Islamist

Political Islam: Parallel Currents in West Asia and South Asia

  • Publisher: Pentagon Press
    2023
This book deals with the history of Muslim political thought from the time of the Prophet to early 21" century in `West Asia` (an Indian alternative to the `colonial` term Middle East) and South Asia. Although Islam does not present nor recommend any political philosophy or state-like system per se, Muslim scholars and theologians have over the centuries recommended ways for establishing an ideal Islamic polity based on Quranic inferences, precedents of the Prophet and some early Caliphs. Although Political Islam strictly refers to only a century-old religious-political revivalist movement, this book covers historical concepts and developments that serve as political antecedents for contemporary Political Islam in the two regions.
  • ISBN: 9788195189458 ,
  • Price: ₹ 1995/-
  • E-copy available

The Islamist Challenge in West Asia: Doctrinal and Political Competitions After the Arab Spring

  • Publisher: Pentagon Press
    2013

Following the Arab Spring, the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) region is witnessing interactions between the various strands of Islamism-Wahhabiya in Saudi Arabia; the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its affiliates in other Arab countries, and the radical strand represented by Al Qaeda and its associated organisations - in an environment of robust competition and even conflict. This work examines these issues in some details. It provides an overview of the political aspects of Islamic law – the Sharia, as it evolved from early Islam and, over the last two hundred years, experienced the impact of Western colonialism. This book draws on a rich variety of source material which has been embellished by the author’s extensive diplomatic experience in the Arab world over three decades.

  • ISBN 978-81-8274-737-1,
  • Price: ₹. 695/-
  • E-copy available

Countering Islamic State Ideology: Voices of Singapore Scholars edited by Muhammad Haniff Hassan and Rohan Gunaratna, with a Foreword by Karen Armstrong

People often complain that Islamic scholars do little more than condemn the inhuman acts of so-called jihadist groups and fall short of delivering strong, incontrovertible rebuttals against the vicious narratives of terrorist groups, like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). It has also been stated that the ever-rearing Hydra-like heads of terrorism will have to be endlessly severed until genuine Islamic scholarship drains the very swamp of irreligious radicalism from which the monstrosity continually raises new and ugly distortions.

Turkey, Islamic Politics and the ‘Turkish Model’

In more than three decades, ever since the Islamic-oriented National Order Party was formed in 1969, Turkish politics has been analysed by many in terms of two straitjacketed views: Islamists trying to capture power on the one hand, and on the other hand the secularists or the state elite, with the help of the military, struggling to keep the country’s political orientation towards the West to protect Turkey as a secular state. This image of Turkey has created some confusion among strategic analysts abroad in understanding Turkey and its policies.

Evaluating the Political and Economic Role of the IRGC

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is Iran's most powerful security and military organisation, responsible for the protection and survival of the regime. Over time, the IRGC has attained a position of dominance vis-à-vis the regular army (Artesh). In due course, the Guards have also been transformed into a leading political and economic actor. The major political role of the IRGC started with the election of the reformist presidency. However, the Guards' involvement in the Iranian economy began during Rafsanjani's presidency.