In the modern world the politicization of religions, especially Islam, is an acute problem. Interest in political religion is due to its huge influence on mass consciousness and is objective in nature. Political Islam is represented by various Islamic movements, which in the Muslim world express the interests of various social groups. The influence of Islam on political life increases in conditions of poorly functioning democratic system. The aim of the article is to identify the ideological and political factors that cause the aggravation of ethno-confessional contradictions and radicalize Islam. The main method of research is a systematic approach based on the need for a consistent study of the sources of the development of the political philosophy of Islam in the context of the chronological sequence of the historical setting. Theoretical significance of the research consists in the study of the action of the religious factor in modern conditions and its influence on the specifics of international relations in the Middle East region. Practical significance consists in the fact that some provisions of this study expand the existing knowledge about the impact of the religious factor in modern conditions and can be used as a theoretical and methodological support for the creation of various educational programs in the system of higher education, as well as textbooks in the disciplines «Theory of Politics», «History of Political Studies» and «Political Science». It is concluded that Islamic theology and the religious worldview of Muslims depend on how the relationship of man to God is emphasized, understood or interpreted and how radical the idea of the absence of intermediaries between man and God is held.