This book explores the Islamist notion of the 'Islamic state' and its new interpretation of sharia as a political agenda. Analyzing the Arab Spring, it challenges the belief that Islamist leadership signifies democratization in the Middle East, arguing against the compatibility of the shariastate and democracy.
A senior scholar of Islamic politics, providing a corrective to a dangerous gap in understanding, explores the true nature of contemporary Islamism and the essential ways in which it differs from the religious faith of Islam.
The book offers a thorough cultural and political analysis of political Islam, exploring its potential to create tensions and conflicts while proposing peaceful resolutions. It examines modernity through an Islamic lens, addressing critical topics like law, knowledge, and human rights, providing insights into how these elements interact within the context of contemporary society.
Focusing on the Gulf War of 1991, the book challenges the notion that Middle Eastern conflicts are merely extensions of global superpower rivalries. It explores the unique dynamics of regional conflicts, emphasizing local and regional constraints that contribute to their escalation and international implications. Utilizing the theory of a regional subsystem, the author analyzes Middle East wars from 1967 to 1991 and offers insights into the future of conflicts in the region following the latest Gulf War.
Long before the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Islamic fundamentalism was exerting a significant influence in nearly every corner of the world. Bassam Tibi, a widely recognized expert on Islam and Arab culture, offers an important and disquieting analysis of this particular synthesis of religion and politics. A Muslim and descendant of a famous Damascene Islamic scholar family, Tibi sees Islamic fundamentalism as the result of Islam's confrontation with modernity and not only--as it is widely believed--economic adversity. The movement is unprecedented in Islamic history and parallels the inability of Islamic nation-states to integrate into the new world secular order. For this updated edition, Tibi has written a new preface and lengthy introduction addressing Islamic fundamentalism in light of and since September 11.
Political Islam and the New World Disorder
Long before the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Islamic fundamentalism was exerting a significant influence in nearly every corner of the world. Bassam Tibi, a widely recognized expert on Islam and Arab culture, offers an important and disquieting analysis of this particular synthesis of religion and politics. A Muslim and descendant of a famous Damascene Islamic scholar family, Tibi sees Islamic fundamentalism as the result of Islam's confrontation with modernity and not only--as it is widely believed--economic adversity. The movement is unprecedented in Islamic history and parallels the inability of Islamic nation-states to integrate into the new world secular order.
From Jihadist to Institutional Islamism
The book explores the complexities of political Islam and its interaction with democratic values, particularly in Europe, where a significant Islamic minority exists. Bassam Tibi critiques the Clash of Civilizations theory, highlighting the tensions between Islamist movements and European democracy. As a practicing Muslim, he emphasizes the necessity of developing a Euro Islam that harmonizes religious beliefs with democratic principles. This innovative work provides valuable insights for students and scholars interested in Middle Eastern and European politics, as well as international relations.
Focusing on the anthropological perspective of Clifford Geertz, this work examines social change within Islam by presenting religions as dynamic cultural systems. It explores the interplay between cultural influences and religious practices, highlighting how each shapes and is shaped by the other. Through this lens, the author provides a nuanced understanding of the complexities surrounding Islam and its evolution in response to societal changes.
Focusing on the interplay between global and local politics, the book explores how Islamism fuels tensions between secular and religious groups. The author critiques the "clash of civilizations" theory, advocating instead for a revival of Islamic humanism as a means to foster understanding and cooperation among diverse communities. Through this lens, the work delves into the complexities of civilizational relations shaped by religious influences.
The end of the Cold War and of the related cease of superpower competition could not prevent the outbreak of the Gulf War. No explanation for this can be found in the numerous books on the Middle East. Few studies of Middle East wars go beyond a narrative of events and most tend to impose on this subject the rigid scheme of superpower competition. The Gulf War of 1991, however, challenges this view of the Middle East as an extension of the global conflict. The failure of the accord of both superpowers to avoid war even once regional superpower competition in the Middle East had ceased must give rise to the question: Do regional conflicts have their own dynamic? Working from this assumption, the book examines local-regional constraints of Middle East conflict and how, through escalation and the involvement of extra-regional powers, such conflicts acquire an international dimension. The theory of a regional subsystem is employed as a framework for conceptualising this interplay between regional and international factors in Tibi's examination of the Middle East wars in the period 1967-91. Tibi also provides an outlook into the future of conflict in the Middle East in the aftermath of the most recent Gulf War