Global Political Islam

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 388 pages
• Published by: Routledge
• Edition: 1st Edition October 9, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0415326079
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0415326070
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

Product Description


This book offers an accessible and comprehensive account of political Islam in the twenty-first century.

Drawing on insights from comparative politics, sociology, international relations and Islamic studies, it explains the complex interaction between political Islam, nationalism, state and society, and globalization. An ideal teaching text, Global Political Islam also provides the necessary historical background and conceptual tools for understanding contemporary Muslim politics. The book contains detailed up-to-date case studies of political Islam in a variety of key settings such as Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Palestine. It also explains the evolution of Islamic radicalism through a detailed account of Al Qaeda and the global jihad movement. Transnational Islamic networking receives considerable attention, as does the role of new media and information technologies in political Islam. Fully illustrated throughout, featuring maps, supplementary textbox case studies, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading, this is the ideal introduction to the crucial rule of political Islam in the contemporary world.

Reader Reviews
This is a first rate overview and summary of political islam, mainly in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It summarizes the main movements in numerous countries/areas, and attempts to draw out themes with respect to the various interations between "Islamic" movements and political interaction within these areas and countries, as well as in the broader approach taken by the more global Islamic movements. It is an overview, and while it cites basic readings, secondary and occasionally primary sources, it does not delve deeply into the theoretical basis of political islam, or into the minutia of the history of these movements. However, the bibliography does provide a good source of references for furthur reading. The book is is not exhausive: for example there is not much on the Islamic movements of India or what was Soviet Central Asia. It does presuppose a familiarity with Islam, in its various forms, and the recent (18th through 21st)century history of the Middle East and Islamic World. I detect no major bias: this is not a polemic, but a serious attempt at organizing and synthesizing a large body of information into a concise and readable form. With these caveats, I strongly recommend this book as a suitable introduction to Political Islam.