After the strident and aggressive tone of much Western writing about Islam in the last few months, it is almost a pleasure to read this much more moderated, thoughtful and sympathetic study of Muslim politics. This is only partly because it was published in 2000, long before the events of last September...
When Allah’s final Prophet (saw) gained the power to exercise authority and influence over the society of Madinah the Jews in that society realised that they were in no position to oppose him, at least during these times of fervent popular support for the Prophet among the Ansar of Madinah.
The contemporary world is in the process of a political reconfiguration. The traditional concepts and frameworks of understanding, capitalism vs. communism, right vs. left, and conservative vs. progressive, are outdated and have been left behind.
The election of a ‘moderate’ Islamic politician in early May, and the growing influence of Islamically active students in Moroccan universities, have sparked widespread speculation and concern in Western and Arab capitals that one of the most impregnable citadels of secularism in the Muslim world...
