Lexington Books An Islamic Reformation?

Product Description Over the last two decades we have seen a vast number of books published in the West that treat Islamic fundamentalism as a rising threat to the western values of secularism and democracy. In the last decade scholars began proclaiming an existent or emerging "clash" between East and West, Islam and Christianity, or in the case of Benjamin R. Barber, "Jihad and "McWorld." More recently, some western scholars have offered another interpretation. Focusing on the work of contemporary Muslim intellectuals, these scholars have begun to argue that what we are witnessing, in Islamic contexts, is tantamount to a Reformation. An Islamic Reformation attempts to evaluate this claim through the work of emerging and top scholars in the fields of political science, philosophy, anthropology, religion, history and Middle Eastern studies. The overall goal of this volume is to question the impact of various reformist trends throughout the Middle East. Are we witnessing a growth in fundamentalism or the emergence of an Islamic Reformation? What does religious practice in this region reflect? What is the usefulness of approaching these questions through Christian/Islamic and West/East dichotomies? Unique in its focus and scope, An Islamic Reformation represents an emerging vanguard in the discussion of Islamic religious heritage and practice and its effect on world politics. Review An outstanding and timely, original and highly focused analysis of the theories and prospects of an Islamic Reformation -- a refreshing, intimate, well-informed and insightful account of the most significant current debates among Muslims everywhere.--Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Emory University School of Law About the Author Michaelle Browers is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Wake Forest University. Charles Kurzman is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.