The world is watching with uncertainity as the "Arab Spring" unfolds. Optimistically named by international media sources, the term "Arab Spring" associates the unrest with ideas of renewal, revival, and democratic thought and deed. Many hoped the overthrow of authoritarian leaders signaled a promising new beginning for the Arab world. Raphael Israeli argues that instead of paving a path toward liberal democracy, the Arab Spring in fact launched a power struggle. Judging from the experiences of countries where the dust is settling including Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and perhaps also Syria and Libya it appears that Islamic governments will fill the vacuum in leadership. The hopes that swept the Islamic world with the Arab Spring have given way to a winter of lost hopes and aspirations, as it becomes increasingly clear that democratic outcomes are not on the horizon. What is worse is that the West seems to have abandoned its hopes for democracy and freedom in the region, instead making peace with the idea that Islamic governments must be accepted as the lesser of evil options. Presenting a clear-eyed picture of the situation, Israeli examines thematic problems that cut across all the Muslim states experiencing unrest. He groups the countries into various blocs according to their shared characteristics, then discusses these groups one by one. For each country, he considers whether the liberal-democratic option is viable and examines what kind of regime could be considered legitimate and stable. This volume offers valuable insights for political scientists, Middle Eastern specialists, and the general informed public eager to comprehend the import of these momentous events.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The triple themes of this book - migration, pilgrimage and travel in Islam - are as old as the religion itself. The Prophet Muhammad made his famous archetypal "Hijra" (migration) from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, a year which became the Year 1 of the Muslim lunar calendar; the "Hajj" (pilgrimage) of Farewell enacted by the Prophet in 632 AD provided the paradigm for all future pilgrimages to the sacred Ka'ba in Mecca; while a much quoted hadith portrays the Founder of Islam counselling his followers that they should seek knowledge even as far as China. The concept of "Rihla" (travel) in search of knowledge thus became a primary motif in the lives of many medieval - and modern - Muslim scholars, jurists, collectors of tradition and, indeed, ordinary people.;The editor is also author of "A Popular Dictionary of Islam".

Examines the role of God in medieval Islamic philosophy and theology in a new and exciting way. Renouncing the traditional chronological method of considering Islamic philosophy, Netton uses modern literary modes of criticism derived from structuralism, post-structuralism and semiotics.

Hatred, Lies, and Violence in the World of Islam examines the torrential flood of anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, and anti-Zionist propaganda that permeates many Muslim societies. Raphael Israeli locates the source of this anti-Semitic sentiment in the inadequacies and insecurities of Muslim states. By demonizing and delegitimizing Israel and Jews, they seek to eliminate a successful counterexample of their own failures, thus putting an end to their own "humiliation." Beyond mapping the distribution of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda in the Arab and Islamic worlds, Israeli uses case-studies to illustrate the premises of this study: the Palestinians, who have a direct stake in battling Israel; Turkey, which now claims leadership of the Arab and Sunni Muslim worlds; and Shi'ite Iran, which provides a more extreme example of both hatred and disregard for fact and history while threatening to destroy Israel. Israeli documents the worldwide collaboration between Jew-haters of all sorts, explaining the exponential growth of Jew-hatred on the Internet, with thousands of new hate sites added every year, outpacing Jew-hatred in the traditional media. He places anti-Semitism in a broader tradition of political lies and political deceit. In the final chapter, Israeli considers the possibility of reversing anti-Jewish agitation in Muslim countries, which he finds unlikely because so many of the region's regimes are built on foundations of anti-Semitism.

'Timely and important' THE TIMES 'Considered and nuanced ... A must-read' The Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP 'Compelling and moving' Tom Holland, author of Dominion __________________ Islam is the fastest-growing faith community in Britain. Domes and minarets are redefining the skylines of towns and cities as mosques become an increasingly prominent feature. Yet while Britain has prided itself on being a global home of cosmopolitanism and modern civilisation, its deep-rooted relationship with Islam - unique in history - is complex, threatened by rising hostility and hatred, intolerance and ignorance. There is much media debate about embracing diversity in our communities, but what does integration look like on the ground, in places like Dewsbury, Glasgow, Belfast and London? How are Muslims, young and old, reconciling progressive values - of gender equality, individualism, the rule of law and free speech - with literalist interpretations of their faith? And how is this tension, away from the public gaze, unfolding inside mosques today? Ed Husain takes his search for answers into the heart of Britain's Muslim communities. Travelling the length and breadth of the country, Husain joins men and women in their prayers, conversations, meals, plans, pains, joys, triumphs and adversities. He tells their stories here in an open and honest account that brings the daily reality of British Muslim life sharply into focus - a struggle of identity and belonging, caught between tradition and modernity, East and West, revelation and reason.

