With the revival of political Islam following the events of the Arab Spring, Ash’arism has become a compelling presence in the Islamic world. It has come to represent a form of rationality in a highly polarized environment between Islamists and non-Islamists: in particular, Ash’ari ideology suggests that political and social activity do not have any bearing on one’s purity of belief, which places it in opposition to the foundational propositions of political Islam. Ash'ari has also proposed a rather complex view of the adoption of Sharia law that contradicts the more rigid interpretation of Islamists, who have decried the total absence of Sharia in Muslim societies. For young Muslims seeking a different relationship between religion and politics, the Ash'ari theology has become attractive, as it allows them to refrain from engaging with political Islam without jeopardizing the integrity of their faith.
With the recent waves of jihadist violence that have antagonized ordinary Muslims, who were targeted as kuffar (infidels), the Ash’ari doctrine has gained traction—especially given that it absolutely rejects the charge of the Takfir (infidelity) doctrine against Muslims. This position has resonated with conservative Muslims, who have feared excommunication by extremist groups.
The war on terror led global and regional powers to reassess the relationships with all groups that might converge ideologically with jihadist organizations. This has meant that those powers have kept their distance from most Salafi currents, even the peaceful ones, because they were seen as subject to violent radicalization at any time. As a result, Salafis' public presence and proselytization (da’wah) efforts have been hindered.
These two developments have strengthened the presence of Ash'ari institutions, including not only al-Azhar in Egypt, but also al-Zaytuna in Tunisia, al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco, the official Islamic fatwa houses in Southeast Asia, the free scientific schools in the Levant, Yemen, and Egypt—as well as Ash’ari religious and scholarly leaders such as Abdullah bin Bayyah, Ali Juma'a, and Ba'alawi.
Building on the Ash'ari rejection of the principle of Al-Wala' wal-Bara' (loyalty and disavowal), which condemns establishing peaceful relations with non-Muslims, official Ash'ari institutions have begun to cooperate with Christian institutions to promote counter-terrorism activities.
The presence of religious leaders with a strategic commitment to the dissemination of the Ash'ari faith strengthened the alliance between Ash'ari institutions and followers of Maturidism—one of the Sunni schools of Islamic theology— in religious education, Islamic da’wah, and scholarly activity. They have also partnered to host specialized conferences, launch new research centers, and support the printing and publishing industry.
This rise in Ash’arism has coincided with a decline in the appeal of other Islamic currents, for a variety of social and political reasons. While these currents have been pervasive throughout the Muslim world, spreading their doctrines during the decades of the “Islamic Awakening”, the intellectual output of Ash’arism has not yet been disseminated to the Muslim public. Ash'arism thus aims to regain its position as the orthodoxy version of Islamic faith, returning to the time in the early history of Islam when it represented the predominant current.
The scholarly nature of the Ash'ari awakening helps to explain its reemergence in the wake of the Arab uprising. By separating faith from political agency, Ash'ari theology accommodates the increasingly apolitical masses who surfaced after the defeat of the Arab Spring, as it does not assess their faith according to their efforts to achieve structural political change. Similarly, Ash'arism does not tend to clash with the social legacies and cultural practices of society, whatever their shortcomings may be, by putting testing these practices against its doctrine.
Contrary to political Islam movements, Ash'arism affirms its legitimacy as a systematic theology by its lack of affiliation any political ideology and of any vision of an Islamic model of governance. In fact, Ash’ari theology and its schools tend to be skeptical of radical political and social changes, due to the uncertainty of their outcomes.
In light of the the profound changes brought about by the past revolutionary decade, the Ash’ari stance now justifies itself as providing rational Islamic discourse and a social context that transcends ideologies, despite being a conservative stance. Ash’aris base their political approach on non-ideological factors, which helps them survive without tainting their aqidah (creed). For Egypt specifically, as the space for political discourse shrinks, the effects of Ash'ari revivalism are evident in the more flexible and diverse tools it provides its followers—especially youth and women—to engage in important cultural and social debates, even on topics like women's issues.
Nouran Sayed Ahmed is an Egyptian writer who is interested in law, religion, and the politics of sports in Egypt. She is a researcher affiliated with the Henry Luce Foundation project on The Global Politics of “Moderate Islam." Follow her on X @NouranSAhmed1.
