Remaking Muslim Politics: Pluralism, Contestation, Democratization

Description

There is a struggle for the hearts and minds of Muslims unfolding across the Islamic world. The conflict pits Muslims who support pluralism and democracy against others who insist such institutions are antithetical to Islam. With some 1.3 billion people worldwide professing Islam, the outcome of this contest is sure to be one of the defining political events of the twenty-first century. Bringing together twelve engaging essays by leading specialists focusing on individual countries, this pioneering book examines the social origins of civil-democratic Islam, its long-term prospects, its implications for the West, and its lessons for our understanding of religion and politics in modern times. Although depicted by its opponents as the product of political ideas "made in the West" civil-democratic Islam represents an indigenous politics that seeks to build a distinctive Islamic modernity. In countries like Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, and Indonesia, it has become a major political force. Elsewhere its influence is apparent in efforts to devise Islamic grounds for women's rights, religious tolerance, and democratic citizenship.Everywhere it has generated fierce resistance from religious conservatives. Examining this high-stakes clash, Remaking Muslim Politics breaks new ground in the comparative study of Islam and democracy. The contributors are Bahman Baktiari, Thomas Barfield, John R. Bowen, Dale F. Eickelman, Robert W. Hefner, Peter Mandaville, Augustus Richard Norton, Gwenn Okruhlik, Michael G. Peletz, Diane Singerman, Jenny B. White, and Muhammad Qasim Zaman.

Robert W. Hefner is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, Boston University. His recent books include "Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia" (Princeton).

"This is a most interesting and serious book on Islam. It is perhaps one of the most scholarly books on the topic since September 11."--As'ad AbuKhalil, Perspectives on Politics "Remaking Muslim Politics remains ... an important work. It captures the wide breadth of civic-democratic Islamic voices with exhaustive detail in cross-national contexts."--Sean L. Yom, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences