Religion and old ruling structures

Another aspect of traditional Arab ruling structures that I didn’t get to in the documentary was the relation between the religious and political rulers. Prior to colonialism, the religious leaders would hold in check the political leaders, making sure that the political leadership was acting morally and in the interests of the people. While this concept is a little bit idealized as corruption and moral dubiousness was similar to that of medieval Europe, it shows that religion was deeply ingrained in the power structure. After colonialism, and secularism the religious element was removed and this allowed rulers to become the dictators we see today.