Customer Reviews

Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics, Enlarged Edition

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Islamic fundamentalism (or "radicalism" if you prefer) is not a recent development, in spite of recent events. A case could even be made that Wahabism is a strand of fundamentalism in the broader interpretation of the word. Sivan examines Islam's fundamentalist appeal in Egypt (with the "Muslim Brotherhood", the group responsible for the murder of Sadat), Islamic Jihad in Lebanon and Syria, and the briefly touches on the shi'i revolution in Iran. At the heart of each of these groups is a disaffection with the Middle East's place in the world economy, and the political notion of a "nation-state." The appeal of fundamentalism is explored, and a good introduction to the interpretations of the Qu'ran that fundamentalists find is also discussed.

However, the book is not without its shortcomings. As a reader mentioned earlier, there is a Sunni slant to the fundamentalist movement (Shi'ii's are scarcely mentioned at all, and when they are are put in a 'negative' light), and Wahahbism - perhaps the first "fundamentalist" movement within Islam is ignored entirely. Furthermore, I had hoped that some discussion would have taken place regarding "where do we go from here?" Needless to say the issues that give fundamentalist (or even "radical") groups their appeal have not changed, so the continued existence of these groups is a foregone conclusion.

It is a good introduction to the "radical" movement, but is hardly the final word or greatest authority on the topic.

Contents Page: The Mood; Doom and Gloom, Jeremiads, The Global Village, Education and It's Discontents, Does Modernitiy Deliver?, Can Islam Cope?, Ordeal and Discord, Barbarity and Nationalism, No to Jihad?, The New Jahiliyya, Farewell to Pan-Arabism, The Nagging Doubts, Nationalism and It's Discontents, Severing the Gordian Knot, The New Tyranny, Turning Inward; In Quest of Authenticity, Treason of the Clerics, The Specter of Ataturk, Media: The Subliminal Message, Cultural Pessimism, From Pessimism to Activism, Authenticity, Democracy, Socialism, and Minorities, The Sunni Revolution, Counter-Society, Withdrawal and Revolt, The Right to Revolt, Ibn Taymiyya: Apostacy and Revolution; Counter-Propaganda and Internal Disputes, Resource to Violence, Continuity and Change, The Conservative Periphery, Radicals and Conservatives, The Villain of the Piece, State Reform, Women: Tempted by the Devil, The Limits of Tolerance, Facing the "New Jahiliyya", Assessment by the Left, The Marginal Observers; Islam: The Challenge, The Watershed: Lebanon; Iran: Intellectuals Turned Mystics; Self-Critique; The Danger of Born-Again Islam; In the Shadow of Khomeini; Sunnis and Shi'ites, The Heritage; Historical Perceptions, Political Theory, Eschatological Myths, Controversies and Ecumenicism, Idiom and Content; Exporting the Revolution.

forcefully written, sharp, profound analysis of Fuindamentalism

This book fails to impress the intellectual of a reader who has a prior introduction to Islam or it's twentieth century resurgance. Although it does trace out the roots of the present day Muslim attitudes to the Islamic theology that surfaced in the twentieth century, it fails to signify this relativity to any degree. Ideas are repeated with a monotonous frequency which diminshes their collective efficiency and understanding. Strictly written from the Sunni Muslim fundamentalist movement's prespective, it does little justice to other sects of Islam - at times even specifically branding Shia's as heretics.