The future of political Islam / Graham E. Fuller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fuller, Graham E., 1937-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islam and politics--History--20th century.

Islam and politics.

Islamic fundamentalism.

East and West.

History.

Physical Description:

xix, 227 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Summary:

Islamic political movements have long been treated as exotic, incomprehensible, and dangerous. Terrorism and threats of violence have focused concern on extreme groups and ideologies. It is easy to believe that Islam and Muslims are enemies of the West; it is also wrong. This sweeping survey of trends in the Muslim world, from Morocco to the Philippines, explores the diversity of Islamic political activity and makes clear that Islamic political movements represent a broad spectrum of outlook and behavior. Whether traditional or liberal, these movements have become an important vehicle for the concerns, aspirations, and grievances of vast numbers of Muslims worldwide and are a natural outgrowth of Muslim history. Fuller contends that while political Islam is the dominant intellectual current, a focus on radicalism and extremism blinds us from another trend: liberal political Islam.

Proponents of liberal political Islam emphasize human rights and democracy, tolerance, and cooperation. Yet they face an uphill struggle as authoritarian regimes both oppress opposition and use Islam to justify their undemocratic rule. Islam is the vehicle and coin of the struggle between dictatorial states and their challengers; it is also a source of mobilization in inter-ethnic conflicts. Central to identity, Islam provides comfort, familiarity, and reassuring moral discipline for people who feel impotent politically and frustrated socially. As people are denied avenues to participate and criticize, as secular ideologies have failed, religion has come to play a central role.

The issues are not what Islam is, but what Muslims want, and not whether Islam will play a central role in politics, but which Islam. As Islam has become the vocabulary for political and social expression, it has come to serve various agendas. Graham Fuller brings a lifetime of experience in the Muslim world to shed light on how common, even universal, political behavior takes on a distinctively Islamic guise in the Muslim world. By examining the social, economic, and political context, he explains that the struggle between the fundamentalists and liberals will determine the future of political Islam.

Contents:

1. The Anguish of Islamic History 1

2. The Uses of Political Islam: Islamism in Action 13

3. Islamist Polarities 47

4. Islamism and Global Geopolitics 67

5. Islam and Terrorism 83

6. Islamism in Power: Iran, Sudan, and Afghanistan 97

7. Islamism in Politics 119

8. Islamism and the West 145

9. The Impact of Global Forces on Political Islam 167

10. The Future of Political Islam: Its Dilemmas and Options 193.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [215]-220) and index.

ISBN:

1403961360

OCLC:

51446081

Online:

Publisher description