Religion and Politics: Islam and Muslim Civilization / Edition 2

by Jan-Erik Lane, Hamadi Redissi

Overview

Muslim societies are struggling under the need for modernization and the drift towards Islamic fundamentalism. The balance between these two forces is struck differently in the various Muslim societies depending upon the constellation of groups as historical legacies. However, the tension is real. In this work, Jan-Erik Lane and Hamadi Redissi look at the underlying social consequences of religious beliefs to account for the political differences between major civilizations of the world against a background of the rise of modern capitalism. Offering a timely new appraisal of the political and social impact of Islam, this expanded second edition of Religion and Politics has been fully updated in line with new events and will be welcomed by political scientists and historians alike. In a readable and accessible style, this thought-provoking work raises the question of whether the tenets of Islam might be reconciled with the requirements of post-modernity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780754674184
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/15/2009
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jan-Erik Lane, University of Freiburg, Germany and Hamedi Redissi is Professor at the University of Tunis in Tunisia.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; Section I The Muslim Civilisation and Modernisation: Modernity, post-modernity and the Muslim world; Islam and post-modernity; The Weber thesis. Section II Islam as a World Religion: Mohammed - a political prophet; Islam: faith and rationality. Section III The Muslim Legacy: Traditional domination; Islamic law and Arab legal institutions; Capitalism in Muslim countries. Section IV Paths of Muslim Modernisation: The modernisation of Arabia; Separation between state and religion?; Towards a new fundamentalism. Section V The Problems of Muslim Civilisation Modernisation: Islam and democracy; Islam and politics: where the principal difficulty of post-modernity lies. Section IV State and Religion in Maghreb: Religion and human rights: constants and constraints; Islamic politics and the military: Algeria 1962-2008 Riadh Sidaoui. Epilogue: Islam - a religion of warriors?; Fundamentalism and the state: need for mutual explanation; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'Jan-Erik Lane and Hamadi Redissi have produced a stimulating and informative account of the interaction of Islam and politics both historically and at the current time. They present a detailed knowledge of Islam, producing a book that is essential reading for anyone with an interest in this crucial topic.' Jeffrey Haynes, London Metropolitan University, UK

From the Publisher