America and Political Islam: Clash of Cultures or Clash of Interests?

by Fawaz A. Gerges

• ISBN13: 9780521630429
• ISBN10: 0521630428
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book chronicles the policy debates on Islamism in the United States over the course of time, providing a comprehensive account of the origins of policy followed by a balanced critique and recommendations for change. It then delves deeper into the US political scene to analyze the historical, political, cultural, and security issues that might help explain America's preoccupation with Islam and Muslims. Furthermore, the author sheds much light on the multiplicity of regional and international factors, such as the political decay of the Middle Eastern state and the end of the Cold War, that shape the thinking of US officials about the contemporary Islamist phenomenon. In addition to examining the domestic, regional, and international context of US Islam policy, the book applies and tests the pronouncements of US officials in four representative case studies - Iran, Algeria, Egypt and Turkey. Finally, Gerges addresses the clash of civilizations debate and assesses the relative weight of culture and values in US officials' words and deeds on Islamism.

Author Biography

Fawaz A. Gerges holds the Christian A. Johnson Chair in International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Sarah Lawrence College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Framing American Foreign Policy	1	(19)
American Foreign Policy: Ideology versus Realpolitik	4	(2)
Explications: (A) The Role of Culture and History	6	(5)
(B) The Role of Politics and Security	11	(7)
The Division of the Volume	18	(2)
The Intellectual Context of American Foreign Policy	20	(17)
The Confrontationalist Interpretation of Islam: The ``New Enemy''	21	(4)
Confrontationalist Policy Recommendations	25	(3)
The Accommodationist Interpretation of Islam: The New ``Challenge''	28	(4)
Accommodationist Policy Recommendations	32	(3)
Conclusion	35	(2)
Islam and Muslims in the Mind of America	37	(22)
A Brief Historical Sketch	39	(3)
The Impact of the Islamic Revolution in Iran	42	(3)
The Fear of Terrorism and Its Effects on U.S. Policy	45	(5)
The Role of the Media	50	(2)
The Role of Israel and Its Friends	52	(3)
Congressional Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy	55	(4)
The Carter, Reagan, and Bush Administrations' Approach to Islamists	59	(27)
Carter's Collision with Political Islam: The Iranian Revolution	59	(4)
Clash of Cultures or Clash of National Interests?	63	(6)
Reagan's Encounter with Islamic Resurgence: Rhetoric versus Action	69	(4)
Bush and the Algerian Crisis	73	(5)
The Meridian House Address: The Foundation of a New Policy on Islam	78	(5)
Assessing the Meridian House Address	83	(3)
The Clinton Administration: Co-opting Political Islam	86	(29)
Islam and the West: Coexistence and Harmony?	90	(8)
Islam and Democracy	98	(6)
Culture as a Factor in U.S. Perceptions of Islamists	104	(4)
Analysis of the Clinton Administration's Rhetoric	108	(7)
The Islamic Republic of Iran	115	(28)
Culture or Security?	115	(5)
The Evolution of American Policy toward Iran	120	(4)
From Containment to Relentless Pursuit	124	(9)
Washington's War on Revolutionary Islam	133	(1)
The Iranian Threat: Myth and Reality	134	(5)
Policy Recommendations	139	(4)
Algeria	143	(28)
Clinton's Initial Stand on Algeria: ``Concerned Watchfulness''	144	(6)
Assessing the Clinton Administration's Initial Approach	150	(4)
The U.S.--French Clash over Algeria	154	(3)
A New Policy: ``Positive Conditionality''	157	(5)
Institutionalization of Violence and Retreat in U.S. Policy	162	(5)
Policy Recommendations	167	(4)
Egypt	171	(21)
The Internal Struggle for Power	172	(4)
The Clinton Administration's Initial Flirtation with Islamists	176	(4)
Reversing American Policy: Full Support for Mubarak	180	(3)
The Beginning of the End of al-Jamaa and Jihad?	183	(3)
Assessing U.S. Policy toward Egypt and Its Islamists	186	(3)
Policy Recommendations	189	(3)
Turkey	192	(35)
U.S.--Turkish Relations after the End of the Cold War	194	(3)
The 1991 Gulf War: Deepening of U.S.--Turkish Relations	197	(4)
Thinking the Unthinkable: Refah in Power and U.S. Reaction	201	(3)
The Campaign Against Islamists	204	(4)
Refah's Record and the American Role	208	(8)
The Military's Final Assault and Removal of Erbakan	216	(4)
The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?	220	(3)
Policy Recommendations	223	(4)
Conclusion	227	(16)
Findings of This Study: Rhetoric	229	(2)
Findings of This Study: Policies	231	(5)
The Iranian Complex	236	(2)
What Is to Be Done?	238	(5)
References	243	(32)
Index	275