Islam and Political Violence: Muslim Diaspora and Radicalism in the West (Library of International Relations): v. 34 - Hardcover

Shahram Akbarzadeh; Fethi Mansouri

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845114736 ISBN 13: 9781845114732

Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 2010

Synopsis

How do we engage with the pressing challenges of xenophobia, radicalism and security in the current political climate? The widely felt sense of insecurity in the West is shared by Muslims both within and outside Western societies. Growing Islamic militancy and the subsequent increased security measures by Western powers have contributed to a pervasive sense among Muslims of being under attack both physically and culturally. 'Islam and Political Violence' brings together current debates on the uneasy and potentially mutually destructive relationship between the Muslim world and the West and argues that we are on a dangerous trajectory, strengthening dichotomous notions of the divide between the West and the Muslim world.

About this title

Review:

'This book offers a wealth of instructive material for both specialist and general readers.' --William Maley, Professor and Foundation Director, Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, Australian National University, Canberra

'This is a timely and significant volume...it provides fresh insight, not just on jihadi Islamist terrorism itself, but also on our reaction to it, laying bare some of the central complexities and moral quandries of our troubled times...There are no easy answers in this field, but knowledge and insight of the kind presented here is essential to finding a way forward.' --Greg Barton, Herb Feith Research Professor for the Study of Indonesia, Monash University

Synopsis:

Acts of violence by extremist groups and the war on terror have added fresh uncertainties to an already complex global order and heightened a widely felt sense of insecurity in the West and the Muslim world. Just as terrorist and counter-terrorism are locked in a mutually re-enforcing symbiosis, the sense of insecurity felt by Muslims (living in Muslim majority and minority states) and non-Muslims is mutually dependent and has the potential to escalate. The pervasive sense of being under attack by the United States and its Western allies, has contributed to a growing unease among Muslims and re-enforced deep-seated mistrust of the 'West'. Public articulation of such misgivings has in turn, lent credence to Western observers, like Samuel Huntington, who posit an inherent antipathy between the West and the Muslim world. The subsequent policies that have emerged in this context of fear and mutual distrust have contributed to xenophobia and a vicious cycle of insecurity."Islam and Political Violence" seeks to redress the current debate on the uneasy and potentially mutually destructive relationship between the Muslim world and the West.

Akbarzadeh and Mansouri bring together some of the top international scholars in the field, including James Piscatori and Amin Saikal, to deal with a set of inter-related questions about the nature of Islamism, impact of the 'war on terror' on the spread of militancy and the unintended security ramifications."Islam and Political Violence" explores the modern concept of Islamism and the re-invention of Islam by the political elites and counter-elites to advance temporal objectives. Islamism rests on a combination of domestic and international factors. The Taliban, Hizb ut-Tahrir in Indonesia and Laskar-e Toiba are pertinent case studies of this domestic-international cross-section. "Islam and Political Violence" provides us with a new angle from which to examine the range of challenges to social cohesion and multiculturalism in Western societies and the future of Islam in the West.

About this edition

• Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1845114736
• ISBN 13: 9781845114732
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288