First published in 1978, this title analyses a range of problems that arise in the study of North Africa and the Middle East, bridging the gap between studies of Sociology, Islam, and Marxism. Both Sociology and the study of Islam draw on an Orientalist tradition founded on an idealist epistemology, ethnocentric values and an evolutionary view of historical development. Bryan Turner challenges the basic assumptions of Orientalism by considering such issues as the social structure of Islamic society, the impact of capitalism in the Middle East, the effect of Israel on territories, revolutions, social classes and nationalism. A detailed and fascinating study, Marx and the End of Orientalism will be of particular interest to students studying the sociology of colonialism and development, Marxist sociology and sociological theory.

Winner of Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA)'s inaugural PESA Book Awards in 2015, and The University of Hong Kong Research Output Prize for Education 2014-15. Muslims and Islam in U.S. Education explores the complex interface that exists between U.S. school curriculum, teaching practice about religion in public schools, societal and teacher attitudes toward Islam and Muslims, and multiculturalism as a framework for meeting the needs of minority group students. It presents multiculturalism as a concept that needs to be rethought and reformulated in the interest of creating a more democratic, inclusive, and informed society.Islam is an under-considered religion in American education, due in part to the fact that Muslims represent a very small minority of the population today (less than 1%). However, this group faces a crucial challenge of representation in United States society as a whole, as well as in its schools. Muslims in the United States are impacted by ignorance that news and opinion polls have demonstrated is widespread among the public in the last few decades. U.S. citizens who do not have a balanced, fair and accurate view of Islam can make a variety of decisions in the voting booth, in job hiring, and within their small-scale but important personal networks and spheres of influence, that make a very negative impact on Muslims in the United States. This book presents new information that has implications for curricula, religious education, and multicultural education today, examining the unique case of Islam in U.S. education over the last 20 years. Chapters include: Perspectives on Multicultural Education 9/11, the Media, and the New Need to Know Islam and Muslims in Public Schools Blazing a Path for Intercultural Education This book is an essential resource for professors, researchers, and teachers of social studies, particularly those involved with multicultural issues, critical and sociocultural analysis of education and schools; as well as interdisciplinary scholars and students in anthropology and education.

This volume takes a unique and challenging look at how money has operated in Islamic society and at how Islamic theoretical frameworks have influenced perceptions of money. The author draws upon historical, data and policy analysis to present a comparative study of monetary theories, including recent treatment of money by Islamic economists. Discussion also covers the nature of joint venture, stock markets, banks and financial intermediaries, price stability and international trade. This work sheds pioneering light in this area, and will be of interest to academics, graduates and researchers internationally.

The scholarly study of Islam has become ever more insular and apologetic. Academic Islamic Studies has tried to maintain a focus on truth, authenticity, experience and meaning and has effectively avoided discussion of larger social, cultural and ideological issues. Many scholars of Islam have presented themselves to their colleagues, the media and the public as the interpreters of Islam and have done so with an interpretation which tends, almost universally, to the liberal and egalitarian. The ignorance and hostility which the Islamic faith has faced since 9/11 has partly necessitated the taking of such a position. But, as 'Theorizing Islam' argues, the issue remains that only one interpretation of Islam is generally being presented and, as with any interpretation, this has its own assumptions. The aim of 'Theorizing Islam' is to explore the potential for a fuller, more honest and more sophisticated approach to both theory and methodology in the academic study of Islam.

This is an exploration of the discourse and performance, since the 1980s, of an influential Sunni Islamic scholarly and political movement in Saudi Arabia. The text shows how reformism is deeply rooted in Islamic tradition and how Sunni scholars have become acivists for change in Saudi Arabia.

Providing an ethnographic account of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and its Youth Wing (Dewan Pemuda PAS), this book analyses the genesis and role of Islamic movements in terms of their engagement in mainstream politics. It explores the party's changing approach towards popular culture and critically investigates whether the narrative of a post-Islamist turn can be applied to the PAS Youth. The book shows that in contrast to the assumption that Islamic marketization and post-Islamism are reinforcing each other, the PAS Youth has strategically appropriated and integrated Islamic consumerism to pursue a decidedly Islamist - or 'pop-Islamist' - political agenda. The media-savvy PAS Youth elites, which are at the forefront of implementing new outreach strategies for the party, categorically oppose tendencies of political moderation among the senior party. Instead, they are most passionately calling for the establishment of a Syariah-based Islamic oder for state and society, although these renewed calls are increasingly expressed through modern channels such as Facebook, YouTube, rock music, celebrity advertising, branded commodities and other market-driven forms of social movement mobilization. A timely and significant contribution to the literature on Islam and politics in Malaysia and beyond, this book sheds new light on widespread assumptions or even hopes of "post-Islamism". It is of interest to students and scholars of Political Religion and Southeast Asian Politics.

