ABSTRACT

This volume unfolds the ebbs and flows of Muslim thought in different regions of the world, as well as the struggles between the different intellectual discourses that have surfaced against this backdrop. With a focus on Turkey, Egypt, Iran and the Indian subcontinent – regions that, in spite of their particular histories and forms of thought, are uniquely placed as a mosaic that illustrates the intertwined nature of the development of Muslim socio-political thought – it sheds light on the swing between right and left in different regions, the debates surrounding nationalism, the influence of socialism and liberalism, the rise of Islamism and the conflict between state bureaucracy and social movements. Exploring themes of civil society and democracy, it also considers current trends in Muslim thought and possible future directions. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the fields of sociology, anthropology, political science, history and political economy, as well as those with interests in the study of religion, the development of Muslim thought, and the transformation of Muslim societies in recent decades.

chapter |15 pages

Editor's introduction

Contemporary thought in Muslim societies – renewal, diversification, and transformation

section Section II|53 pages

Religion, society, and politics

section Section III|56 pages

Islam in the political sphere

chapter 9|14 pages

Rethinking Islamism in Turkey

Beyond conservative or modernist rejectionism

chapter 10|13 pages

The adventure of Islamism in Egypt

A political system–based analysis

section Section IV|58 pages

Making of the nation-state and changing forms of nationalism

chapter 13|14 pages

The emergence and progress of nationalism in Turkey

From imperialism to the global age

chapter 14|13 pages

Arab nationalism

Emergence, development, and regression

chapter 15|15 pages

Nationalism in Iran

Nation-state, nation-building, and the Iranian identity

section Section V|59 pages

The rise and demise of socialism

chapter 18|15 pages

The left and working-class movement in Egypt

A review using the 2011 uprising lens and thereafter

chapter 19|14 pages

The historical trajectory of the left in 20th-century Iran

Trends, debates, and groups

section Section VI|55 pages

Liberalism and Muslim liberal thought

chapter 21|13 pages

Liberalism in Turkey

An incomplete story

chapter 23|13 pages

Rowshan fekran-e dini [new religious thinkers] and the institution of velayat-e faqih

Crossing the Rubicon of Islamic law and venturing into discourses on human rights

section Section VII|57 pages

State, civil society, and democracy

chapter 25|14 pages

Reproduction of religious thought in Turkey

Major milestones and state-society relations

chapter 26|14 pages

Imagining Egypt in postnormal times

The state of war

chapter 27|14 pages

The concept of Islamic republic in Iran

Before and after the revolution

chapter 28|13 pages

Discussions on democracy and Islamic states

A study on the discourses of Mawdudi, Israr Ahmed, and Ghamidi

section Section VIII|62 pages

Current trends and future directions