Abstract:
Why are governments Islamizing in many Muslim-majority countries? Scholars have linked this phenomenon to the authoritarian regimes’ lack of legitimacy or the presence of powerful disruptive Islamist movements. These explanations, however, fail to explain the phenomenon. This dissertation, using comparative historical analysis of Turkey and Pakistan, argues that Islam's role in state nationalism is the primary reason for the Islamization of government. The indicators used to measure Islam’s role in state nationalism are constitutional provisions, national symbols, and banknote imagery while Islamization of government is estimated by focusing on religious education, religious basis of family law, and the ministry of religious affairs’ presence and functions.
