Social groups: religious groups and communities Books

Book SynopsisMoscow has the largest Muslim population of any city in Europe. In 2015, some 2 million Muslim Muscovites celebrated the opening of the continent's biggest mosque. One quarter of the Soviet population was ethnically Muslim, and today their grandchildren, living in the lands between Bukhara, Kazan and the Caucasus, once again have access to their historical traditions. But they also suffer the effects of civil war, mass migration and political instability. At the highest levels, Islam has been swept up into Russia's broader search for identity, as the old question of eastern versus western takes on new force. Dominic Rubin has spent the last three years interviewing Muslims across Russia, from Sufi shaykhs in Dagestan, new Muslim artists on the Volga and professionals in Kyrgyzstan to guest-workers commuting between Russia and Uzbekistan and Kremlin-sponsored muftis hammering out a new Russian Muslim ideology in Moscow. He discovers their family histories, their faith journeys and their hopes and fears, caught between roles as traditionalist allies in the new Eurasian Russia and as potential traitors in Moscow's war on terror. This story of Islam adapting in a paradoxical landscape, against all odds, brings alive the human reality behind the headlines.Trade Review'[Russia's Muslim Heartlands] is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Russia, its Muslim communities or Islam in general. It provides fascinating insights into Russia's second largest religion, as well as the wide diversity of views within its Muslim communities.' -- International Affairs‘'Russia’s Muslim Heartlands' offers a kaleidoscopic view of the tremendous diversity of Russia’s Muslims’. -- Journal of Modern History‘Rubin [shows] the immense diversity of Russia’s national and religious cultures … [his] writing style is reader-friendly and fresh [and he] demonstrates real perceptiveness.’ -- Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute'[A] fascinating book . . . hugely rewarding'.‘[Russia’s Muslim Heartlands provides] an important contribution to our understanding of the character and self-awareness of Muslims from Russia and the former Soviet Union as well as the interplay between Soviet upbringing and the new reassertion of Islam. It also provides a clear and well-thought out prognosis for the future.’ -- Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs'Islam in former Soviet states remains a little explored subject matter, and what literature does exist tends to focus on extremism in Chechnya. But as Dominic Rubin's new book shows, Islam in Russia and Central Asia is thriving, multifaceted and diverse. . . a fascinating read'.'Russia's Muslim Heartlands is a remarkable achievement … It provides a unique picture of Islam across the post-Soviet space … [the book] could almost serve as a 'who's who' of Russian-speaking intellectuals working on Islam and of influential Islamic clergy.' -- Europe-Asia Studies‘The author’s ingrained contextual knowledge, combined with curiosity [and] meticulous ethnographic research … enables an empirically rich and and conceptually eclectic survey of religious experiences.’ -- Religious Studies Review‘Rubin’s conversations with different Muslim men and women across Russia and Central Asia are vibrant and engaging and historically and theologically well informed.’ -- The Russian Review‘[Russia’s Muslim Heartlands] reads more like a travelogue than a sociological study and this is its strength … [it] contains a much richer, more nuanced and certainly much more informative content than anything else one cares to read on this subject.’ -- Terrorism & Political Violence'Dominic Rubin's travelogue provides a rich ethnographic tapestry of the former Soviet Muslim communities. Drawing from first hand observations, interviews and personal connections, he explores the varied and contradictory nature of Islam within Putin's Russia and the post-Soviet states.' -- Firouzeh Mostashari'Rubin's book offers a stimulating look at Muslim life and identity in post-Soviet Russia. Through interviews with local clerics and scholars in Moscow, Tatarstan, Central Asia and the North Caucasus, Rubin asks critical questions about what it means to be Muslim in a post-Soviet space, how Russian and Muslim identities combine, and whether we can speak of Russia's Islam.' -- Iwona Kaliszewska

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Book SynopsisThis issue of Critical Muslim focuses on Bangladesh, with articles exploring its history, culture, politics and future trajectories. There will be essays on female victims of the War of Independence, progressive Bangladeshi Muslim intellectuals, women in politics, the rise of extremist groups, the impact of climate change on the country, stories of those who struggle on the margins, the role of artists in times of panic, and the joys of singing and dancing in Bengali. Plus the best of contemporary Bangladeshi short fiction and poetry.

