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How safe is Turkey's liberal democracy? The rise to power in 2002
of the right-leaning Islamic Justice and Development Party ignited
fears in the West that Turkey could no longer be relied upon to
provide a buffer against the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in
the Middle East. Once hailed by the West as a model of secularism
and moderation in the Muslim world, Turkey is now seen to be under
the influence of the 'creeping Islamisation' of the JDP (or AKP as
it is known in Turkey). Yet to what extent has this affected the
lives of Turkish citizens? Evangelia Axiarlis here explores the
contribution of the JDP to civil liberties and basic freedoms, long
suppressed by secular and statist Kemalist ideology, and how this
has remained unexamined despite more than a decade in government.
In this - the first detailed study of the policies and ideology of
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an's government - the author
examines the extent to which the JDP has worked to improve civil
life in Turkey and critically addresses whether a government built
on Islamic principles can champion political reform. Exploring how
Islam and democracy are neither monoliths nor mutually exclusive,
this is a timely contribution to the wider understanding of
political Islam.
Despite their small populations, the Arab states of the Gulf
exercise an enormous and wide-reaching influence. But all too
often, these states are treated as if their only importance were as
pawns in a global strategic board game, and they are simply dealt
with as mere models of the intersection of oil, wealth and power.
Here, Paul Dresch and James Piscatori bring together a more nuanced
picture: exploring how the citizen populations of these states
define themselves in a wider context. The Gulf provides extreme
examples of the nexus of identities, not only because these
polities are so dependent on transnational flows of wealth and its
imagery, but because at home the citizen workforce is often
outnumbered by migrant labour. Examining the issues such as
Gulf-owned transnational media, the role of women in the Kuwaiti
state and the way Saudi Arabia manages the yearly influx of
pilgrims for the Hajj. Monarchies and Nations is essential reading
for all those interested in the society, politics and the future
security of the Gulf.
Based on a reading of classical Islamic literature, the writings of
modem Muslims and on extensive travel and interviews, this book
discusses ways in which Muslim peoples adapt themselves to a world
composed of sovereign nation-states, having peaceful and equal
relations with both non-Muslim states and collectivities of other
Muslims. The classical and medieval legal theory of Islam appears
to place two obstacles in the way of such adaptations; it divides
the world into two areas, Muslim and non-Muslim, between which
relations can at best be those of truce; and it demands that the
life of societies should be regulated by the will of God as
revealed in the Qu'ran, not by the will of rulers or of the people.
Dr Piscatori shows that the traditional theory provides for some
degree of territorial pluralism, which has been clearly reflected
in the historical experience whereby stable nation-states have
emerged and become part of the international order.
The Iranian revolution greatly aroused outsiders' curiosity and
misunderstanding of Islam. The relatively easy overthrow of the
Shah and the pronouncements of the new Iranian regime brought to
the forefront an image of 'militant Islam' which has survived in
one form or another since the Crusades. At the time, there was the
assumption in the West that Islam was inevitably revolutionary,
militant, or at least anti-Western and that the Iranian example was
likely to be repeated in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other countries
where Muslims predominated. Originally published in paperback in
1983, this book was designed to examine such assumptions and to
analyse the complex roles which Islam plays in the political
process of several countries. Although the authors called upon the
insights of various disciplines, and chose different approaches,
they all shared the conviction that the idea of 'Islamic politics'
needed to be made specific if crude stereotypes about Islam were to
be avoided.
The Iranian revolution greatly aroused outsiders' curiosity and
misunderstanding of Islam. The relatively easy overthrow of the
Shah and the pronouncements of the new Iranian regime brought to
the forefront an image of 'militant Islam' which has survived in
one form or another since the Crusades. At the time, there was the
assumption in the West that Islam was inevitably revolutionary,
militant, or at least anti-Western and that the Iranian example was
likely to be repeated in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other countries
where Muslims predominated. Originally published in paperback in
1983, this book was designed to examine such assumptions and to
analyse the complex roles which Islam plays in the political
process of several countries. Although the authors called upon the
insights of various disciplines, and chose different approaches,
they all shared the conviction that the idea of 'Islamic politics'
needed to be made specific if crude stereotypes about Islam were to
be avoided.
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