This volume examines international statebuilding in terms of language and meanings, rather than focusing narrowly on current policy practices. After two decades of evolution towards more 'integrated,' 'multi-faceted' or, simply stated, more intrusive statebuilding and peacebuilding operations, a critical literature has slowly emerged on the economic, social and political impacts of these interventions. Scholars have started to analyse the 'unintended consequences' of peacebuilding missions, analysing all aspects of interventions. Central to the book is the understanding that language is both the most important tool for building anything of social significance, and the primary repository of meanings in any social setting. Hence, this volume exemplifies how the multiple realities of state, state fragility and statebuilding are being conceptualised in mainstream literature, by highlighting the repercussions this conceptualisation has on 'good practices' for statebuilding. Drawing together leading scholars in the field, this project provides a meeting point between constructivism in international relations and the critical perspective on liberal peacebuilding, shedding new light on the commonly accepted meanings and concepts underlying the international (or world) order, as well as the semantics of contemporary statebuilding practices. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding and intervention, war and conflict studies, security studies and international relations.

Since the late 1980s, growing migration from countries with a Muslim cultural background, and increasing Islamic fundamentalism related to terrorist attacks in Western Europe and the US, have created a new research field investigating the way states and ordinary citizens react to these new phenomena. However, whilst we already know much about how Islam finds its place in Western Europe and North America, and how states react to Muslim migration, we know surprisingly little about the attitudes of ordinary citizens towards Muslim migrants and Islam. Islamophobia has only recently started to be addressed by social scientists. With contributions by leading researchers from many countries in Western Europe and North America, this book brings a new, transatlantic perspective to this growing field and establishes an important basis for further research in the area. It addresses several essential questions about Islamophobia, including: what exactly is Islamophobia and how can we measure it? how is it related to similar social phenomena, such as xenophobia? how widespread are Islamophobic attitudes, and how can they be explained? how are Muslims different from other outgroups and what role does terrorism and 9/11 play? Islamophobia in the West will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, religious studies, social psychology, political science, ethnology, and legal science.

Islamic schools, especially madrasahs, have been viewed as sites of indoctrination for Muslim students and militants. Some educators and parents in the United States have also regarded introductory courses on Islam in some public schools as indoctrinatory. But what do we mean by "indoctrination"? And is Islamic education indoctrinatory? This book critically discusses the concept of indoctrination in the context of Islamic education. It explains that indoctrination occurs when a person holds to a type of beliefs known as control beliefs that result in ideological totalism. Using Indonesia as an illustrative case study, the book expounds on the conditions for an indoctrinatory tradition to exist and thrive. Examples include the Islamic school co-founded by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and the militant organisation Jemaah Islamiyah. The book further proposes ways to counter and avoid indoctrination through formal, non-formal, and informal education. It argues for the creation and promotion of educative traditions that are underpinned by religious pluralism, strong rationality, and strong autonomy. Examples of such educative Muslim traditions in Indonesia will be highlighted. Combining philosophical inquiry with empirical research, this book is a timely contribution to the study of contemporary and often controversial issues in Islamic education.

This title presents an annotated index and general orientation of Islamic art collections in museums, libraries, other institutions and on private hands. It includes a short description of each collection, its main characteristics, documentation, publications and exhibitions.

This book presents Islam as a lived religion through observation and discussion of how Muslims from a variety of countries, traditions and views practice their religion. It conveys the experiences of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds and demonstrates the dynamic and heterogeneous world of Islam. The fascinating case studies range from Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon to the UK, USA, Australia and Indonesia, and cover topics such as music, art, education, law, gender and sexuality. Together they will help students understand how research into religious practice is carried out, and what issues and challenges arise.

This book presents Islam as a lived religion through observation and discussion of how Muslims from a variety of countries, traditions and views practice their religion. It conveys the experiences of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds and demonstrates the dynamic and heterogeneous world of Islam. The fascinating case studies range from Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon to the UK, USA, Australia and Indonesia, and cover topics such as music, art, education, law, gender and sexuality. Together they will help students understand how research into religious practice is carried out, and what issues and challenges arise.

