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One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds Raymond William Baker (Professor of International Politics, Professor of International Politics, Trinity College)

One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds By Raymond William Baker (Professor of International Politics, Professor of International Politics, Trinity College)

Summary

In One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds Raymond Baker addresses the main paradox of the Islamic world today: the fact of its emergence as a civilizational force strong enough to contend with the West, in the midst of its unprecedented material vulnerability.

One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds Summary

One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds: Spirituality, Identity, and Resistance across Islamic lands by Raymond William Baker (Professor of International Politics, Professor of International Politics, Trinity College)

By all measures, the late twentieth century was a time of dramatic decline for the Islamic world, the Ummah, particularly its Arab heartland. Sober Muslim voices regularly describe their current state as the worst in the 1,400-year history of Islam. Yet, precisely at this time of unprecedented material vulnerability, Islam has emerged as a civilizational force strong enough to challenge the imposition of Western, particularly American, homogenizing power on Muslim peoples. This is the central paradox of Islam today: at a time of such unprecedented weakness in one sense, how has the Islamic Awakening, a broad and diverse movement of contemporary Islamic renewal, emerged as such a resilient and powerful transnational force and what implications does it have for the West? In One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds Raymond W. Baker addresses this question. Two things are clear, Baker argues: Islam's unexpected strength in recent decades does not originate from official political, economic, or religious institutions, nor can it be explained by focusing exclusively on the often-criminal assertions of violent, marginal groups. While extremists monopolize the international press and the scholarly journals, those who live and work in the Islamic world know that the vast majority of Muslims reject their reckless calls to violence and look elsewhere for guidance. Baker shows that extremists draw their energy and support not from contributions to the reinterpretation and revival of Islamic beliefs and practices, but from the hatreds engendered by misguided Western policies in Islamic lands. His persuasive analysis of the Islamic world identifies centrists as the revitalizing force of Islam, saying that they are responsible for constructing a modern, cohesive Islamic identity that is a force to be reckoned with.

One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds Reviews

Recommended. -Choice

About Raymond William Baker (Professor of International Politics, Professor of International Politics, Trinity College)

Raymond W. Baker is Professor of International Politics at Trinity College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ; Note on Style and Conventions ; 1. The Mystery of Islam's Strength ; 2. Oases of Resistance and Reform ; 3. Guidance from the Center ; 4. Heralds of Renewal ; 5. Ibn Battuta and Medieval Pathways ; 6. Fahmi Huwaidi and Contemporary Networks ; 7. God's Signs for Democracy in Islam ; 8. The Islamist Imaginary ; 9. The Epochal Story of Islam and the Common People ; 10. The River of Life ; Glossary ; Notes ; Index

Additional information

GOR012824528
9780199846474
0199846472
One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds: Spirituality, Identity, and Resistance across Islamic lands by Raymond William Baker (Professor of International Politics, Professor of International Politics, Trinity College)
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Oxford University Press Inc
20151001
392
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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