September 11; vitriolic rhetoric against the United States by prominent Muslims; the war against terrorism shifts from Afghanistan to the Philippines and Indonesia. It is easy to believe Islam and Muslims are enemies of the West; it is also wrong. This sweeping survey of trends in the Muslim world contends that the issue is not whether Islam plays a central role in politics, but what Muslims want. To focus on radicalism and extremism blinds us from another trend: liberal political Islam. Proponents of liberal political Islam emphasize human rights and democracy, tolerance and cooperation. They face an uphill struggle as authoritarian regimes oppress opposition and use Islam to justify their undemocratic rule. As people are denied avenues to participate and criticize, as secular ideologies have failed, religion has come to play a central role in politics. The outcome of the struggle between extremists and liberals will determine the future of political Islam.

Keywords

Reviews

'Graham Fuller is supremely qualified to provide rich insight into contemporary Islamic thinking on politics, economics and international relations. Here his sensitivity to differences among Muslims combines with an impressive discussion of contemporary developments, resulting in an important contribution to understanding. Fuller argues persuasively that Islamic political movements are, above all, an engagement with the modern world, not a flight from it, and that it is possible to reason critically with their ideas. Fuller's hope that Islamist movements will engage in participatory politics, and his belief that they should be tested by the experience of government, underpin his cautiously optimistic analysis that the future of political Islam can be peaceful.' - Fred Halliday, London School of Economics and Political Science, author of Nation and Religion in the Middle East

'...an illuminating read and a welcome addition to the growing literature on contemporary Islam...' - Publishers Weekly Annex

'After September 11, 2001, the discussion around Islam has often been shrill and usually sterile that is what Graham Fuller's measured, scholarly, and eminently sensible voice needs to be heard. Read Fuller's book The Future of Political Islam to make sense of the dangerous, changing and complex relationship between the West and the world of Islam.' - Akbar S. Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University in Washington D.C.

'Thisis the most insightful book on developments in political Islam since the Iranian revolution shook the world. Having lived myself many years in the shadow of a mosque, I can say without hesitation that Fuller has captured the core and nature of Islamism. Importantly, he casts the movement as part of the solution to the looming confrontation between the United States and what we call the Islamic world, not just the cause of the confrontation. The Future of Political Islam is a must read, both for those shaping U.S. policy toward one-fifth of mankind and for America's own religious leaders who themselves have a hand on the political tiller.' - Milt Bearden, Former Senior CIA Official

'excellent survey of political Islam' - Max Rodenbeck, in the New York Review of Books

'As a former Vice-Chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA and Resident Analyst at RAND Corporation, Fuller could hardly be more proximately attuned to the exigencies of US forieng policy in the Muslim world. - Zaheer A. Kazmi, Review of International Studies

About the author

GRAHAM FULLER is a resident Senior Political Consultant at the RAND Corporation in Washington D.C., USA. He is also a former Vice-Chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: The Future of Political Islam
Authors: Graham E. Fuller
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403978608
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies Collection, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Nature America Inc. 2003
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4039-6556-1Published: 12 May 2003
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4039-7860-8Published: 12 May 2003
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIX, 227
Topics: Middle Eastern Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, Political Philosophy, Asian Culture, Middle Eastern Culture

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

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