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Political Islam
Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic
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Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic |
Interesting examination of Khomeini's very populist and usually pragmatic style of politics. Khomeini in this analysis comes off as a surprisngly flexible thinker, more than willing to alter his theology in practice (if not always openly in theory) to work the crowds. Well worth reading as a counter to the common popular view of Khomeini as an entirely inflexible dogmatist (or a fundamentalist, a descriptor Arahamian disputes on semantic grounds).
Posted by Tamerlane at 07:59 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Islam, Politics and Pluralism: Theory and Practice in Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia and Algeria
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Islam, Politics and Pluralism: Theory and Practice in Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia and Alberia |
Very well done almost pamphlet-sized volume that very concisely describes the rise of Islamism in MENA in general, the trajectory of Islamist movements in the countries listed, and their interplay with notions of electoral politics and movement towards representative democracy in the same. Ultimately she makes a compelling (if not airtight) argument that perhaps the best way to moderate Islamist movements (and the only way to move forwards towards true democracy in the region) is to include them within the democratic framework, as Turkey has successively done.
Posted by raf* at 07:57 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Faith At War
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Faith at War: A Journey on the Frontlines of Islam, from Baghdad to Timbuktu |
Well over a year after the book's first release, one paragraph alone validates the continuing worth of Yaroslav Trofimov's Faith At War. Although buried in chapter 12, among seemingly more telling fare, had a few planners in high positions in several countries took it seriously last year, a lot of embarrassing reckless victory promises and glibly proclaimed regional "pangs" would not have issued forth:
True to is reputation, Hezbollah proved the most efficient organization I have come across in the Middle East...[Each] interview would happen exactly as planned. In my dealings with the U.S. military, I never saw such precision.
Continue reading "Faith At War"
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:56 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection
Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection (The CERI Series in Comparative Politics and International Studies) |
Right after 9/11 and the subsequent Afghanistan War of late 2001, bookstores became awash with accounts and analyses of the Taliban and like-minded Islamist groups in Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Most of those were written by journalists or people within the policy sphere, and not by scholars, owing mainly to the fact that (a) there are, particularly compared to the Middle East, few scholars who work on Islamist and Jihadist groups in those two regions and (b) even fewer of those jumped on the bandwagon.
Continue reading "Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection"
Posted by raf* at 04:38 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Oil Monarchies
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Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States |
Gregory Gause is one of the best scholars of the Gulf, and this book is a good example of why.
Continue reading "Oil Monarchies"
Posted by dubaiwalla at 10:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
From Arab Nationalism to OPEC
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From Arab Nationalism to OPEC: Eisenhower, King Sa'ud, and the Making of U.S.-Saudi Relations (Indiana Series in Middle East Studies) |
This book examines the development of the US relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it first developed, in the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations.
Continue reading "From Arab Nationalism to OPEC"
Posted by dubaiwalla at 12:14 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Syriana
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Syriana (Widescreen Edition) |
Syriana is finally out on DVD. We've reviewed this film previously here and here.
Posted by eerie at 04:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A History of Iraq
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A History of Iraq |
This book looks at events in Iraq from the end of the Ottoman era to just before the country's invasion. Among the recurring (and very relevant) themes of the book are the causes and consequences of the historical Sunni dominance of Iraq as a whole and the officer corps of the army in particular, the vertical cleavages between Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds, the importance of tribal affiliations, the role of the Shia clerics in leading opposition to the government, and Shia and Kurdish demands for autonomy. The book also has some explanations for why Saddam's regime turned out to be the way it was. It's well-written and worth a read for anyone interested in Iraq. It also serves as a reminder that there can be no quick fixes in the country.
Posted by dubaiwalla at 05:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam
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Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam |
Kepel is my favourite Frenchman. Dubaiwalla obligingly informed him of this fact at a conference, but refused to give him a "big wet kiss" on my behalf. In any case, Jihad is a good survey of political Islam's roots and shortcomings. Rather than describing political Islam as an ascendant ideology, Kepel theorizes that it is in decline, and that the Iranian revolution represented the movement's peak. Even though the book was first published prior to September 11, the arguments and conclusions are still relevant and provide important context for current events. Jihad could be a bit daunting for beginners, who might instead benefit from the excellent introduction to political Islam in Kepel's broader and more accessible work, The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and the West.
Posted by eerie at 08:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
