Political Islam: A Critical Reader

489 Pages·2010·4.293 MB·English

by  Frederic Volpi

Political Islam
As the topic of political Islam gains increased visibility in international poli-
tics and current affairs, it has become more diffi cult to navigate the vast lit-
erature that is devoted to explaining this phenomenon. This reader provides
the student with an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the study of
political Islam. Offering a clear route to the most infl uential literature in the
fi eld, the diverse range of viewpoints presented allows students to obtain a
broad, enlightened, and cosmopolitan perspective on the most pressing ques-
tions of the post-9/11 era.
With detailed introductory chapters and clear presentation of existing
literature, thematically-arranged sections cover:
● Modern understandings and explanations of Islamism
● The emergence and development of Islamist groups
● Political responses to the phenomenon
● Democracy and democratization
● Multiculturalism
● Political violence and terrorism
● Globalization
● The future of political Islam
This fascinating overview of political Islam will help students at all levels
to appreciate its many manifestations and dimensions. A relevant text to intro-
ductory courses on history, international affairs, government and sociology,
this reader is an essential tool for students of the Middle East, Muslim politics,
religion in politics and Islamism.
Frédéric Volpi is Deputy Director of the Institute of Middle East and Central
Asia Studies and Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University
of St Andrews. He is the author of a number of books on political Islam and
democracy in the Muslim world, and is coordinator of the British Society for
Middle Eastern Studies research network.
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Political Islam
A critical reader
Edited by Frédéric Volpi
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First published 2011 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxo OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2011 Frédéric Volpi, selection and editorial matter; the contributors,
their contributions
Typeset in Perpetua and Bell Gothic by Glyph International
Printed and bound in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Political Islam : a critical reader / edited by Frédéric Volpi.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Islam and politics. I. Volpi, Frédéric.
BP173.7.P6525 2010
320.5'57–dc22 2010008362
ISBN 978-0-415-56027-6 (hbk)
ISBN 978-0-415-56028-3 (pbk)
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Glossary xii
SECTION ONE
Introduction: critically studying political Islam 1
SECTION TWO
Modern understandings and explanations of Islamism 9
Introduction 9
2.1 What is political Islam? 13
CHARLES HIRSCHKIND
2.2 Being Muslim: Islam, Islamism and identity politics 16
SALWA ISMAIL
2.3 From national struggle to the disillusionments of
“recolonization”: The triple temporality of Islamism 29
FRANÇOIS BURGAT
2.4 Deciphering Islam’s multiple voices: Intellectual
luxury or strategic necessity? 44
MOHAMMED AYOOB
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vi CONTENTS
2.5 The forgotten swamp: Navigating political Islam 55
GUILAIN DENOEUX
Further reading 80
SECTION THREE
Political Islam, the state and political power 81
Introduction 81
3.1 Visions of an Islamic Republic:Good governance
according to the Islamists 85
GUDRUN KRÄMER
3.2 Religion and realpolitik: Islamic responses to the
Gulf War 95
JAMES PISCATORI
3.3 Good Muslim, bad Muslim: A political perspective on
culture and terrorism 109
MAHMOOD MAMDANI
3.4 The Islamist impasse? 126
SALMAN SAYYID
Further reading 134
SECTION FOUR
Political Islam and democracy 135
Introduction 135
4.1 The politics of presence 139
ASEF BAYAT
4.2 Social movement theory, selective incentives,
and benefi ts 150
JANINE CLARK
4.3 Public Islam and the problem of democratization 161
ROBERT W. HEFNER
4.4 The path to moderation: Strategy and learning in
the formation of Egypt’s party 172
CARRIE ROSEFSKY WICKHAM
Further reading 194
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CONTENTS vii
SECTION FIVE
Islamist movements in multicultural settings 195
Introduction 195
5.1 Beyond migration: Islam as a transnational public space 199
JOHN R. BOWEN
5.2 Trying to understand French secularism 210
TALAL ASAD
5.3 Islam in public: New visibilities and new imaginaries 220
NILÜFER GÖLE
5.4 The predicament of diaspora and millennial Islam:
Refl ections on September 11, 2001 231
PNINA WERBNER
5.5 Islam in the West or Western Islam?
The disconnect of religion and culture 244
OLIVIER ROY
Further reading 249
SECTION SIX
Political Islam and political violence 251
Introduction 251
6.1 The origins and development of the jihadist movement:
From anti-communism to terrorism 255
GILLES KEPEL
6.2 A genealogy of radical Islam 271
QUINTAN WIKTOROWICZ
6.3 Global jihadism after the Iraq War 296
THOMAS HEGGHAMMER
6.4 Accounting for Al-Qaeda 317
FAISAL DEVJI
Further reading 325
SECTION SEVEN
The globalization of Islamism 327
Introduction 327
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viii CONTENTS
7.1 Reimagining the ? Information technology
and the changing boundaries of political Islam 331
PETER MANDAVILLE
–
7.2 New medinas: The Tablighi Jama at in America and Europe 355
BARBARA D. METCALF
7.3 Civic virtue and religious reason: An Islamic counterpublic 370
CHARLES HIRSCHKIND
7.4 Globalization and diversifi cation of Islamic movements:
Three Turkish cases 386
AHMET T. KURU
Further reading 407
SECTION EIGHT
The future of political Islam 409
Introduction 409
8.1 The future of political Islam: Its dilemmas and options 413
GRAHAM E. FULLER
8.2 Islamists and the politics of consensus 422
DANIEL BRUMBERG
8.3 Ethical formation and politics of individual
autonomy in contemporary Egypt 428
SABA MAHMOOD
8.4 The end of Islamism? Turkey’s Muslimhood model 446
JENNY B. WHITE
Further reading 466
Index 467
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Acknowledgements
The publishers would like to thank the following for permission to reprint their
material:
American Academy of Arts and Sciences for permission to reprint James Piscatori,
‘Religion and Realpolitik: Islamic Responses to the Gulf War’, Bulletin of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences 45(1) 1991, pp. 17–39.
American Anthropological Association and the author for permission to reprint
extract from Mahmood Mamdani, ‘Good Muslim, bad Muslim: a political per-
spective on culture and terrorism’, American Anthropologist 104(3) 2002.
Reproduced by permission of the American Anthropological Association from
American Anthropologist Volume 104(3), pp. 104 (3), pp. 766–775, 2002. Not
for sale or further reproduction.
American Anthropological Assocation and the author for permission to reprint
Charles Hirschkind, ‘Civic virtue and religious reason: an Islamic counter public’,
Cultural Anthropology 16(1) 2001, pp. 3–7; pp. 15–22. Reproduced by
permission of the American Anthropological Association from Cultural
Anthropology Volume 16(1), pp. 3–34, 2001. Not for sale or further
reproduction.
C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd for permission to reprint Faisal Devji, ‘Accounting
for Al Qaeda’, extract from Landscape of the Jihad (London: Hurst 2005),
pp. 20–32.
Comparative Politics and the author for permission to reprint Carrie Rosefsky
Wickham, ‘The path to moderation: strategy and learning in the formation of
Egypt’s Wasat party’, Comparative Politics 36(2) 2004, pp. 205–228.
Duke University Press for permission to reprint Nilüfer Göle, ‘Islam in public: new
visibilities and new imaginaries’, Public Culture 14(1) 2002, pp. 177–190.
Copyright, 2002 Duke University Press. All rights reserved. Used by permission of
the publisher.
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