Political Islam at the Crossroads?

This book is a collection of essays on political Islam, which refers to the various trends and historical evolution of Islamic thought, and the question if and why these trends are at a crossroads.

Islam is considered as an inclusive doctrine covering all aspects of life with its human and moral values. As Islamic thoughts are based on religious belief, it has been easy for certain Islamic movements and entities to mobilise people, utilising this belief as the main factor in shaping vision, formulating positions, and conducting relations in society. This 'politicisation' of religion has led to the term 'Political Islam.'

The political concept of the religious discourse means an invita­tion for 'Islamic revival' in the sense of 'boosting' religious faith and embracing it as the definitive framework for dealing with governance, societal problems and the challenges arising from globalisation, especially in the wake of the Arab regimes’ failure to address such issues. Contemporary religious thought is thus dealing with both restoring the old narrative and raising the present-future debate about the relationship between religion and state.

This PASSIA conference publication looks at the phenomenon of political Islam by examining the historical developments of the different Islamic movements and the various contemporary manife­stations of political Islam during the second Arab Awakening, which started in 2011 in Tunisia.

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: PASSIA, 2014
• Language: English and Arabic

[Source: PASSIA, Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]