Islamic Political Thought: An Introduction

by Gerhard Bowering (Editor)

A concise and authoritative introduction to Islamic political ideas

In sixteen concise chapters on key topics, this book provides a rich, authoritative, and up-to-date introduction to Islamic political thought from the birth of Islam to today, presenting essential background and context for understanding contemporary politics in the Islamic world and beyond. Selected from the acclaimed Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought , and focusing on the origins, development, and contemporary importance of Islamic political ideas and related subjects, each chapter offers a sophisticated yet accessible introduction to its topic. Written by leading specialists and incorporating the latest scholarship, the alphabetically arranged chapters cover the topics of authority, the caliphate, fundamentalism, government, jihad, knowledge, minorities, modernity, Muhammad, pluralism and tolerance, the Qur'an, revival and reform, shariʿa (sacred law), traditional political thought, ‘ulama' (religious scholars), and women. Read separately or together, these chapters provide an indispensable resource for students, journalists, policymakers, and anyone else seeking an informed perspective on the complex intersection of Islam and politics.

The contributors are Gerhard Bowering, Ayesha S. Chaudhry, Patricia Crone, Roxanne Euben, Yohanan Friedmann, Paul L. Heck, Roy Jackson, Wadad Kadi, John Kelsay, Gudrun Krämer, Ebrahim Moosa, Armando Salvatore, Aram A. Shahin, Emad El-Din Shahin, Devin J. Stewart, SherAli Tareen, and Muhammad Qasim Zaman.

A new afterword discusses the essays in relation to contemporary political developments.

Genres: Islam, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2015

Reviews

[ABDULLAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

بشكل عام يعتبر الكتاب جيد من ناحية السرد التاريخي لبعض المواضيع التي تمثل الفكر السياسي الإسلامي، ولكن غالبية فصول الكتاب تضم كما هو متوقع أراء إستشراقية إستعلائية من مؤلفيها، وغير السرد التاريخي المتسلسل لا أرى بأن الكتاب يضيف الكثير للباحث والقارئ العربي ولكنه قد يكون مناسب للقارئ الغربي الذي يود أخذ مقدمة أولية بسيطة غير متكلفة للفكر السياسي الإسلامي.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly standard survey of sources and consequences of political thought throughout Islam, temporally and thematically. Some articles are better than others; I would characterize the volume's quality as uneven. Treatment of political norms stemming from core Islamic standards like the Qur'an, the prophet Muhammad, sharia law, etc seemed to fit more naturally with the book's theme than did articles on, for example, fundamentalism or minorities. That said, Patricia Crone's article on traditional political thought in Islam was a wonderful, succinct, and well-written look at many of the topics treated elsewhere in this volume, less ably than Crone did so. In sum, a good read for the non-specialist, but not uniformly useful.

[George Hodgson]

A very hard read, but very informative.

[William J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative book for those interested in the subject matter. It is at times difficult to read but well worth struggling through. Islamic political thought is traced from the beginning through Medieval times to the present. The essay on Sharia is excellent and can help to clarify understanding and counter myths about Sharia Law.

[Alex Linschoten · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW TK

[Mills College Library]

320.557 I825 2015