Notwithstanding the different definitions of “Political Party” offered in political and social sciences, ECI defines “Political Party” as groups or organizations that are politically active with a specific strategy, policy and ideology in mind.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Islam addresses “Political Parties, Groups and Institutions” in two sections due to the crucial role they play in the political context of nations.
1. Independent entries: Some of the important and influential political parties, groups and institutions are covered under independent entries.
2. The entry of “Political Parties in the Islamic World”: This is a long entry, consisting of about ten thousand words. It covers the history of the appearance of political parties in Muslim countries, their situation, circumstances and the steps taken by them. Major Muslim countries will be examined under appropriate subheadings within this entry.
1. Entry Writing Guide for Independent Entries:
Begin these entries with the name of the political party (e.g. “Bath Party”), then insert its phonetic transliteration in parenthesis (using the “Phonetics” section of ECI’s Entry Writing Guide). A descriptive sentence (the descriptor) should follow to provide a succinct definition of the party. The order of the article should be as follows:
a) Descriptive sentence, which should include:
1. Ideology, strategy and politics
2. Aims and goals
3. Founder
4. History and place of foundation
5. Date of dissolution, if applicable
For instance, for the Bath Party, we will write:
A political party with a socialist and pan-Arab nature, with a military strategy, which was founded by Michelle Aflaq and Salah al-Din Bitār in the early 1940s in Iraq and Syria.
b) Brief history of the party’s formation and its different stages, important internal transformations and reasons for dissolution if applicable
c) Philosophical foundation
d) Mission statement of the party
e) Activities of the party: The significance and impact of the activities carried out by the party. Assessing whether or not such activities were in conformity with the party’s philosophy and goals. Examining modifications made to the party’s mission statement or changes in general sociopolitical behavior
f) The most influential members of the party, their cooperation and opposition both inside and outside the party
2. Entry Writing Guide for “Political Parties in the Islamic World”:
Since this entry is long, it consists of two parts:
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Subheadings for major Muslim countries
Part One: Introduction
The introduction should analyze and assess the general atmosphere of the Islamic world at the time of the emergence of modern political thought and ideologies, global transformations and its effect on the political development of Muslims, formation of political thoughts by Muslims, development of independent governments, and tribal, racial, nationalistic and ideological issues.
Part Two: Subheadings for major Muslim countries
1. Political and ideological record of the country, the contribution of political theory, cooperation and opposition between governmental agencies, political parties, groups, and so on
2. Dominant thoughts in the political and social atmosphere and the emergence of political parties in the country
3. Classification of political parties
4. Political disputes
5. The reaction of the government, parliament and other governmental agencies towards political parties