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Book SynopsisThere has been an explosion of research into the experiences of British Muslims, but what has been conspicuous by its absence is a proper historical treatment of the phenomenon. This book aims to address this issue. The Infidel Within remains one of the most important books on the history of British Muslims.Trade Review'Striking diversity is the most distinctive feature of the Muslim community in Britain. Yet, as Ansari argues in this history of Islam in Britain, British Muslims have consistently been portrayed as denizens of a monolithic and undifferentiated world, ill at ease with modernity, secularism and democracy. Through painstaking research, and an inspired exploration of the issues of identity, Ansari sets out to dispel this absurd, but widely held, myth.'— The Independent; '[Humayun Ansari does] an excellent job of providing a historical and country-wide account which is not only descriptive but analytical. It is fluently written and easily accessible to a wide range of readers and has the potential of becoming the initial reference text for people starting research in the area as well as a required text for university courses.' — Jorgen S. Nielsen, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Birmingham

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Book SynopsisSayyid Qutb (1906–1966) was an influential Egyptian ideologue credited with establishing the theoretical basis for radical Islamism in the postcolonial Sunni Muslim world. Lacking a pure understanding of the leader’s life and work, the popular media has conflated Qutb’s moral purpose with the aims of bin Laden and al-Qaeda. He is often portrayed as a terrorist, Islamo-Fascist, and advocate of murder. This book rescues Qutb from misrepresentation, tracing the evolution of his thought within the context of his time. An expert on social protest and political resistance in the modern Middle East, as well as Egyptian nationalism, John Calvert recounts Qutb’s life from the small village in which he was raised to his execution at the behest of Abd al-Nasser’s regime. His study remains sensitive to the cultural, political, social, and economic circumstances that shaped Qutb’s thought—major developments that composed one of the most eventful periods in Egyptian history. These years witnessed the full flush of Britain’s tutelary regime, the advent of Egyptian nationalism, and the political hegemony of the Free Officers. Qutb rubbed shoulders with Taha Husayn, Naguib Mahfouz, and Abd al-Nasser himself, though his Islamism originally had little to do with religion. Only in response to his harrowing experience in prison did Qutb come to regard Islam and kufr (infidelity) as oppositional, antithetical, and therefore mutually exclusive. Calvert shows how Qutb repackaged and reformulated the Islamic heritage to pose a challenge to authority, including those who claimed (falsely, he believed) to be Muslim.Trade Review'This rich and carefully researched biography sets Qutb for the first time in his Egyptian context, rescuing him from caricature without whitewashing his radicalism. It is no small achievement.'—The Economist; 'In one of the first serious English-language biographices of Qutb, Calvert puts this often misunderstood figure into his historical context, situating Qutb within the turbulent intellectual and political flow of Egyptian and Arab history. . . . The Qutb which emerges from Calvert's even-handed history is far more complex and interesting than the caricature of him which dominates popular understanding. Anyone interested in the evolution of Islamism in the 20th century should read it.' —Atlantic Monthly; 'Given that Qutb is taught in a large (and increasing) number of campuses, and given that he has already been introduced to the general public in bestselling books such as Lawrence Wright's the Looming Tower, the very publication of a Qutb biography is likely to attract considerable interest. … The book not only constitutes what is likely to remain the definitive biography of Sayyid Qutb, it also offers crucial new insights on the post-1954 history of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, another gaping hole in the literature. We are dealing here with a rare book that is likely to become a classic in the field of political Islam. … An outstanding volume.' –– Thomas Hegghammer, Harvard University; 'John Calvert's biography of the man now regarded as the father of radical Islam reveals an ideology forged in the fires of post-colonial Egypt.'—The National (Abu Dhabi)

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Book SynopsisIslamist terrorism is on the rise in Europe, and we are witnessing new methods of attack on an all-too-regular basis. While the death of Osama bin Laden and the advent of the `Arab Spring’ fed expectations that international jihadism was a spent force, Europe has faced an increase in terrorist plots over the past few years. In addition, there are growing security concerns over the fallout of the Syrian conflict, and its sizeable contingents of battle-hardened European fighters. This book provides a comprehensive account of the rise of jihadist militancy in Europe and offers a detailed background for understanding the current and future threat. Based on a wide range of new primary sources, it traces the phenomenon back to the late 1980s, and the formation of jihadist support networks in Europe in the early 1990s. Combining analytical rigour with empirical richness, the book offers a comprehensive account of patterns of terrorist cell formation and plots between 1995 and 2017. In contrast to existing research which has emphasised social explanations, failed immigration and homegrown radicalism, this book highlights the entrepreneurial role of former Arab-Afghan veterans and their associated organisations and ideological agendas.Trade Review'Nesser's detailed analysis of the threat we face could hardly be more timely. Its main focus is on the individuals involved, their backgrounds, motivations and modus operandi.' -- The Independent; 'Petter Nesser's unflashy book analyses jihadi activity in Europe from the 1994 attempt by Algerian hijackers to crash an Air France jet into Paris to the massacre at Charlie Hebdo's offices and the kosher deli hostage crisis one year ago.' -- The Times; 'A forensic look at 20 years of terrorist attacks. … This is not a book to read if you want to sleep easy.' -- The Sunday Times; 'Petter Nesser is one of the longest standing and most objective observers of this phenomenon. His book is full of detailed information that will make it a work of reference for many years to come. More than any other book on the subject, it shows the continuities and discontinuities, allowing readers and analysts to make sense of what has changed and what has remained the same. An absolute must read for anyone studying jihadist terrorism in Europe.' -- Peter Neumann, Director, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), King's College London; 'Petter Nesser is to be commended for a clear and well-researched explanation of jihadist terrorism in Europe that is impressive in historical range and depth of coverage. His study is essential for understanding a subject that is of paramount importance to the public and policy makers as well as scholars.' -- Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University; 'Several of the very best studies on terrorism have emerged from scholars around the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI). This is another of them. Petter Nesser's history of Islamist terrorism in Europe explains more than two decades of terrorist plotting like no other single-author study -- a must read for counter-terrorist professionals and academics, but also for all concerned citizens who want to make sense of “senseless violence.”' -- Alex P. Schmid, Editor-in-Chief of Perspectives on Terrorism and former Officer-in-Charge of the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations

