Awakening in the Muslim World; Terminology، Objectives، and Criteria

Some scholars draw the historical trends of Islamic civilization thus: “Islamic civilization grew from 1st to 5th century AH، and then it gradually declined. After Mongol invasion، it had a deathlike decline and its main elements of political and cultural grandeur was wholly destroyed. However، it did not become extinct and grew again. In the second phase of its growth، which lasted from the last decade of 7th century AH to the end of 11th century AH، the biggest empires in the world، including Iranian Empire، Ottoman Empire، and Indian Empire، were founded in the Muslim World. This phase of growth began to decline again، from the beginning of 12th century AH to the middle of 13th century AH، and now، every corner of the Muslim World has seen Islamic Awakening.” Currently، Muslim groups are the most active political movements in the world. The main reason for their activity، which is serious and comprehensive، is their enlightenment. They have become aware of backwardness and shortcomings in the Muslim World. This enlightenment has inspired them to move and further try in recent century. This is the phenomenon which is called Islamic Awakening. Islamic Awakening is a phenomenon which involves events affecting the security of the Muslim World; therefore، it is necessary to study it further. This paper tries to examine and analyze the terminology of Islamic Awakening and discuss it as a factor of the security situation in the Muslim World. The terminology of Islamic Awakening، its nature، objectives، and criteria are the main subjects of study in this paper.