The Awakening of Muslim Democracy
Religion, Modernity, and the State

Jocelyne Cesari investigates the relationship between modernization, politics, and Islam in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Turkey.

Jocelyne Cesari (Author)

9781107044180, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 April 2014

440 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.76 kg

'One of the dominant scholarly assumptions regarding political Islam is the dichotomy between state and religion and between modernization and Islamization. The Awakening of Muslim Democracy turns this dominant hypothesis on its head. It argues that state actions and politics have played a key role in politicizing Islam and that the modernization of Muslim societies did not lead to privatization of religion but rather to the politicization of Islam. By bringing the state back and integrating an institutional approach with the social and individual levels, this book makes a critical contribution to our understanding of religion, modernity, and the state in the Muslim world.' Fawaz A. Gerges, London School of Economics and Political Science, and author of The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Why and how did Islam become such a political force in so many Muslim-majority countries? In this book, Jocelyne Cesari investigates the relationship between modernization, politics, and Islam in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Turkey - countries that were founded by secular rulers and have since undergone secularized politics. Cesari argues that nation-building processes in these states have not created liberal democracies in the Western mold, but have instead spurred the politicization of Islam by turning it into a modern national ideology. Looking closely at examples of Islamic dominance in political modernization, this study provides a unique overview of the historical and political developments from the end of World War II to the Arab Spring that have made Islam the dominant force in the construction of the modern states, and discusses Islam's impact on emerging democracies in the contemporary Middle East.

Part I. The Making of Islam as a Modern Religion: 1. Modernization and politicization of religion
2. Nation-state building and the inclusion of Muslim polities within the Westphalian order
3. Islam in the constitution
4. Nationalization of Islamic institutions and clerics
5. Islam in the legal system
6. Teaching Islam in public schools
Part II. Islamism as the Central Political Force Pre- and Post-Arab Spring: 7. Political opposition through Islamic institutions
8. Ideological strength of Islamist opposition
9. From martyrs to rulers
Part III. The Disjunction of Democracy and Secularism - Lessons Learned from the Arab Spring: 10. The rise of unsecular democracies: the conundrum of religious freedom in Muslim democracies
11. The way forward: the role of Islam in future democratizations
Conclusion. The tragedy of modernity.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP], Islamic studies [JFSR2]