This book discusses various dynamic facets of the life of Rāshid al-Ghannūshi̇̄, a distinguished Islamic thinker and activist not only in Tunisia and North Africa, but in the entire Muslim world. It especially focuses on those aspects related to his intellectual understanding and response to a number of critical contemporary issues. In the 21st Century, Rāshid al-Ghannūshi̇̄ is considered as the most moderate among the Muslim thinkers and intellectuals, particularly when it comes to the question of Islam-democracy compatibility and power sharing theory. This book also offers an account of a previously little known, yet much talked about Muslim voice in the post-Arab Spring era. It further shows how the intellectual Muslim thinkers’ own perspectives and expectations from Islamic movement(s) and their interaction with the ‘western oriented local leadership’, as well as their (secular) policies color their understanding of Islam and various other major issues.

Islamist movements seeking power today are faced with difficult choices regarding strategy, ranging from armed struggle to electoral efforts. An emerging alternative consists of a rethinking of Islamist politics, where the goal of a "totally Islamic" polity would be abandoned in favor of some form of Islamic-oriented society. In this reformulation, Islamist politics would function as a pressure group to make society more Islamic, reinforcing the walls of semi-separate internal communities and reinterpreting Islam in more liberal ways. The September 11, 2001 terror attack on the United States, however, demonstrates that the radical approach remains attractive to many Islamists. Addressing these issues, the contributors look at the countries where Islamist movements have been most important. Case studies of revolutionary and reformist groups are followed by chapters discussing future alternatives for Islamist politics, presenting arguments both advocating and critical of a potential liberal, reformist, interest-group Islamism.

Papers from a conference held in Copenhagen in 1996 on the compatibility between Islam and universal norms and values, and the perspectives for dialogue and mutual understanding.

The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics, with contributions from prominent scholars and specialists, provides a comprehensive analysis of what we know and where we are in the study of political Islam.

In Christine Schirrmacher's postdoctoral thesis, for the first time one finds reviews of original voices coming from Islamic theology on the topic of religious freedom and apostasy. Arabic, English, French, and Urdu texts have been translated and analyzed and thus made accessible. There are basically three positions which are defended on falling away from the Islamic faith: Complete advocacy of religious freedom, the complete denial of religious freedom with a call for the immediate application of the death penalty for apostates, and the centrist position. The centrist position, however, which allows inner freedom of thought and warns against premature persecution, calls for the death penalty in the case of open apostasy (e.g., in the case of conversion to another faith). Within established Islamic theology, the latter approach is nowadays the most frequent point of view found. These three main positions on apostasy are introduced in this postdoctoral thesis by means of the publications of three influential 20th century theologians: Yusuf al-Qaradawi (b. 1926), Abdullah Saeed (b. 1960), and Abu l-A'la Maududi (1903-1979). They all have followings of many millions of people and have political influence at their disposal. The study explains why in many Muslim majority countries there is still today only very limited or sometimes no freedom of religion (in the sense of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948) for converts, critical intellectuals, artists and progressive Quranic studies specialists, journalists and secularists, agnostics and confessing atheists, enlightened thinkers, women's rights and human rights activists as well as adherents of non-recognized minorities.

Offering a unique analysis of Islamist ideology, Islamism and the West attempts to explain how- and why-mainstream Islamist leaders have, for the past century, developed and canonized theories which depict theWest as engaged in a sophisticated conspiracy to undermine Muslim identity by cultural means, while morallycollapsing and yearning for the spiritual salvation brought by Muslim migrants. This book demonstrates how seemingly triumphalist Islamist writings served, in fact, to legitimize pragmatic concessions undertaken by Islamists – from cooperating with regimes allied with the West, to encouraging Muslim migration to Christian lands. Following the Arab Spring, and with Islamism becoming a dominant force in Middle Eastern politics, Islamism and the West is an essential reading for the understanding of a region in transition Providing new insights on familiar concepts including ‘cultural imperialism,’ ‘liberal democracy,’ and ‘civilisational decline,’ this book will be of use to students of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Political Science, Migration Studies and Cultural Studies.