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A bold analysis of the sources of the crisis in today's Islamic
world, from a public intellectual and statesman at its heart Islam
as a religion is central to the lives of over a billion people, but
its outer expression as a distinctive civilization has been
undergoing a monumental crisis. Buffeted by powerful adverse
currents, Islamic civilization today is a shadow of its former
self. The most disturbing and possibly fatal of these currents-the
imperial expansion of the West into Muslim lands and the blast of
modernity that accompanied it-are now compounded by a third giant
wave, globalization. These forces have increasingly tested Islam
and Islamic civilization for validity, adaptability, and the
ability to hold on to the loyalty of Muslims, says Ali A. Allawi in
his provocative new book. While the faith has proved resilient in
the face of these challenges, other aspects of Islamic civilization
have atrophied or died, Allawi contends, and Islamic civilization
is now undergoing its last crisis. The book explores how Islamic
civilization began to unravel under colonial rule, as its
institutions, laws, and economies were often replaced by inadequate
modern equivalents. Allawi also examines the backlash expressed
through the increasing religiosity of Muslim societies and the
spectacular rise of political Islam and its terrorist offshoots.
Assessing the status of each of the building blocks of Islamic
civilization, the author concludes that Islamic civilization cannot
survive without the vital spirituality that underpinned it in the
past. He identifies a key set of principles for moving forward,
principles that will surprise some and anger others, yet clearly
must be considered.
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