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Book SynopsisDivided into male and female sections, this dictionary provides an alphabetical listing of Muslim names in both English and Arabic. Each name has a description of its origin and meaning as well as indication of whether the name is derived from Arabic or Persian.

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Book SynopsisThis study seeks to penetrate the roots of the Taliban movement on Afghanistan, the factors which contributed to its sudden rise to prominence, and the implications of Taliban mobilization for the stability of Afghanistan and the region.Table of ContentsPart 1 The rise of the Taliban. Part 2 The Taliban and the world. Part 3 The Taliban and the reconstruction of Afganistan. Part 4 Paths to the future.

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Book SynopsisThis text provides a detailed historical study of Islam under post-war Soviet Communism. Yaacov Ro'i describes and analyzes all aspects of Islam which relate to the Soviet domestic scene, with the purpose of demonstrating how and why it survived in the face of Soviet repression and secularization. The first part of the book deals with establishment Islam - the four spiritual directorates, the registered prayer houses and religious personnel. The second focuses on unofficial Islam: those groups and personnel which operated without any official registration. The third section surveys the Islamic practice and observation of fasts, festivals and rites of passage. The final part of the volume is devoted to the political - regime policy, its implementation in different regions, and the implications of Islam's survival for the national consciousness of Muslim ethnicities.Table of ContentsPart 1 The setting: Soviet religious policy and legislation; the dimensions of Islam. Part 2 The Establishment of Islam: the spiritual directorates; the registered mosques and clergy. Part 3 Unofficial "Parallel" Islam: the unregistered groups and clergy; the sects and brotherhoods. Part 4 The social aspect - the practise of Islam: the Muslim religious movement; rites and rituals - the collective dimension; rites and rituals - the family and individual. Part 5 Islam and the regime: official policy; the local organs of government; Islam and nationalism.

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Book SynopsisInvestigates the emerging phenomenon of militant fundamentalist Islam of a global nature and without links to a particular country or culture. Olivier Roy investigates here the emergence of a militant 'de-territorialised' Islam that has fewer and fewer links to any particular country and/or culture. His main contention is that contemporary Islamic fundamentalism is largely a consequence of, and a factor contributing to, globalisation. Roy argues that mainstream Islamist movements in the Muslim world have become 'Islamo-nationalist', recasting their political action within a national framework (e.g. Islamic Iran, the Hamas of Palestine, the Hezbullah of Lebanon), thereby relinquishing their internationalist agenda.Hence a schism has emerged between 'political Islam' and the modern, uprooted militants who strive to establish an imaginary 'Ummah which is not embedded in any particular society or territory. A detailed comparison of these transnational movements, whether peaceful like Tabligh Jamaat and the Islamic brotherhoods or violent like Osama bin Laden, forms the core of this book. In parallel with this 'deterritorialisation', new forms of 'Western Islam' have put down strong roots.For the first time in history, a huge Muslim population has come voluntarily to live in non-Muslim countries. Among these migrants pristine ethnic cultures are being eroded and giving way to the recasting of Islam as a mere religion, one that is less and less embedded in a particular, localised culture. In this sense the 'Salafist' or neo-fundamentalist approach, which stresses the return to an authentic Islam, shorn of local traditions and superstitions, is both a consequence and an agent of the contemporary process of acculturation and globalisation. Roy also examines relations between neo-fundamentalism and globalisation, and the recasting of Islam into a personal faith. To be a 'true' Muslim in the West is an individual choice, because it usually means a double break: with an overly traditional familial environment and with the dominant secular society.Trade Review[This] new book provides one of the best and most detailed snapshots of 'real existing Islam' currently available. * The Guardian *a new book by Roy [is] something of an event . . . 'Globalised Islam' is a highly original, methodologically rigorous . . . superb and complex sociological study. * The Washington Post *High-octane brainwork . . . a large and highly intelligent contribution. * The Economist *Olivier Roy is perhaps the most provocative and innovative writer on Islamism today. . . . There is no more reliable guide to this labyrinth. -- Martin Kramer * Middle East Quarterly *A characteristically informed and incisive analysis of the new transnational movements and globalized responses that have developed in that past twenty years or so in the Muslim world. . . . Roy is one of the most important analysts of political Islam today. -- James Piscatori, FellowTable of ContentsContents: Introduction - The Nationalisation of Islamism - Islam in the West: From Acculturation to New Sets of Identities - Redefining Islam as a Mere Religion in the West - Islam on the Web and the Virtual Ummah - Neo-Fundamentalism as a Pattern and a Tool of Acculturation - The Radical Neo-Fundamentalist Networks: Osama Bin Laden - Post-Islamism:The Protestanisation of Islam - Conclusion: Islam between Religion, Culture and Individualisation.

