Globalization and Islamism: Beyond Fundamentalism

by Nevzat Soguk

Overview

Tensions between the West and the Islamic world have reached an all-time high, fueled by caricatures and misunderstandings on both sides. In contrast, as Nevzat Soguk shows, actual histories reveal profound connections across Islamic and Western civilizations. Moving beyond the usual focus on Wahhabi fundamentalism, Soguk highlights the often-overlooked non-Arab forms of Islam in Turkey and in Indonesia, which holds the world's largest population of Muslims. He argues that Westerners tend to see only an extremist form of Islam, which obscures the political and cultural pluralism supported within majority-Islamic countries around the world. This book taps into the nexus of tension born of the fear and terror engendered by Wahabi movements on one hand and the promise of a tolerant, pluralist Islamic religiosity in Turkey and Indonesia on the other. It examines the multiple historical political and religious legacies in Turkey and Indonesia in light of the rapid globalization they are experiencing. By focusing on these two countries, the author fills a significant void on the diverse role Islam is poised to play in shaping regional and global political futures. Original, timely, and humane, this book will be essential reading for all those concerned about repairing Western-Islamic relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742557529
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/16/2010
Series:	Globalization
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	246
File size:	418 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nevzat Soguk is professor of political science at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Islam, Islamism, and Globalization
Chapter 1: Islamic Globalism Unveiled
Chapter 2: Histories Untold: The Irresistible Charm of Islamic Cosmopolitanism
Chapter 3: Islamic Intellectual Legacies: Modern Amnesia and Political Philosophy
Chapter 4: Crossroads of Global Islam and Islamism in Turkey
Chapter 5: Archipelagos of Islam in Indonesia
Chapter 6: Radical Vanishing: Islam into Global Commonspaces
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

An excellent broad approach that spells out individual difference in a comprehendible framework.

John D. Stempel

Nevzat Soguk brilliantly subverts the conventional 'Jihad vs. McWorld' discussion of Islam and globalization by unveiling both the intrinsic modernity of Muslimness and the Muslimness of modernity. An erudite, highly readable, and thoroughly human account of Islamic cosmopolitanism.

Peter Mandaville

In this ambitious book, Soguk aims to reveal multiple understandings of Islam from history to present. He is critical of two groups of actors, the Western Orientalists and Wahhabis, for their misrepresentations of Islam. Soguk regards Islamic tradition as much richer than these actors present. The book focuses on two sets of cases to stress some arguably understudied aspects of Islamic thought and Muslim practices. The historical cases include the medieval Islamic philosophers (mutazila), who influenced both Muslim and Christian lands with their rationalist philosophy. The contemporary set of cases is Turkey and Indonesia, which reflect diverse Muslim thoughts and activism in both politics and civil society.. .. This book is good to provoke thoughts on a number of important questions, given its consistent perspective and interesting cases. Summing Up: Recommended.

Choice Reviews

Nevzat Soguk provides an interesting reading of the relationship and tension between Islam as a religion and Islamism as an ideology.. .. The book is well written, clear, and includes useful boxes that help the reader to navigate within a complex and very condensed history.. .. Overall the book is interesting, provides food for thought and is particularly useful for undergraduate courses on Islam, whether from a historical, sociological or political approach.

MESA Bulletin

This book provides the depth and analysis that has been hard to find until now—great text!

Daniel Kirk

Globalization and Islamism is a gem of a book. Elegantly written, it effectively tears down essentialist accounts of the so-called phenomenon of 'political Islam.'

Mustapha Kamal Pasha

In this ambitious book, Soguk aims to reveal multiple understandings of Islam from history to present. He is critical of two groups of actors, the Western Orientalists and Wahhabis, for their misrepresentations of Islam. Soguk regards Islamic tradition as much richer than these actors present. The book focuses on two sets of cases to stress some arguably understudied aspects of Islamic thought and Muslim practices. The historical cases include the medieval Islamic philosophers (mutazila), who influenced both Muslim and Christian lands with their rationalist philosophy. The contemporary set of cases is Turkey and Indonesia, which reflect diverse Muslim thoughts and activism in both politics and civil society.. .. This book is good to provoke thoughts on a number of important questions, given its consistent perspective and interesting cases. Summing Up: Recommended.

Choice

Nevzat Soguk brilliantly subverts the conventional 'Jihad vs. McWorld' discussion of Islam and globalization by unveiling both the intrinsic modernity of Muslimness and the Muslimness of modernity. An erudite, highly readable, and thoroughly human account of Islamic cosmopolitanism.--Peter Mandaville, George Mason University; author of Global Political Islam

An excellent broad approach that spells out individual difference in a comprehendible framework.--John D. Stempel, senior professor emeritus at and former director of International Relations U.K. Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, University of Kentucky

This book provides the depth and analysis that has been hard to find until now--great text!--Daniel Kirk, Macon State College

From the Publisher

In this ambitious book, Soguk aims to reveal multiple understandings of Islam from history to present. He is critical of two groups of actors, the Western Orientalists and Wahhabis, for their misrepresentations of Islam. Soguk regards Islamic tradition as much richer than these actors present. The book focuses on two sets of cases to stress some arguably understudied aspects of Islamic thought and Muslim practices. The historical cases include the medieval Islamic philosophers (mutazila), who influenced both Muslim and Christian lands with their rationalist philosophy. The contemporary set of cases is Turkey and Indonesia, which reflect diverse Muslim thoughts and activism in both politics and civil society.. .. This book is good to provoke thoughts on a number of important questions, given its consistent perspective and interesting cases. Summing Up: Recommended.

CHOICE