Islam and Modernity : Key Issues and Debates

Recent events have focused attention on the perceived differences and tensions between the Muslim world and the modern West. As a major strand of Western public discourse has it, Islam appears resistant to internal development and remains inherently pre-modern. However Muslim societies have experienced most of the same structural changes that have impacted upon all societies: massive urbanisation, mass education, dramatically increased communication, the emergence of new types of institutions and associations, some measure of political mobilisation, and major transformations of the economy. These developments are accompanied by a wide range of social movements and by complex and varied religious and ideological debates. This textbook is a pioneering study providing an introduction to and overview of the debates and questions that have emerged regarding Islam and modernity. Key issues are selected to give readers an understanding of the complexity of the phenomenon from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The various manifestations of modernity in Muslim life discussed include social change and the transformation of political and religious institutions, gender politics, changing legal regimes, devotional practices and forms of religious association, shifts in religious authority, and modern developments in Muslim religious thought. Key Features *Each chapter contains an overview of relevant secondary literature and concludes with a summary of the key ideas presented and a set of questions *Contributing authors include some of the best-known academics from various disciplines in the field presenting state of the art scholarship in their specialised areas

Muhammad Khalid Masud is Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology in Islamabad. His recent publications include the edited volumes Travellers in Faith, Studies on Tablighi Jama'at (2000), and Leading Muslim Intellectuals of Eighteenth Century India (in Urdu, 2008).

Armando Salvatore is Associate Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication at the Oriental Studies University, Naples. Among his most recent books are The Public Sphere: Liberal Modernity, Catholicism, Islam (2007), and Public Islam and the Common Good (co-edited with Dale F. Eickelman, 2004).

Martin van Bruinessen is Professor of the Comparative Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies at Utrecht University. His publications include Kurdish Ethno-Nationalism versus Nation-Building States (2000), and Sufism and the 'Modern' in Islam (co-edited with Julia D. Howell, 2007).