Islam, Orientalism and Intellectual History: Modernity and the Politics of Exclusion Since Ibn Khaldun (Library of Middle East History) - Softcover

Mohammad R. Salama

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780764502 ISBN 13: 9781780764504

Publisher: I.B.Tauris, 2013

Synopsis

Debates on the relationship between Islam and the West continue to rage on, from talk of clashing civilizations to political pacification, from ethical and historical perspectives to distrust, xenophobia and fear. Here, Mohammad Salama argues that the events of 9/11 force us to engage ourselves fully, without preconditions, in understanding not just the history of Islam as a religion, but Islam as a historical condition that has existed in relationship to the West since the seventh century. Spanning an impressive array of recent writings on these themes as well as older foundational texts in both traditions - including al-Tabari, Ibn Khaldun, Hegel, al-Jabarti, Toynbee, Foucault, Edward Said and Hourani - this book is both timely and crucial for all those interested in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, Western and Islamic philosophies of history, modernity, and the relationship between Islam and the West.

About this title

Review:

This is a fresh look at debates such as Ibn Khaldun's theory of history, Hegel's understanding of Islam and the Anglo-French occupation of Egypt. Tying them together is a powerful argument about Islam s relation to intellectual history. Here is a literary scholar of great erudition skilfully redeploying the postcolonial critique of Orientalism in the face of a renewed demonization of Islam.

Partha Chatterjee, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University

An artfully written, colloquially vibrant work of demystifying scholarship. Salama has written the best study I know on the nagging misrecognition of Arabs and Muslims in the West by brilliantly re-thinking the much-maligned concepts of history and modernity across the East/West divide.

Timothy Brennan, Professor, Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota

[A] groundbreaking work ... accessible to a broad audience despite its formidable ideas and its scope. Salama goes to great lengths to make it compelling for both specialists and students.

Emily Gottreich, Associate Adjunct Professor, Department of History and International and Area Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Well-written in an engaging style that expresses complex concepts in an eloquent yet accessible manner, this book examines key encounters between East and West in depth, with nuance, and using a wide range of sources from an abundance of disciplines, geographical locations and theoretical orientations. This book will be invaluable to scholars of Literature, History and Islamic Studies, to name just a few fields.

Ghada Osman, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages, San Diego State University

This is a book of tremendous insight and erudition. Dr Salama s analysis is both provocative and expertly rendered, and he writes astutely about matters that have largely been ignored in both scholarly and popular discourses.

Steven Salaita, Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Cleverly interrogating the many assumptions about Islam that pervade current discourse, this book will be indispensable for students and scholars interested in Islam, European colonialism, postcolonial studies and intellectual history. --Dustin Cowell, Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison

About the Author:

Mohammad R. Salama is Assistant Professor of Arabic at San Francisco State University. He specializes in modern Arabic literature, Arab colonial and postcolonial thought and Arab film studies.

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B.Tauris
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1780764502
• ISBN 13: 9781780764504
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304