What do you think?
Rate this book
Islam and Politics
This book is an accessible and comprehensive account of political Islam in the contemporary world. Providing a broad introduction to all major aspects of the interface of Islam and politics it combines an accessible style with sufficient depth for the academic classroom. Drawing on insights from comparative politics and Islamic studies, this book explains the complex interaction between Islam, society, the state, and processes of globalization. Preserving the previous editions' strong focus on key concepts from Islamic history as they relate to contemporary political Islam, this new edition includes coverage of important developments and updated country overviews from the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.
Features include:
Two new case studies on Southeast Asia and Europe.
Exploration of the origins and development of ISIS, Al-Qaeda and various regional affiliates of the global Salafi-Jihadi movement.
Coverage of contemporary debates about radicalization and violent extremism.
Examination of questions of Islam's compatibility with democracy; the role of women; and Islamic perspectives on violence and conflict.
Discussion of major theoretical debates in the literature on political Islam, the debate on Islamic exceptionalism and whether Islamist politics can be understood using the conventional tools of comparative political science and International Relations.
These updates ensure the book remains the single best introduction to the topic of political Islam for students and scholars, foreign policy professionals and the general reader.
Features include:
Two new case studies on Southeast Asia and Europe.
Exploration of the origins and development of ISIS, Al-Qaeda and various regional affiliates of the global Salafi-Jihadi movement.
Coverage of contemporary debates about radicalization and violent extremism.
Examination of questions of Islam's compatibility with democracy; the role of women; and Islamic perspectives on violence and conflict.
Discussion of major theoretical debates in the literature on political Islam, the debate on Islamic exceptionalism and whether Islamist politics can be understood using the conventional tools of comparative political science and International Relations.
These updates ensure the book remains the single best introduction to the topic of political Islam for students and scholars, foreign policy professionals and the general reader.
470 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 13, 2017
Peter Mandaville's writing is clear and insightful, I had to read this book for a class on religion and politics in the Middle East. Here's a short reflection from the first chapter:
Mandaville questions the very term used to describe the “Islamic” world; it is signified by its religious identity whereas the “West” is signified by it geographic identity. Mandaville notes how absurd it would be to call the West: the “Christian world” today because that would not account for the diversity and multi-dimensionality of the West. Yet the same appreciation for complexity is often not offered to the "Muslim World".
In various academic discourses there seems to be a fixation on religion as a single explanatory factor of various phenomena in this part of the world, be it political, economic or social. Now does this mean that Mandaville is saying that religion doesn’t matter? On the contrary, he asserts that understanding religious discourse, institutions and actors is important, but argues for the need to critically deconstruct the way religion is seen, understood and often cast as a single explanatory factor.
The book of course expands beyond this question, and delves into themes such as "Islamism", social movement theory, the Arab uprisings and the "post-Islamism" thesis.
Mandaville questions the very term used to describe the “Islamic” world; it is signified by its religious identity whereas the “West” is signified by it geographic identity. Mandaville notes how absurd it would be to call the West: the “Christian world” today because that would not account for the diversity and multi-dimensionality of the West. Yet the same appreciation for complexity is often not offered to the "Muslim World".
In various academic discourses there seems to be a fixation on religion as a single explanatory factor of various phenomena in this part of the world, be it political, economic or social. Now does this mean that Mandaville is saying that religion doesn’t matter? On the contrary, he asserts that understanding religious discourse, institutions and actors is important, but argues for the need to critically deconstruct the way religion is seen, understood and often cast as a single explanatory factor.
The book of course expands beyond this question, and delves into themes such as "Islamism", social movement theory, the Arab uprisings and the "post-Islamism" thesis.
Read
August 30, 2019one of the best main texts on global islam and muslim politics. A must read!
June 1, 2025
Incredibly comprehensive and discusses theory which I appreciate however lack of nuance at times but understandable as one cannot address everything in a singular book.
July 21, 2015
A very informative book, that looks at historical background as well as the current situation. It makes it clear that there are very many ways in which Islam relates to politics.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews