America and Political Islam
Clash of Cultures or Clash of Interests?

The origins and implications of American policy on political Islam.

Fawaz A. Gerges (Author)

9780521630429, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 May 1999

300 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.61 kg

"Gerges presents the first full-length account of perhaps the most ideological and exciting foreign policy debate of our time--how the US should respond to Islamism. He does so in a clear and well-informed way...Recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above." Choice

This book chronicles the policy debates on Islamism in the United States over the course of time, providing a comprehensive account of the origins of policy followed by a balanced critique and recommendations for change. It then delves deeper into the US political scene to analyze the historical, political, cultural, and security issues that might help explain America's preoccupation with Islam and Muslims. Furthermore, the author sheds much light on the multiplicity of regional and international factors, such as the political decay of the Middle Eastern state and the end of the Cold War, that shape the thinking of US officials about the contemporary Islamist phenomenon. In addition to examining the domestic, regional, and international context of US Islam policy, the book applies and tests the pronouncements of US officials in four representative case studies - Iran, Algeria, Egypt and Turkey. Finally, Gerges addresses the clash of civilizations debate and assesses the relative weight of culture and values in US officials' words and deeds on Islamism.

1. Framing American foreign policy
2. The intellectual context of American foreign policy
3. Islam and Muslims in the mind of America
4. The Carter, Reagan, and Bush administrations' approach to the Islamists
5. The Clinton administration: co-opting political Islam
6. The Islamic Republic of Iran
7. Algeria
8. Egypt
9. Turkey
10. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS]