Radicalism and Political Reform in the Islamic and Western Worlds

Kai Hafez's book overturns arguments denouncing political Islam as a terrorist or fascist movement at odds with Western democratic ideology.

Kai Hafez (Author)

9780521763202, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 May 2010

260 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

'This well-thought, well-written, well-argued book is a welcome addition to the debate on Islam, democracy and modernity. It aims at shattering stereotypes and well-ingrained ideas about the alleged militancy of Islamism or 'political Islam' and its anti-democratic character as well as its opposition to modernity. The remarkable ease and clarity with which Hafez writes render this book a joy to read.' Joseph Alagha, International Affairs

Over the last decade, political Islam has been denounced in the Western media and in the surrounding literature as a terrorist or fascist movement that is entirely at odds with Western democratic ideology. Kai Hafez's book overturns these arguments, contending that, despite its excesses, as a radical form of political opposition the movement plays a central role in the processes of democratization and modernization, and that these processes have direct parallels in the history and politics of the West. By analyzing the evolution of Christian democratization through the upheavals of the Reformation, colonisation, fascism, and totalitarianism, the book shows how radicalism and violence were constant accompaniments to political change, and that these components - despite assertions to the contrary - are still part of Western political culture to this day.

Introduction
Part I. Modernity: 1. Concepts of modernity: reform, reformation and radicalism
2. Political cultures and social movements: the social rationality of cultural change
Part II. Democracy: 3. The discourse of democratization: grey zones on the intersection of religion and secularism
4. Political system change: the radicals' democracy
Part III. Political Violence: 5. Authoritarianism: dictatorship between fascism and modernization
6. Imperialism: autocracy, democracy and violence
7. Terrorism and non-violent resistance: extremism and pacifism across cultures
Conclusion: from 'holy war' to democracy? The current state of Islamic and Western modernity.

Subject Areas: Islamic worship, rites & ceremonies [HRHC], Islam [HRH], Religion & politics [HRAM2], Religion: general [HRA], Religion & beliefs [HR]