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Book SynopsisIslamism is often portrayed as a reaction against, or at best a belated accommodation to, modernization. Refuting this dismissive opinion, Bjørn Utvik explores the movement through the lens of its engagement with social and economic change in Egypt. Utvik provides a comprehensive picture of debates within mainstream Islamist groups that are grappling with concrete economic issues. He also marshals powerful empirical evidence of the modernizing tendencies of these groups. The economic discourse of the Egyptian Islamists, he argues, echoes that of radical nationalism in its support for justice, development, and independence, tempered by advocacy of a moral economy as a platform from which to combat not only the injustices of the current order, but also the archaic social practices and attitudes that are hindering development. * Introduction:'Islam is the Solution,'But What About the Economy? * The Pious Road to Modernity: Understanding Islamism. * A Country Stuck in Limbo: The Economic and Political Environment and the Growth of Islamism. * God's Stewards on Earth: Constructing an Islamist Economic Ideology. * Independence, Strength, and Justice: Islamists on Egypt's Economic Problems. * The 'Islamicness' of the Solution. * Conclusion: A Modernizing Moral Nationalism.Trade Review'Bjørn Utvik's book is most welcome to anyone interested in political Islam.' * Michael J. Twomey, International Journal of Middle East Studies *'A worthy contribution to the understanding of Islamist economics and the struggle for development.' * Elias H. Tuma, Middle East Journal *'Professor Utvik, unlike most Western commentators on Islamist opposition forces, has actually read their works and considered them with care.... His book is an important contribution to our understanding of Islamist thinking on the most critical economic issues of our time.' * Raymond W. Baker, Trinity College *

