Muted Modernists: The Struggle Over Divine Politics in Saudi Arabia - Hardcover

Al-Rasheed, Madawi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1849045860 ISBN 13: 9781849045865

Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2015

Synopsis

Analysis of both official and opposition Saudi divine politics is often monolithic, conjuring images of conservatism, radicalism, misogyny and resistance to democracy. Madawi Al-Rasheed challenges this stereotype as she examines a long tradition of engaging with modernism that gathered momentum with the Arab uprisings and incurred the wrath of both the regime and its Wahhabi supporters. With this nascent modernism, constructions of new divine politics, anchored in a rigorous reinterpretation of foundational Islamic texts and civil society activism are emerging in a context where authoritarian rule prefers its advocates to remain muted. The author challenges scholarly wisdom on 'Islamism' in general and blurs the boundaries between secular and religious politics.

About this title

Review:

'While Muted Modernists is written in the careful language of an academic monograph, its insights into the nuances of a unique political culture are relevant to everyone concerned with domestic security in Europe.' --Financial Times

'Islamism is a piebald, elusive form of religious politics in the modern Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a key player, yet until now no one has shown how notable Saudi scholars, many of them marginal to traditional networks but with access to social media, are reshaping Islamism within the Kingdom. Written by the foremost scholar of dissident political movements in Saudi Arabia, this book is a must read for policy mavens and students of international affairs as well as Middle East specialists from all disciplines.' --Bruce Lawrence, Professor of Islamic Studies Emeritus, Duke University, and author of Who is Allah?

Madawi al-Rasheed, in Muted Modernists, performs an extremely interesting and useful service in introducing us to some of the...different complexities not just of Saudi Arabia, but also of Islam itself... The book is valuable for anyone wanting to understand some of the internal discourse in the kingdom which is obscured from the outside world. --Church Times

From the Author:

Madawi Al-Rasheed is Visiting Professor at the Middle East Centre at LSE and Research Fellow at the Open Society Foundation. She was Professor of Anthropology of Religion at King's College, London between 1994 and 2013. Previously, she was Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford.

About this edition

• Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1849045860
• ISBN 13: 9781849045865
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224