Introduction

Abstract

Government leaders who have previously shown little interest in religion as it relates to policy are now using Islam for the advancement of their own political objectives. While Islam has been applied in the domestic and foreign policies of government leaders for quite some time (Esposito, 1998), the issue of Islam in domestic and international politics has received greater attention as of late, and in particular since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (Philpott, 2002). Since these attacks, the teachings of Islam have become a major point of examination, toward which significant media and policy attention have been directed not only to understand Islam but also to discuss how individuals aim to use religion for achieving political goals. And within this specific debate, governments and other actors have aimed to address how to stop the spread of puritanical Islamic interpretations, in the name of preventing future attacks.