Islam beyond Borders: The Umma in World Politics - Hardcover

Piscatori, James; Saikal, Amin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1108481256 ISBN 13: 9781108481250

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2019

Synopsis

Assuming a central place in Muslim life, the Qur'an speaks of one community of the faith, the umma. This unity of the faithful is recognised as the default aspiration of the believer, and in the modern era, intellectuals and political leaders have often vied both to define, and to lead it. Based on case studies of actors such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and ISIS, James Piscatori and Amin Saikal consider how some appeals to pan-Islam prove useful, yet other attempts at cross-border institutionalisation including the Sunni Caliphate or the modern Shi'i-inspired Islamic Revolution, founder on political self-interest and sectarian affiliations. Accompanied by a range of scriptural references to examine different interpretations of the umma, Piscatori and Saikal explore why, despite it meaning such widely different things, and its failure to be realised as a concrete project, neither the umma's popular symbolic appeal nor its influence on a politics of identity has diminished.

About this title

Book Description:

Assuming a central place in Muslim life, the Qur'an speaks of one community of the faith, the umma. Despite this, there is little agreement on its meaning, and political self-interest and sectarian differences continue to undermine pan-Islamic aspirations. This study explores the search for a unified Muslim world that is rarely, if ever, achieved.

About the Author:

James Piscatori is Professor and Deputy Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. He is a recipient of research grants, including those awarded by the Ford Foundation, British Academy, and the Economic and Social Research Council (UK), he is a member of the Society of Fellows at The Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Islam in a World of Nation-States (1986) and co-author of Muslim Politics (1994) with Dale F. Eickelman.

Amin Saikal is Distinguished Professor and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. A recipient of the Order of Australia (AM) and elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA), he is the author of Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq (2014), Iran at the Crossroads (2015) and Iran Rising: the Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic (2018).

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1108481256
• ISBN 13: 9781108481250
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224