Recalling the Caliphate: Decolonization and World Order - Softcover

Sayyid, S

4.16

58 ratings by Goodreads

9781849040037: Recalling the Caliphate: Decolonization and World Order

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1849040036 ISBN 13: 9781849040037

Publisher: Hurst, 2014

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As late as the last quarter of the twentieth century, there were expectations that Islam's political and cultural influence would dissipate as the advance of westernization brought modernization and secularization in its wake. Not only has Islam failed to follow the trajectory pursued by variants of Christianity, namely confinement to the private sphere and depoliticisation, but it has also forcefully re-asserted itself as mobilizations in its name challenge the global order in a series of geopolitical, cultural and philosophical struggles. The continuing (if not growing) relevance of Islam suggests that global history cannot simply be presented as a scaled up version of that of the West. Quests for Muslim autonomy present themselves in several forms - local and global, extremist and moderate, conservative and revisionist - in the light of which the recycling of conventional narratives about Islam becomes increasingly problematic. Not only are these accounts inadequate for understanding Muslim experiences, but by relying on them many Western governments pursue policies that are counter-productive and ultimately hazardous for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. "Recalling the Caliphate" engages critically with the interaction between Islam and the political in context of a post colonial world that continues to resist profound decolonization. In the first part of this book, Sayyid focuses on how demands for Muslim autonomy are debated in terms such as democracy, cultural relativism, secularism, and liberalism. Each chapter analyzes the displacements and evasions by which the decolonization of the Muslim world continues to be deflected and deferred, while the latter part of the book builds on this critique, exploring, and attempts to accelerate the decolonization of the Muslim Ummah.

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About the Author:

S. Sayyid is the author of A Fundamental Fear. He was formerly the Director of the International Centre of Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia and is currently based at the University of Leeds.

Review:

"S. Sayyid has written a highly insightful exploration of Muslim identity ("the ummah") in the modern world. Unlike many who have pontificated on Islam and Muslims, Sayyid is very well informed on Islamicate and European history, and has an impressive command of contemporary critical theory. The result is an excellent book." - Talal Asad, Graduate Center of the City University of New York

"To my knowledge, this is the best attempt at decolonising the Muslim mind and politics. But it is much more than that. It is a complex and powerful rendering of a Muslim contribution to a new non-liberal cosmopolitanism., and should be read by all."- Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Professor of Sociology at the University of Coimbra and University of Wisconsin-Madison

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