Modern Islamic Political Thought (Modern Middle East Series) [Paperback]

Hamid Enayat (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1597404608 | ISBN-13: 978-1597404600 | Publication Date: August 1, 2008

The revival and power of religious feelings among Muslims since the Iranian Revolution presents a complicated and often perplexing picture of the politics of the Islamic world in the modern era. What are the ideas which have influenced the direction of these trends? In this book, Hamid Enayat provides an answer by describing and interpreting some of the major Islamic political ideas, especially those expressed by Iranians and Egyptians, as well as thinkers from Pakistan, India, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Enayat studies the political differences between the two main schools in Islam--Shi'ism and Sunnism, how their ideas have evolved in recent times and how far they have moved from confrontation to convergence. Enayat examines the concept of the Islamic state, and the Muslim repsonse to the challenge of alien and modern ideologies such as nationlism, democracy and socialism, as well as notions of Shi'i modernism, much neglected in Western writings. Enayat's classic work, a lucid and well argued interpretation of modern Islamic political thought, remains indispensable for an understanding of the current politics of the Muslim world.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This title will for long remain a classic and redoubtable piece of scholarship…an essential reading for all those interested in an “insider’s” analysis of the Islamic political thought and indeed for all students of political history." - Amidu Olalekan Sanni, Journal of Oriental and African Studies

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Hamid Enayat was Reader in Modern Middle Eastern History at Oxford University and Fellow at St. Antony's College, Oxford. Prior to his death in 1980 he was also Professor of Political Science at Tehran University where he chaired the Department of Politics.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: ACLS Humanities E-Book (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597404608
• ISBN-13: 978-1597404600
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to 20th Century Islamist thought, July 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Modern Islamic Political Thought (Paperback)

Enayat's book is now a little out of date, but it remains as good an introduction to the main threads of modern Islamist thought as is available. Although written for an academic audience the book is readable and highly recommended to anyone that wishes to look beyond the rhetoric of recent months to the reality of Islamic concepts of the state and the struggle of Muslim thinkers to describe the nature of authority in a post-caliphal world.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Back Cover, January 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Modern Islamic Political Thought (Paperback)

The political and religious fervor among Muslims, symbolized by the Iranian Revolution, gives us an often perplexing picture of the politics of the Muslim world. What are the political beliefs of Muslims? What is meant by an "Islamic state"? Hamid Enayat answers these questions by interpreting and illuminating the major Islamic political ideas from Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and India.