The New Voices of Islam: Rethinking Politics and Modernity-A Reader / Edition 1

by Mehran Kamrava

Overview

At a time in our post-9/11 world when fundamentalist forces appear to dominate Islam, a vibrant and consequential discourse has emerged from many prominent writers seeking to change the direction of Muslim thought. This timely volume, representing a broad cross-section of this reformist trend in countries ranging from Malaysia to Algeria and Morocco, brings together the writings of thirteen of the most renowned and influential Muslim thinkers alive today. Individually and collectively, they argue for reforms in Islamic theology and jurisprudence and for reinterpretations of popular notions of Islam that are consistent with and supportive of the tenets of modern life. Their essays include broad overviews of Islam, its core principles, and the complex relationship between Islam, democracy, and civil rights; three works by Muslim feminist intellectuals; and more. The volume also places the life, career, and arguments of each thinker in national and historical context.

Copub: I.B. Tauris

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520250994
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	02/01/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.89(d)

About the Author

Dr. Mehran Kamrava is Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar and Professor of Political Science at California State University, Northridge. He received his PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge. His specialties include political development, comparative politics, and Middle Eastern Studies. In addition to a number of journal articles, he is the author of Revolution in Iran: The Roots of Turmoil (1990), The Political History of Modern Iran: From Tribalism to Theocracy (1992), Revolutionary Politics (1992), Politics and Society in the Third World (1993), Understanding Comparative Politics: A Framework for Analysis (1996), Democracy in the Balance: Culture and Society in the Middle East (1998), Cultural Politics in the Third World (1999), Politics and Society in the Developing World, 2nd ed. (2000), The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War (2005), and Iran's Intellectual Revolution (2008). He has also edited The New Voices of Islam: Rethinking Politics and Modernity (2006) and is the co-editor of the two-volume work Iran Today: Life in the Islamic Republic.

Table of Contents

Credits     vii
Acknowledgements     ix
Introduction: Reformist Islam in Comparative Perspective   Mehran Kamrava     1
Present-Day Islam Between Its Tradition and Globalization   Mohammed Arkoun     29
The Way (Al-Sharia) of Islam   Tariq Ramadan     65
A Comparative Approach to Islam and Democracy   Fethullah Gulen     99
Religious Liberty: A Muslim Perspective   Mohamed Talbi     105
Freedom of Religion and Belief in Islam   Mohsen Kadivar     119
The Divine Text and Pluralism in Muslim Societies   Mohammad Shahrour     143
The Nexus of Theory and Practice   Nasr Abu Zaid     153
Women and the Rise of Islam   Leila Ahmed     177
Aishah's Legacy: The Struggle for Women's Rights within Islam   Amina Wadud     201
Muslim Women and Fundamentalism   Fatima Mernissi     205
Islam, Justice, and Politics   Chandra Muzaffar     213
Facts and Values: An Islamic Approach   Hasan Hanafi     231
Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam   Abdolkarim Soroush     243
Notes     263
Index     283