Islamist Politics in the Middle East

Samer Shehata is an Assistant Professor of Arab Politics at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is the author of Shop Floor Culture and Politics in Egypt.

• Introduction Part 1: Islamist Politics: Theory and Critique 1. Islam and Islamist Politics in the Arab World: Old Theories and New Facts? 2. Degrading Democracy: American Empire, Islam, and Struggles for Freedom in the Arab Islamic World Part 2: Case Studies: Islamist Movements and Politics in the Middle East 3. Islamist Social Networks and Social Welfare Services in Turkey 4. Patronage, Prestige, and Power: The Islamic Center Charity Society’s Role within the Muslim Brotherhood 5. The Religious Dimension of Islamism: Sufism, Salafism, and Politics in Morocco 6. The Muslim Brotherhood – Between Evangelizing and Politics: The Challenges of Incorporating the Brotherhood into the Political Process 7. Political Da‘wa: Understanding the Muslim Brotherhood’s Participation in Semi-Authoritarian Elections 8. Mobilization and Ideology in the Iraqi Insurgency: The Role of Islam 9. Hizbullah and Regional Non-state Actors 10. Hamas as a Ruling Party 11. A Decade of Reformists and Islamists in Power in the Islamic Republic of Iran: 1997-2007

"The different papers in the book reflect the diversity of Islamic politics and address a number of themes... Together, their work captures much of the diversity of Islamic politics in the region and is a significant contribution to the scolarship on a region and topic that continues to hold world attention." - Elfatih A. Abdel Salam, The Muslim World Book Review, 33:2, 2013.Islamist Politics in the Middle East rejects the perspective that "Islamic fundamentalism" is a backward looking and anti-modern, religiously based political ideology. The essays in this volume challenge a Western framework [and] move past neo-colonial perceptions by examining the organization, collective authority, and diversity that create local politics, eschewing generalizations to look at the connections between local movements[…]This wonderful set of essays takes many different approaches to examine the diversity of political movements in the present day Islamist Middle Eastern setting and shows where the West is entrapped in the use of language and images that stifle analysis. Assembled in one space, the essays let us contemplate Shehata’s introductory theme, the puzzle to the West of defining political Islamists. The West, staggering at times under its own unexamined trucebetween secular society and Christianity, is badly equipped to view impartially the ineluctable centrality of Islam in these states. Researchers and policy makers who wish to build a more practical and realistic view of the Middle East will find Shehata’s book useful.Jacqueline Swansinger PhDSUNY FredoniaJournal of International and Global Studies Vol 4 No 2 April 2015