Religion and State: The Muslim Approach to Politics
Brown (foreign affairs, emeritus, Princeton), editor of Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East, has studied and lived among Muslims of the Middle East and North Africa since 1953. Here he provides more of a historical and sociological and less of a theological approach to Muslim politics. He argues that to achieve a better understanding of present-day Muslim politics, it is crucial to accept the reality of historical diversity among Muslims and to identify what is distinctive in relation to political thought and action through a comparative study of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. In the first seven chapters, Brown covers the historical basis for traditional Muslim and Christian political theory and dispels some popular false notions: he notes that radical Islamic fundamentalists and many non-Muslims typically view Islam outside of a historical context and thus see it as unchanging, and both Muslims and non-Muslims tend to overemphasize Islam in the Middle East while paying less attention to the majority of Muslims who live in the rest of the world. The bibliographical essay on Islam and politics is a plus. Recommended for academic libraries.DMichael W. Ellis, Ellenville P.L., NYCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.