Like anywhere else, the present-day Islamic world too is grappling with modernity and postmodernity, secularisation and globalisation. Muslims are raising questions about religious representations and authority. This has given rise to the emergence of alternative Islamic discourses which challenge binary oppositions and dichotomies of orthodoxy and heterodoxy, continuity and change, state and civil society. It also leads to a dispersal of authority, a collapse of existing hierarchical structures and gender roles. This book further argues that the centre of gravity of many of these alternative Islamic discourses is shifting from the Arabic-speaking 'heartland' towards the geographical peripheries of the Muslim world and expatriate Muslims in North America and Europe. At the same time, in view of recent seismic shifts in the political constellation of the Middle East, the trends discussed in this book hold important clues for the possible direction of future developments in that volatile part of the Muslim world.

In contrast to many books on Islam that focus on political rhetoric and activism, this book explores Islam's extraordinarily rich cultural and artistic diversity, showing how sound, music and bodily performance offer a window onto the subtleties and humanity of Islamic religious experience. Through a wide range of case studies from West Asia, South Asia and North Africa and their diasporas - including studies of Sufi chanting in Egypt and Morocco, dance in Afghanistan, and "Muslim punk" on-line - the book demonstrates how Islam should not be conceived of as being monolithic or monocultural, how there is a large disagreement within Islam as to how music and performance should be approached, such disagreements being closely related to debates about orthodoxy, secularism, and moderate and fundamental Islam, and how important cultural activities have been, and continue to be, for the formation of Muslim identity.

This book helps to deepen our understanding of the varieties of contemporary Islam and the issues that are of most concern to Muslims today. Oliver Leaman explores some of the controversies and debates that exist within Islam and between Islam and other religions. He considers how the religion can be defined by looking at the contrast between competing sets of beliefs, and arguments amongst Muslims themselves over the nature of the faith. Areas covered include: Qur'anic interpretation, gender, finance, education, and nationalism. Examples are taken from a range of contexts and illustrate the diversity of approaches to Islam that exists today.

Focusing on three important interrelated issues, Women and Civil Society in Turkey challenges the classical definition, developed in the West, of civil society as an equivalent of the public sphere in which women are excluded. First it shows how feminist movements have developed a new definition of civil society to include women. Second it draws attention to the role of women in the modernization of Turkey with special reference to the debate on the possibility of an indigenous feminist movement. Finally, it underlines the contribution of feminist, Islamic and Kurdish women's movements in the transition from an ideologically constructed, uniform public sphere to a multi-public domain. Giving attention to the influence of diverse women's movements over Turkish political values this book sheds light into the issue of how a feminine civil society has been constructed as part of a plural public space in Turkey. A-mer Aaha argues that this new public realm is the product of values and institutions which have been developed by diverse women's groups who have succeeded in eliminating the traditional barricades between public and domestic spheres and in steering women into public life without sacrificing their own values.

First published in 1984. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Islam is a burning topic in modern scholarship and contemporary world affairs. It is a subject poorly understood by Western observers, and in this book Professor Montgomery Watt takes a significant step towards its demystification. Montgomery Watt examines the crucial questions of traditional world-view and self-image which dominate the thinking of Muslims today. This traditional self-image causes them to perceive world events in a different perspective from Westerners - a fact not always appreciated by the foreign ministries of Western powers. Professor Watt presents a brilliant and critical analysis of the traditional Islamic self-image, showing how it distorts Western modernism and restricts Muslims to a peripheral role in world affairs. In a scholarly and incisive way, he traces this harmful image to its origins in the medieval period and then to the traumatic exposure of Muslims to the West in modern times. He argues that Muslim culture is suffering from a dangerous introspection, and in his closing chapters presents a constructive criticism of contemporary Islam, aimed at contributing to a truer, more realistic Islamic self-image for today. First published in 1988.

The traditional Islamic boarding schools known as pesantren are crucial centres of Muslim learning and culture within Indonesia, but their cultural significance has been underexplored. This book is the first to explore understandings of gender and Islam in pesantren and Sufi orders in Indonesia. By considering these distinct but related Muslim gender cultures in Java, Lombok and Aceh, the book examines the broader function of pesantren as a force for both redefining existing modes of Muslim subjectivity and cultivating new ones. It demonstrates how, as Muslim women rise to positions of power and authority in this patriarchal domain, they challenge and negotiate "normative" Muslim patriarchy while establishing their own Muslim "authenticity." The book goes on to question the comparison of Indonesian Islam with the Arab Middle East, challenging the adoption of expatriate and diasporic Middle Eastern Muslim feminist discourses and secular western feminist analyses in Indonesian contexts. Based on extensive fieldwork, the book explores configurations of female leadership, power, feminisms and sexuality to reveal multiple Muslim selves in pesantren and Sufi orders, not only as centres of learning, but also as social spaces in which the interplay of gender, politics, status, power and piety shape the course of life.

