Tensions and Transitions in the Muslim World

by Louay M. Safi

Overview

Tensions and Transitions in the Muslim World provides an alternative reading of Middle Eastern politics and political culture by focusing on the dynamics of change, and examining the role of Islam in the emerging modern Middle East. Louay Safi contends that by focusing on radical and traditionalist Islam, Middle East specialists often overlook the liberal manifestations of Islam, which, though marginalized, constitute the driving force in the sociopolitical development of the Middle East. To capture the dynamics of progress in the Middle East, Safi examines the impact of the ideological struggle and intellectual debate between the forces of modernism and Islamic traditionalism on the transformation of mainstream society, and delineates the emerging sociopolitical outlooks and orientations, locked in a fierce struggle for the heart and soul of the Middle East.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761827221
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	12/30/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	5.52(w) x 8.86(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Louay Safi is Director of Research for the International Institute of Islamic Thought, Editor of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, and author of The Challenge of Modernity: The Quest for Authenticity in the Arab World (University Press of America, 1994).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Democratization and the Islamic State: Islam and the Secular State; State and Society in Traditional Islam Chapter 4 Visions of Reform: Competing Visions of Reform; Arab Nationalism: Forging a New Political Identity; Islamic Reform and Radicalism Chapter 5 Islam Law and Human Rights: Islamic Law (Shari'ha) and Society; Human Rights and Islamic Legal Reform; Human Rights and Cross-Cultural Dialogue Chapter 6 Islam in a Global Order: Islam and the West: Resurgence and Ambivalence Chapter 7 Appendix A: The Covenant of Medina; Appendix B: Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Appendix C: Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights Chapter 8 Notes Chapter 9 Glossary Chapter 10 Index Chapter 11 Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

[T]his book provides a lucid and well-articulated case for situating perceived tensions between the Islamic world and the 'West' in perspective. In this respect, this commendable and sincere effort conveys an important point of view that deserves as much exposure as possible.

American Journal of Islamic Social Studies - Amr G. E. Sabet

.... it nevertheless is a valuable contribution to contemporary debates over Islamic reform in general and political Islam in particular. Safi's attempts to overcome the dichotomous and polarized notions of what an Islamic political program entails by concentrating on the rich experiences and intellectual traditions of Islamic reformism that are conducive to formulating and articulating a pluralistic and democratic politics is particularly useful to the reader.

American Journal of Islamic Social Studies - Samer Abboud

.... it nevertheless is a valuable contribution to contemporary debates over Islamic reform in general and political Islam in particular. Safi's attempts to overcome the dichotomous and polarized notions of what an Islamic political program entails by concentrating on the rich experiences and intellectual traditions of Islamic reformism that are conducive to formulating and articulating a pluralistic and democratic politics is particularly useful to the reader.--Samer Abboud, Ph.D. Candidate, Middle East Studies Institue of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, United Kingdom "American Journal of Islamic Social Studies "

[T]his book provides a lucid and well-articulated case for situating perceived tensions between the Islamic world and the 'West' in perspective. In this respect, this commendable and sincere effort conveys an important point of view that deserves as much exposure as possible.--Amr G. E. Sabet, visiting scholar, Vaasa University, Vaasa, Finland "American Journal of Islamic Social Studies "

From the Publisher

[T]his book provides a lucid and well-articulated case for situating perceived tensions between the Islamic world and the 'West' in perspective. In this respect, this commendable and sincere effort conveys an important point of view that deserves as much exposure as possible.

American Journal of Islamic Social Studies - Amr G.E. Sabet

[T]his book provides a lucid and well-articulated case for situating perceived tensions between the Islamic world and the 'West' in perspective. In this respect, this commendable and sincere effort conveys an important point of view that deserves as much exposure as possible.
— Amr G.E. Sabet, Visiting Scholar, Vaasa University, Vaasa, Finland

American Journal of Islamic Social Studies