Events in the last decade have transformed the Muslim world: the Iranian Revolution, the Rushdie affair, the Gulf War. Other influences on Muslim society have perhaps been more penetrating but less obvious. The outside world now reaches into even the most closeted Muslim home through the various channels of the mass media. Processes of globalization have hit traditional cultures so hard and in such a way that they have raised issues for Muslims which can no longer be ignored; Muslims are now forced to engage these issues and to formulate responses to them. Matters which in the past might have been considered by the well-informed few are now debated throughout society by people at every level of social organization. This book examines how Muslims across the globe have responded to these changes and contradictions. It tries to capture and explore some of the debate, uncertainty and conflict which they have generated as Islam moves towards the 21st century. The case studies presented - of Turkish, Trinidadian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Egyptian, North American, Middle Eastern and British Islam - describe both the general global processes now affecting Muslims everywhere.

In this challenging study of contemporary social theory, Bryan Turner examines the recent debate about orientalism in relation to postmodernism and the process of globalization. He provides a profound critique of many of the leading figures in classical orientalism. His book also considers the impact of globalization on Islam, the nature of oriental studies and decolonization, and the notion of `the world' in sociological theory. These cultural changes and social debates also reflect important changes in the status and position of intellectuals in modern culture who are threatened, not only by the levelling of mass culture, but also by the opportunities posed by postmodernism.

eBook available with sample pages: EB:0203427254

This book examines the central aspects of modernity and the underlying factors at work in the process of modernization. It begins by examining Western modernity and then uses the insight gained from this examination to study the implications of Western modernity for non-Western societies. The author also attempts to demonstrate the inadequacy of the functional approach for understanding the process of modernization in non-Western regions.

Islam has a very specific approach to commercial transactions, the law of contract, interest charges, indeed to the very nature of property. For financial institutions operating in an Islamic environment, or seeking to meet the requirements of communities committed to Islamic law, this poses a variety of problems. This important book investigates how such a challenge can be met in practice. The authors investigate the way Islamic banks work within different economic, financial, social, legal and religious environments. They take the reader through the basic principles involved, the issues that arise, and the difficulties that are often encountered. Drawing on detailed studies of Islamic banking in London, Jordan, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan, they provide an understanding of how complex Islamic concepts impact upon the use of financial instruments, commercial priorities and services. Relationships with central banks, comparative analysis of financial statements and the role of Islamic banking in a development context are also covered. ISLAMIC BANKING will be essential reading to all those involved in the setting up and running of Islamic banking units in western countries, and a key resource for students of economics in the international arena.

For Iran the years since Ayatollah Khomeini's death have been dominated by the need for political consolidation and economic reconstruction.The book assesses the critical dilemmas of the regime both previous to and since the demise of its first spiritual leader. The vital issues of political succession and constitutional reform are addressed, contributing to an analysis of the structures and politics of power. How these have reflected upon economic policy is considered with close atttention being given to the reform policies of Rafsanjani. Foreign policy and security issues are discussed in both regional and global terms and include a study of Iranian defence strategy and its controversial re-armament drive.The final chapter examines the direction and context of all of these major policy areas, providing an analysis of whether the Islamic Republic truly represents a revolutionary alternative for the Third World or whether in fact it has developed in time to fall within a similar mould to other notable revolutions, casting by the wayside any uniquely Islamic agenda and alternatives.At the heart of this study is the belief that the Islamic regime has, since the cease-fire with Iraq, but more specifically since Ayatollah Khomeini's death passed into a new stage of development, referred to in the book as the `Second Republic'.

"Precisely the kind of book that Western economists have been waiting for."-John Presley, former professor of economics, University of Loughborough A systematic and rigourous exposition of various aspects of the economics of Islam. These essays not only provide an overview of the various dimensions of Islamic economics but also convincingly establish the viability of the application of these concepts in the contemporary set-up. The analysis presented in this book also establishes the amenability of Islamic economics to scientific investigation and hence its conclusions and analysis directly comparable with what is known as the science of Economics. The scope of this book as well as the analytical and rigorous approach used in presenting Islamic economics makes this a useful and perhaps the only book so far available that can be utilized as teaching material in graduate programs in universities both in the East and the West where this subject is taught. It fulfills the need of graduate students of economics in that it provides rigorous reading material to assist them in their course work or in pursuing their own research on the subject. M. Fahim Khan is the president of the Islamic Society of Institutional Economics at the International Institute of Islamic Economics, Islamabad, Pakistan, and is the author of ten monographs on Islamic economics.

Amid a devastating economic crisis, two tragic events coming from the outside - the wave of immigration and Islamic terrorism - have radically changed the profile and significance of the space we call Europe. Given a paradigm leap of this sort, philosophical reflection is in a position to exert its creative power more than other types of knowledge. But this can only happen if it is able to go beyond its own lexical boundaries, by turning its gaze outside itself. Here the leading Italian philosopher Roberto Esposito looks at how various strands of German, French, and Italian thought have achieved this outward turn and successfully captured international attention by breaking with the language of early nineteenth-century crisis philosophies. When analyzed from this novel perspective, the great texts of Adorno, Derrida, Foucault, and Deleuze, as well as works by the latest Italian thinkers, are cast in a new light. From the relationship and tension between them, reconstructed here with extraordinary theoretical sensitivity, a form of thought can arise that is equal to the challenges faced by Europe today. This erudite and wide-ranging analysis of European thought in the light of the crises facing the continent today will appeal to students and scholars of philosophy, critical theory, and beyond.

