Moderate and Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Quest for Modernity, Legitimacy, and the Islamic State - Hardcover

Moussalli, Ahmad S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813016584 ISBN 13: 9780813016580

Publisher: University Press of Florida, 1999

Synopsis

"Well-argued, highly original . . . [Moussalli] asks one basic question--does Islamic fundamentalism have a philosophical basis?--and then proceeds to demonstrate how particular Islamic fundamentalist theorists have addressed issues such as ideology and knowledge, society and politics."--Bruce B. Lawrence, Duke University

Ahmad Moussalli redefines the bases and scope of modern Islamic thought, suggesting that Islamic fundamentalism might prove to be a liberating theology for the modern Islamic world.
 Basing his argument largely on Arabic documents, he analyzes the basic concerns of fundamentalism--epistemology, knowledge, philosophy, modernity, and science as well as politics, political philosophy, and political economy. He examines the ideas of major Muslim thinkers who have affected the contemporary Islamic revival--especially Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, and Hasan al-Turabi--showing the range of Islamic fundamentalist views from liberal democracy to authoritarianism. He then discusses how their thinking could affect an Islamic state, from political repression at one extreme to political representation at the other.
 Going to the core of issues raised by fundamentalists, he maintains that Islamic fundamentalism is a modern development that will have a lasting impact on the history of Islam--one comparable to the impact of Protestantism on the history of Christianity.
 
Ahmad S. Moussalli is associate professor of political science at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He is the author or editor of many books, including Islamic Fundamentalism: Myths and Realities; Historical Dictionary of Islamic Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey; and Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb (a 1994 Choice Outstanding Academic Book).

About this title

From the Back Cover:

“The slyest, and therefore smartest, assessment of Islamic fundamentalism currently available.”—International Journal of Middle East Studies

 

“A very careful and thoughtful study of various trends in contemporary Arab Islamic fundamentalism.”—Journal of Palestine Studies

 

“Full of innovative views and ideas about how to read various texts of Islamic fundamentalism. One concludes from it that ‘radicals’ and ‘moderates’ are not clear-cut categories for a classification of Islamic fundamentalists.”—Middle East Studies Association Bulletin

 

“This book is recommended to all those interested in overcoming conventional and simplified views of the political discourse of Islamism.”—Middle East Journal

 

“Highly recommended to academic and public libraries that aim to keep abreast of pressing foreign policy issues involving religion and culture.”—Choice

 

Basing his argument largely on Arabic documents, Ahmad Moussalli analyzes the basic concerns of fundamentalism—epistemology, knowledge, philosophy, modernity, science, and  politics. Redefining the bases and scope of modern Islamic thought, he suggests that Islamic fundamentalism might prove to be a liberating theology for the modern Islamic world.

 

About the Author:

Ahmad S. Moussalli is professor of political science at the American University of Beirut.

About this edition

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0813016584
• ISBN 13: 9780813016580
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256