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Book SynopsisImmediately after the US-led invasion of Iraq, which was opposed by the Syrian government of Bashar al-Asad, there were real fears that Damascus would be next in line for 'regime change'. This perception was reinforced by Washington's rhetoric and its claims that the post-invasion Iraqi insurgency is being assisted by the Syrian intelligence service. The assassination of the Lebanese prime minister, Rafiq Hariri, compounded this pressure, with many observers pointing the finger at Damascus. The repercussions of his murder were anything but beneficial: Syria was compelled to withdrew its troops from Lebanon, where they had been stationed for nearly three decades. On the domestic front, Bashar is caught between hardliners and an increasingly impatient opposition. But will international pressure precipitate long overdue political reforms, or might it rebound, stifling the albeit hesitant relaxation of internal controls? Wieland argues that the West must not ignore Syria's robust tradition of secularism, and cautions that US attempts to undermine the current regime may, paradoxically, embolden the Islamists and help the regime to maintain its authoritarian grip on power.Trade Review'An excellent book.' -Joshua Landis,Syriaconnect.comTable of Contents1. Wrested from Slumber2. Bashar and Breaches in the Leadership3. The Pillars of Regime Legitimacy4. The Negative Balance5. Che not Usama: Syrian Society and Western Ideals6. Excursus: Secularism in Syria7. Is Baathism Bankrupt?8. Opposition, Islam, and the Regime9. Syria the Rogue State?10. Contradictory US Policy11. Political Options for the European Union12. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisIn the enormous literature on the Muslim world, one of the few gaps in our knowledge is the status of Islam in inter-war Europe, an imbalance this book aims to address. The Muslim population of Europe in the period from 1918-1939 was not one of isolated islands of belief and practice. Rather, there was far more interaction between Muslim communities than had hitherto been imagined. For example, there was much correspondence and exchange of ideas between the Ahmadi-Lahori missions of Berlin and Woking, near London, and Albanian religious leaders. Other topics discussed in this book include the earlier than imagined emergence of notions of a distinctly 'European' Islam, the fraught interplay of politics and Islam, especially the development by some governments of Muslim 'agendas', the richness and importance of debates within Europe's Muslim community, the attempts by the Nazis to foment 'jihad' and the modus operandi of trans-national networks.Table of ContentsIntroduction; i: Muslim networks in christian lands; Making Transnational Connections: Muslim networks in early Twentieth-century Britain - Humayun Ansari; Between National and Religious Solidarities: the Tatars in Germany and Poland in the Inter-War Period - Sebastian Cwiklinski; The first Muslim Missions on a European Scale: Ahmadi-Lahori Networks in the Inter-War Period - Eric Germain; ii: towards the building of a 'european islam' behind the Veil; The Reform of Islam in Inter-War Albania or the Search for a 'Modern and 'European' Islam - Nathalie Clayer; Shakib Arslan's Imagining of Europe: The Colonizer, the Inquisitor, the Islamic, the Virtuous, and the Friend - Raja Adal; European Neo-Sufi Movements in the Inter-war Period - Marc Sedgwick; iii: from State control to foreign Policy; Islam in the Service of Social Control: Arab Seamen in Britain - Richard Lawless; The Reform of Shari'a Courts and Islamic Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1918-1941 - Fikret Karcic; Euro-Islam by 'jihad Made in Germany - Wolfgang Schwanitz; iV: Minorities between acculturation and identity claim; Farewell to the Ottoman Legacy? Islamic Reformism and Revivalism in Inter-war Bosnia-Herzegovina - Xavier Bougarel; The Muslim Minority in Macedonia and its Educational Institutions during the Inter-War Period - Muhammed Aruci; The Episode of the Turkish Spelling Mistakes in Greek Thrace, 1929- Yannis Bonos

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Book SynopsisWidespread confusion over the use of the terms Islamism or Political Islam often obscures the fact that these are not new phenomena and can be traced back more than a century. But like all utopian beliefs, such as Communism, Islamism cannot entirely resist the broader currents of political and social change that confront it today, especially globalisation. Through meticulous on the ground and theoretical research in to the trajectories of current and former Islamists, the contributors to this book seek to understand what has become of political Islam. While many scholars have focused on the drift to violence of historical Islamism, they look at the other side of the coin to describe the continuities and not the ruptures of Islamism with its own ideology.Political Islam remains relevant to a new generation of militants but the channels through which it is expressed have changed. Jihad is often conducted electronically, via membership of Islamist e-mail list-servers; Islamist activism has been personalized, domesticated even, through the consumption of Islamic soft drinks and other lifestyle choices; and, the street protests that characterized the Islamist struggle in its heyday face competition from Islamic rap stars' concerts. These are among the issues addressed in this innovative volume.Trade Review'Whatever Happened to the Islamists? will be welcomed by all who seek to understand the impact of the Arab uprising and the role of Islamists during this historic period of political transformation in the Arab world.' * John L. Esposito, University Professor, Georgetown University and author of The Future of Islam *'Amel Boubekeur and Olivier Roy present a refreshing and provocative collection of essays, including several by younger scholars and others whose writings are rarely available in English. They display the iconoclasm, unanticipated fusions, and the modernity of contemporary Islamic activism, much of which does not see conquest of state power as a central objective. Islamic activism today is manifested in all-women heavy metal bands, consumerism, corporate big business, and individualised consumer and cultural choices. This book deserves to be widely read and debated, especially by journalists, pundits, and public policy makers who may have thought they already knew what Islamism is.' * Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Stanford University *'Although recent events in the Middle East seem to answer the question posed by this volume's title, news headlines obscure a tectonic shift in Islamism that has occurred over the last couple of decades. Whatever Happened to the Islamists? represents one of the most exciting and innovative analyses of contemporary dislocations in the ideological project of political Islam to be published in recent years. It points the way forward for an entire field of study.' * Peter Mandaville, George Mason University and author of Global Political Islam *

