The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present

By Antony Black and Black Antony

Book Overview

A complete history of Islamic political thought from early Islam (c.622-661) to the present.This comprehensive overview describes and interprets all schools of Islamic political thought, their origins, inter-connections and meaning. It examines the Qur'an, the early Caliphate, classical Islamic philosophy, and the political culture of the Ottoman and other empires. Major thinkers such as Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and Ibn Taymiyya are covered as well as numerous lesser authors, and Ibn Khaldun is presented as one of the most original political theorists ever. It draws on a wide range of sources including writings on religion, law, philosophy and statecraft expressed in treatises, handbooks and political rhetoric.The new edition discusses and analyses the connections between religion and politics. It incorporates recent developments in Islamic political thought before and after 9/11 and ends with a critical survey of reformism (or modernism) and Islamism (or fundamentalism) from the late nineteenth century up to the present day.Key Features of the Second EditionRevised and updated throughoutA new final section on Islam and the WestNew bibliographies of primary and secondary sourcesOnly book to cover the whole of Islamic political thought, past and present

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B007YW9GM0
• ISBN13: 9780748639878
• Release Date: September 2011
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.7" x 9.6"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Rare Masterpiece

I stumbled upon this book for one of my early research papers about Islam, and I was amazed. This is truly an academically honest masterpiece. It covers everything from the political system created in Islam right after Muhammad's death to the contemporary Salafi movement including the work of Maududi, Qutb, and Khomeini. It also references common hadiths, fikh, and the Sira, which is a breath of freash air because recently everybody believes they are an Islamic scholar but they've only remotely studied books about the Qur'an (not even the Qur'an itself, seriously it's frustrating in academia). The bottom line is if you're a student (informal or formal) of Middle Eastern and Islamic politics you need this book.