Many scholars were convinced that the existing Western style of life, thought, and political institutions could easily be adapted to Muslim societies by bringing them into line with Islamic belief systems and rules. But after some experiences they were surprised when even intellectuals who had Western academic training remained deeply attached to Islam. In this book, Davutoglu develops a comparative analysis between Western and Islamic political theories and images. His argument contends that the conflicts and contrasts between Islamic and Western political thought originate from their philosophical, methodological, and theoretical background rather than mere institutional and historical differences. The questions of how and through which processes these alternative conceptions of the world affect political ideas via a set of axiological presuppositions are the crux of the book. Contents: Transliteration; Introduction; I. Theoretical Inquiries. Western Paradigm: Ontological Proximity; Islamic Paradigm: Tawhid and Ontological Differentiation; II. Political Consequences. Justification of the Socio-Political System: Cosmologico-Ontological Foundations; Legitimation of Political Authority: Epistemologico-Axiological Foundations; Power Theories and Pluralism; The Political Unit and the Universal Political System; Concluding Comparative Remarks.

Islamic banking and economics (IBE) is a fast-growing subject of vital interest in both East and West as Muslims change their attitudes towards investments and find ways to invest their funds according to the Islamic faith. Along with the rapid developments in Islamic banking there has been a concomitant increase in the quantity of relevant IBE material generated. Since IBE is a highly specialized cross-disciplinary field involving economics, business, marketing, religion, philosophy and culture, it is difficult for researchers to locate and obtain information without having to go through several secondary sources such as indexing and abstracting services. In this electronic age, it is essential for researchers to be aware of the various forms of information available for consultation. Yet, until now, the few previous works on IBE information sources have been limited to the coverage of materials available during the early 1980s, before the most recent period of expansion, and in addition the materials cited were often unpublished and therefore unobtainable. In answer to a long-felt need, "Information Sources on Islamic Banking and Economics" provides a detailed bibliography of IBE sources concentrating on the period 1980-1990 with some data from 1991 and 1992, and with the additional unique feature of setting out, for the first time, the information infrastructure of the IBE discipline. A comprehensive author index and a keyword subject index for important terms are provided, and only published - and therefore easily obtainable - items have been included. This book is essential reading for all researchers, economists, bankers and others who need information on the increasingly important field of Islamic banking and economics, and related areas.

The term 'Islamic cities' has been used to refer to cities of the Islamic world, centring on the Middle East. Academic scholarship has tended to link the cities of the Islamic world with Islam as a religion and culture, in an attempt to understand them as a whole in a unified and homogenous way. Examining studies (books, articles, maps, bibliographies) of cities which existed in the Middle East and Central Asia in the period from the rise of Islam to the beginning of the 20th century, this book seeks to examine and compare Islamic cities in their diversity of climate, landscape, population and historical background. Coordinating research undertaken since the nineteenth century, and comparing the historiography of the Maghrib, Mashriq, Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, Islamic Urbanism provides a fresh perspective on issues that have exercised academic concern in urban studies and highlights avenues for future research.

First published in 1994. This book is focussed is on the global vision of the various components of the Islamic movement in Egypt from 1967 to 1981. It is, in fact, a case study of the perception of foreign policy issues and the international system by the Islamic movement.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203401522

First published in 1993. This is a collection of Selected Verses from Nasir-i Khusraw's Dzvan. The work of the Persian author in both its philosophical and poetical aspects has been known in the West for more than a century. The outward political and religious events of the first half of the eleventh century were the canvas on which Nasir-i Khusraw's poetry and prose developed.

Since the Islamic revolutionary movement overthrew the Peacock Throne (the Shah) in 1979 the Islamic Republic has maintained its credibility and the loyalty of the people of Iran. It has survived an extremely destructive war with Iraq, isolation from the West and the rest of the Middle East except Syria, and the death of the Ayaltollah Khomeini.

This book explores the social transformation of Iran in this period stressing the importance of political culture and ideology. It argues that the systematic building of a legitimate Islamic political culture is the key to the success of the regime.

The authors of the book address specific aspects of Iran's political culture within a general theoretical framework laid out in the introduction. There is discussion of a wide range of topics ranging from the relationship of the individual to society to Westoxication, from Shi'ism to the Islamisation of film culture.

First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Published here for the first time in English, this highly important work by Henry Corbin, the Islamic scholar, philosopher, and historian of religion, is a definitive interpretation of traditional Islamic philosophy from the beginning to the present day. In this authoritative volume, Corbin makes clear the great themes of the doctrinal and mystical vision of Islamic philosophy through a wealth of comparative parallels and in relation to the most profound currents of Western philosophy. Corbin's "History of Islamic Philosophy" is both an inspirational book and an essential work of reference, enabling readers to discover for themselves the richness of this body of thought.