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Book SynopsisFrom the early nineteenth century onwards the Nizari Ismailis were transformed from a minor and obscure sect surrounded by ill-informed historical legend, into a small but highly organised temporal and religious movement with global political and economic influence. Much of this remarkable change in fortune can be traced to the hitherto little known diplomatic interaction between the British Empire, and later the British Commonwealth, and the Nizari Ismailis, from 1839 to 1969.Marc van Grondelle's book, based on painstaking archival research, examines the processes and interactions which led to the modernisation and successful co-optation by the British government of this comparatively small branch of Shi'a Islam. The author poses several key questions regarding the wider developing relationship between movements in contemporary Islam and 'The West'. In these increasingly polarised times, his discussion of the effective co-optation of a Muslim group to the mutual benefit of both the former and British foreign and colonial policy is timely and suggestive. He investigates the processes and actions that shaped the Ismails' relationship with London, and the social and political conditions that shaped this realignment.Trade Review'In the course of an earlier research project Marc van Grondelle stumbled upon a variety of archival sources concerning the relationship between the British Government and the Agha Khans,the leaders of the Ismaili movement. Perhaps these archives are not complete; perhaps parts of them are still secret. Nevertheless they are of great importance to Islamic scholarship-if only because it is not to be excluded that similar archives with similar material about other Islamic movements exist, in London, Washington and elsewhere. If so, such material has to be exploited as soon as possible. A... Readers of this book will get a surprisingly frank view of the inner workings of the former British imperial bureaucracy, and, even more important, they will be rewarded with a number of unexpected insights into how to conduct diplomacy when relations with potentially disruptive religious movements are at stake. Van Grondelle has made an important contribution to Islamography.' * Johannes J.G.Jansen, Houtsma Professor of Islamic Thought, University of Utrecht *

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Book SynopsisSince September 11 the term Islamophobia has entered common parlance across the globe. Widely used but diversely and inconsistently defined and deployed, Islamophobia remains hotly disputed and frequently disavowed both as word and concept. To its supporters it names a defining feature of our times and is an important tool to highlight injustices faced by and specific to Muslims, but its effectiveness is weakened by lack of agreed meaning and of clarity in relation to such terms as racism and orientalism. To its detractors Islamophobia is either a fundamentally flawed category or, worse, a communitarian fig leaf behind which 'backward' social practices and totalitarian political ambitions are covered up. The backdrop to these debates and more generally to the mobilizations and contestations, to which they give expression, is a succession of 'moral panics' centred on the figure of the Muslim. Adopting a global perspective this collection is conceptually framed in terms of four arenas which provide the four distinct contexts for the problematization of Muslim identity, and the ways in which Islamophobia may be deployed. Drawing on diverse fields of disciplinary and geographical expertise twenty six contributors address the question of Islamophobia in a series of interventions which range from large and sustained arguments to illustrations of particular themes across these contexts: 'Muslimistan' (broadly the OIC member countries); states in which Muslims either form a minority or hold a socio-economically subaltern position but in which the Muslim minority cannot be easily dismissed as recent arrivals (such as India, Russia and China as well as Thailand); lands in which Muslims are represented as newly arrived immigrants (Western plutocracies), and the regions in which the Muslim presence is minimal or virtual and the problematization of Muslim identity is vicarious. Rejecting both uncritical transhistorical uses of the term Islamophobia and no less uncritical dismissals of the term the collection navigates a course in betwixt and between these two extremes pioneering a path to a series of investigations of Islamophobia that are predicated in the articulation of Muslim agency as its necessary ground.Table of ContentsS. Sayyid Thinking Through Islamophobia; S. Sayyid Out of the Devil's Dictionary; Jonathan Riley-Smith Islamophobia and the Crusades; AbdoolKarim Vakil Is the Islam in Islamophobia the Same as the Islam in Anti-Islam: Or, When is it Islamophobia Time?; Katherine Butler Brown The Problem With Parables; Chris Allen Islamophobia: from K.I.S.S. to R.I.P.; Yakoub Islam The Voyage In: Second Life Islamophobia; Nasar Meer and Tariq Modood The Racialization of Muslims; Muhammad G. Khan 'No Innocents'; David Tyrer 'Flooding the embankments': Race, biopolitics and sovereignty; Adi Kuntsman, Jin Haritaworn and Jennifer Petzen Sexualising the 'War on Terror'; Yahya Birt Governing Muslims after 9/11; Cemalettin Haimi Neoconservative narrative as globalizing Islamophobia; Samia Bano Asking the Law Questions: Agency and Muslim Women; Annelies Moors Fear of Small Numbers? Debating face-veiling in the Netherlands; Madina Tlostanova A Short History of Russian Islamophobia; Lin Yi Culturalism, Education and Islamophobia in China; Yasin Aktay Islamophobia in Turkey; Mohammad Siddique Seddon Reclaiming The Turk's Head; Rodhanthi Tzanelli Islamophobia and Hellenophilia: Greek Myths of Post-Colonial Europe; Duncan McCargo Troubled by Muslims: Thailand's Declining Tolerance?; Nadia Fadil 'Breaking the Taboo of Multiculturalism': The Belgian Left and Islam; Katy Pal Sian 'Don't Freak, I'm a Sikh!'; Peter Millward Islamophobia: A new racism in football?; Ruvani Ranasinha Fundamental Fictions: Gender, Power and Islam in BrAsian Diasporic Formations; Dibyesh Anand Generating Islamophobia in India; AbdoolKarim Vakil Who's Afraid of Islamophobia?