This book helps to deepen our understanding of the varieties of contemporary Islam and the issues that are of most concern to Muslims today. Oliver Leaman explores some of the controversies and debates that exist within Islam and between Islam and other religions. He considers how the religion can be defined by looking at the contrast between competing sets of beliefs, and arguments amongst Muslims themselves over the nature of the faith. Areas covered include: Qur'anic interpretation, gender, finance, education, and nationalism. Examples are taken from a range of contexts and illustrate the diversity of approaches to Islam that exists today.

This volume presents carefully selected research by reputed scholars on diverse topics dealing with the economic life of Muslims. The book provides a perspective not only on key aspects of the moral economy but also on the behaviour and expectations of economic agents. The distinguished editors have made a valuable contribution by expanding the scope of typical Islamic economics literature and by including topics dealing with the day-to-day life of Muslim society.' - Zamir Iqbal, The World Bank Global Center for Islamic Finance DevelopmentAccording to the most recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly one in four people in the world are Muslim. In light of these numbers, Handbook on Islam and Economic Life is one of the first books to consider Islam within a broader economic sphere by focusing on the ways in which Islam shapes and interacts with the economy. With contributions from leading scholars, this unique Handbook explores how Islam impinges upon and seeks to condition major aspects of economic life including economic organization, business and management, finance and investment, charity, mutuality and self-help, and government. It concludes by analyzing the link between religion and development, the present economic circumstances in Arab countries and the vexed issue of the origins and causes of underdevelopment in Muslim countries. Covering a breadth of topics and research, this book will be essential reading for academics in both Muslim and western universities, graduates and postgraduates of Islamic studies as well as Islamic and other research institutes. Contributors include: B.A. Al-Foul, A.A. Adeyemi, H. Ahmed, T.A. Alias, M. Ariff, M. Chaudry, M. Cizakca, H. Furqani, I.H. Genc, R. Haniffa, M.K. Hassan, M. Hudaib, Z. Iqbal, A.A. Islahi, A.G. Ismail, A.A. Jobst, M. Kahf, M. Khan, S. Kostyshak, M.A. Laldin, M.K. Lewis, N.A. Muhamed, G. Naufal, V. Nienhaus, U.A. Oseni, B.T. Possumah, J.E. Rauch C.E. Regenstein, J.M. Regenstein, M.N. Riaz, J. Rubin, M. Safari, M.N. Siddiqi, S.A. Siddiqui, A. Subhani, R. Wilson, O. Yousfi, A. Zaman

This collection explores issues of adaptation between Islam and North American culture, including the dynamics of the family, strategies for coping, the influence of an alien environment upon believers, and the role of women in an Islamic setting.

The Taliban are yet another manifestation of the growth of radical Islam worldwide. This book explores what they stand for and the factors leading to their rapid rise to military and political dominance over Afghanistan. It considers the many influences on their ideology emanating from within the country, the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East. It describes the war which continues to afflict the Afghan people as well as the geo-political context and the possible part played by certain powers in the region, and by the United States, in the Taliban's dramatic expansion. Peter Marsden examines the unique and complicated character of an Islamic revivalist movement like the Taliban. He confronts the issue of international responsibility in situations of chronic conflict brought on by external interference, and considers the dilemmas faced by humanitarian agencies in seeking to reconcile the evident need for assistance with the often difficult political and human rights context in which they are working. He examines the cultural conflict between Western thinking and the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic values, particularly in relation to gender, and asks how the international community should deal with this conflict.

This book examines how an elite group of traditionists, historians and theologians shaped Muslims' perceptions of their prophet, their community and their behavior by retelling and interpreting the story of Muhammad's ascent to heaven (the mi'raj).

The Armenian History attributed to Sebeos is one of the major works of early Armenian historiography. It traces the fortunes of Armenia in the sixth and seventh centuries within the broader context of the time, including the reign of Khosrov II (589-628) and the early Muslim expansion.

This is the first English translation of the modern critical edition of the Armenian text. The historical commentary compares Sebeos's account with other available sources and highlights the particular value of this Armenian witness to the momentous events of his time.

This book will appeal to all those interested in Armenia, the Caucasus, the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Middle East in late antiquity. It will be of particular value to Islamicists, since Sebeos not only sets the scene for the coming of Islam but also provides the only substantial non-Muslim account of the initial period of expansion. The notes are specifically aimed at the reader unfamiliar with Armenian; with the maps and appendices they will guide the nonspecialist through the complexities of Armenian society and the intricacies of family politics.