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Content Summary: Ayoob's book reviews the many political faces of Islam over several countries: Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Lebanon among them. He demonstrates that there is no one monolithic understanding of Islam the world-over, and that politically also there is also a diverse array of movements in Islam, from the democratic (such as Turkey), to the fringe terror groups such as Al-Qaeda (whose impact he says, on Islam, is actually quite limited). His intention was to write an introductory text on Islam and Politics, and in this he partially succeeds. It is a good book, but not necessarily accessible for beginning readers.
Analytical Review: I have to commend Ayoob for a deft and subtle understanding the nuances in religion and politics all over the Islamic world. Readers should be persuaded that there is in fact no one singular Islamic religious or political world-view, and that there is quite some diversity in the approaches and challenges Muslims today are facing. Ayoob is strongest in his analytical overview (the how and why) but weakest in his concrete, historical overview (the who, what, and when). Quite frankly, I suspect many students who are novices who read this book will become lost in many places. For example, he assumes contextual knowledge of major figures such as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, without giving them more than line or two. The Shah's overthrow, our support for the coup against Mossadeq, get only a line or two also - this knowledge is assumed not imparted, as is knowledge of Khomeini, Sadat, etc. In short he assumes a lot more concrete historical knowledge of Islamic societies than he actually relays, and this will unfortunately detract from the important impact of his thesis. Experts, go ahead and read - but novices I'd advise you to read up on your history first.
- Paperback: 232 pages
- Publisher: University of Michigan Press; 1st edition (November 19, 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0472069713
- ISBN-13: 978-0472069712
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Customer Reviews: 10 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#868,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #92 in Islamic Law (Books)
- #381 in Islam (Books)
- #550 in Islamic History (Books)
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