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Book SynopsisFunny, challenging, controversial, passionate and unforgiving, this is an unprecedented personal account of a Muslim's life in the modern world. As an Islamic scholar, outspoken social activist and well-known commentator, Farid Esack is in a unique position to tackle the quandaries and challenges facing Muslims today. Whether it be cultivating a meaningful relationship with Allah or striving for gender equality and religious freedom, Esack combines personal insight with incisive analysis. Providing a devout yet practical guide for those seeking to re-engage with their faith in the modern world, this groundbreaking work will help believers and non-believers alike to appreciate the eternal relevance of the Qur’an and its teachings.Trade Review"This book will help overcome the stereotype that Islam is incompatible with notions of religious and gender freedom. Recommended for general readers and all student levels." * Choice *

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Book SynopsisIn 1928, a young Lebanese woman, Nazira Zeineddine al-Halabi, wrote a book called "Unveiling and Veiling", an indictment of patriarchal oppression in which she boldly stated that the veil was un-Islamic, directly challenging the teachings of wiser" male scholars. Considered by many an attack on Islam, it rocked the Muslim world and was banned by many clerics, although it quickly went into a second edition and was translated into several languages. In this latest addition to Makers of the Muslim World series, Miriam Cooke offers an intimate portrait of the life and work of this pioneering champion of Islamic feminism.Table of ContentsIllustrations Maps Preface Acknowledgements PART I 1 Early Arab Feminisms 2 The Twilight of the Ottomans 3 Islamic Lessons 4 Religious Interlocutors 5 The Book 6 “The Girl” Writes Back 7 What Went Wrong? PART II 8 Marriage 9 The Afterlife of a Writer Conclusion Glossary Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisJewish American writing is an exciting and controversial genre within post-war literature. In this book Stephen Wade offers a student guide to major writers, their key works and to influential background factors including the postmodern, the masternarrative and metafiction. The themes, issues and philosophies of writers including Saul Bellow, Philip Roth and Isaac Bashevis Singer are inter-related and wider literary and historical topics are alluded to and explained. Covering women's writing, novels, poetry and drama, the author offers a readable guide to the achievements of a key group of writers in twentieth-century American literature. Key Features * A student guide to major writers in post-war American literature * A chapter on each of the 5 main writers * Covers theoretical aspects -- the postmodern, the masternarrative and metafiction -- in an easily accessible way * Offers background material to situate the work of the writersTrade ReviewA broad-ranging student guide which offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to major writers and their cultural and philosophical backgrounds. A broad-ranging student guide which offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to major writers and their cultural and philosophical backgrounds.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThis text is a generational history of the young people whose lives were irrevocably shaped by the rise of the Nazis. Half a million Jews lived in Germany when Hitler came to power in 1933. Over the next decade, thousands would flee. Among these refugees, teens and young adults formed a remarkable generation. They were old enough to appreciate the loss of their homeland and the experience of flight, but often young and flexible enough to survive and even flourish in new environments. This generation has produced such disparate figures as Henry Kissinger and "Dr Ruth" Westheimer. Walter Laqueur has drawn on interviews, published and unpublished memoirs and his own experiences as a member of this group of refugees, to paint a vivid and moving portrait of Generation Exodus.Trade Review"Laqueur draws on dozens of published and unpublished memoirs...the detail is always vivid and well chosen, sometimes very moving... no one could read this book without increased admiration for 'generation exodus'." -Matthew Reisz, Jewish ChronicleTable of ContentsPreface /xi Introduction: Growing Up between Weimar and Hitler / 1 Escape / 29 Resistance / 64 Israel: Immigration Jeckepotz / 94 United States: Golden Country behind Paper Walls / 129 World Revolution, or the Dream That Failed / 161 Britain: Forever Refugees? / 189 The Great Dispersal: Hotel Bolivia and Hotel Shanghai / 215 Returning to Germany / 241 Portrait of a Generation / 268 Glossary / 307 Bibliographical Essay / 311 Index / 329 Illustrations follow pages 116 and 232

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Book SynopsisAt the beginning of June 1895, Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), the Paris correspondent of the Austrian Neue Freie Presse, made a momentous decision - he would bring about the creation of a state for the Jews. In his attempt to realise this dream, he became the greatest figure of modern Jewish history and is today seen as the father of the State of Israel.

