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198 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 11 / 2018 is a reflection of the believer’s lack of faith and unwillingness to submit to God. Hence, salvation is impossible without law. This principle has implications for the Islamic state. If following the sharia is a precondition for salvation, then political leaders and clerics alike play a role in encouraging what Islam regards as the good and forbidding evil, a role they played, to various degrees, for the entirety of the pre-modern period. Continuing with Hamid’s view, since the Ottoman Caliphate was formally abolished in 1924, the struggle to establish a new political order has raged on in the Middle East. At its center is the problem of religion and its role in the new political order. And up to now, there has been no, or at least insufficient consensus on the most appropriate response to this problem. In the 1920’s, secular nationalist ideologies were beginning to be embraced by the region’s elite. In their view, the old and outdated Islamic regime of the caliphate would only stand in the way of the modernisation of the nation (a new term for the region at the time). After the trauma of colonialism and hard-won independence, the new regimes offered a gleam of hope for a new and different future. But, throughout the 20th century, many of the young nation-states descended into dictatorship. Secular nationalism was not the only response to modern challenges. Modern-day Islamists interpreted events quite differently, according to Hamid, viewing the deteriorating state of the region as yet more evidence of God’s displeasure. To regain his pleasure would require returning to the unblemished purity of Islam’s founding and the caliphate. These Islamic modernists were the precursors to modern-day Islamists. From among them, a movement was born in Egypt in 1928 with the slogan: «Islam is the solution». It was the Muslim Brotherhood, which was to have a key influence on the origin and subsequent development of political Islam throughout the region13, including Salafists and jihadists. It was also the basis for the three parties analysed in this paper: Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda party, Turkey’s AKP and Morocco’s JDP. Hassan al-Banna founded an organisation based on a model of political activism combined with Islamic charity work. The movement initially aimed simply to spread Islamic morals and good works, but soon became involved in politics to create a state governed by Islamic law or sharia. Throughout the years, the movement has supported or opposed Egypt’s successive governments. Firstly, it supported the military coup d’etat led by a group of young officers calling themselves the «Free Officers» in 1952 because it put an end to colonial rule, even though the new regime did not share its political objective of establishing an Islamic state. Then, at the height of Nasser’s Pan-Arab regime in 1954, the Muslim Brotherhood was banned and persecuted. The group continued, however, to radicalise and grow 13  http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2013/09/130923_egipto_hermanos_musulmanes_mes Accessed on 26-07-2016. Also available in English at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east- http://revista.ieee.es 12313405.

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