, ijtihad (independent reasoning), or fresh interpretation. This monopoly over truth becomes the seedbed of violence.
Hence, the Islamic fundamentalism born from Maududi’s framework came into conflict not only with the West but also with other Muslims. In the worldview of ISIS and the Taliban, Muslims who do not adhere to their version of Islam are “apostates” deserving punishment. This represents an intra-Islamic war over the interpretation of faith—a war whose theoretical roots lie in the political thought of Maududi.
6.5. Final Assessment
Ultimately, the political thought of Maududi embodies a profound duality:
He sought to liberate Muslims from Western domination, yet his theory led to human enslavement under religious rule. He aspired to realize divine justice, yet in practice, he sacrificed justice and freedom on the altar of power.
Out of his thought emerged a form of political Islam that, in the twenty-first century, has destroyed cities and taken lives in the name of God and religion. From Kabul to Mosul, from Nigeria to Sinai, the echoes of his ideas continue to resonate through the militant and fundamentalist movements of our time.