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Book Synopsis'Jews in America' documents the remarkable story of the Jewish presence in the New World, from the time of Columbus to the 1920s, when the Jewish community in the United States was four million strong and an essential part of American society and culture. Drawing on a mix of contemporary books, manuscripts, globes, maps and engravings from the world-renowned collections of the New York Public Library, Jews in America is a vivid document of everyday Jewish-American life, worship, law, and commerce. It tells the fascinating story of the first Jewish immigrants' arrival in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1654 (later New York City), Jewish interaction with the four colonial powers in the Western Hemisphere (Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands and England), and on the ideas and beliefs that they influenced. The final chapter looks at the evolving cultural role of Jews in late 19th and early 20th century New York, especially the rise of the Yiddish theatre.Trade Review"Reproductions exhibit excellent quality; many are in color on high-grade paper. The volume is well-referenced with endnotes. It concludes with a brief essay on the Jewish division of the New York Public Library. Summing Up: Highly recommended" R Hartsock, "Choice" "A handsome book" "For the library it is a testament to its Jewish division which contains one of the foremost collections of Judaica and Hebraica in the world" Michael Hirsch, "The Portolan" "A beautifully crafted catalogue of choice Jewish treasures" Esther Nussbaum, "Jewish Book World" "From the very beginning it is full of fresh insights" "This is a fascinating story, superbly told" David Herman, "Jewish Renaissance" "Gives a flavour of an important strand in the history of the United States" CassoneTable of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction I Discovery II New Christians, Conversos, and the Inquisition: The Dutch and the Portuguese in Brazil, Suriname, and the Caribbean III Arriving in New Amsterdam - and then, New York IV Jewish Indians, Puritans and Quakers, the Christian Millennium, and the Hope of Israel V Communities and Constitutions in Colonial North America VI The Long Nineteenth Century of the Jews in America The Dorot Jewish Division of The New York Public Library Further Reading Illustrations, Credits, and Acknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisIn the early 1250s Mongke Khan, grandson and successor of the mighty Mongol emperor, Genghis Khan, sent out his youngerbrothers Qubilai and Hulegu to consolidate his grip on power. Hulegu was welcomed into Iran while his older brother, Qubilai, continued to erode the power of the Song emperors of southern China. In 1276 he finally forced their submission and peacefully occupied their capital, Hangzhou. The city enjoyed a revival as the cultural capital of a united China and was soon filled with traders, adventurers, artists, entrepreneurs, and artisans from throughout the great Mongol Empire includinga prosperous, influential and seemingly welcome community of Persians. In 1281, one of their number, Al al-Din, built thePhoenix Mosque in the heart of the city where it still stands today. This study of the mosque and the Ju-jing Yuan cemetery,today as a lake-side public park, casts light on an important and transformative period in Chinese history, and perhaps themost important period in Chinese Islamic history. The book is published in the Persian Studies Series of the British Instituteof Persian Studies.

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Book SynopsisA collection of autobiographical stories about growing up in the Jewish East End in the 1930s, bringing to life an immigrant generation''s abrasive encounter with the anglicising power of schooling. The collection includes accounts of his Jewish Communist family''s conflicts with authority, and combating fascists at the Battle of Cable Street. This edition includes a new introduction by Harold''s son, well-known poet and children''s writer Michael Rosen.

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Book SynopsisNew translation and commentary on the 11th century tale of a Baghdadi party-crasher in Isfahan. It is introduced by its author as a microcosm of Baghdad. This work, written in prose but containing numerous poems, is widely hailed among scholars as a narrative unique in the history of Arabic literature, but The Portrait also reflects a much larger tradition of banquet texts, from Trimalchio''s Dinner Party and Plato''s Symposium to the works of Rabelais. It also paints a portrait of a party-crasher who is at once a holy man and a rogue, a figure familiar among scholars of the ancient Cynic tradition or other portrayals of wise fools, tricksters, and saints from literatures around the Mediterranean and beyond. While some early scholars of The Portrait dismissed it as disgusting and obscene, this work, with its wealth of material-cultural, philosophical, spiritual, and literary treasures, is much more than just a ''dirty book''.Following an introduction, which offers new insights into the relationship of the work to both its Greek predecessors and to its European descendants, the volume presents a new, improved edition of the Arabic text, together with a richly annotated translation, that aims at being both scholarly and readable, to some extent reflecting the often racy style of the Arabic. This should make it not only useful to specialists and students of medieval Arabic literature, but also accessible to a much wider general readership of those interested in comparative literature or ''world literature''. There are extensive indexes of names, places, subjects, and rhymes.

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