Makers of Contemporary Islam

by Esposito, John L.; Voll, John O.

• ISBN13: 9780195141276
• ISBN10: 019514127X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-05-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In this timely and important work, John Esposito and John Voll explore the development of contemporary Islamic movements and thought through the biographies of nine major activist intellectuals who represent a wide range of Muslim societies. Many Muslims have combined revivalist activism withintellectual efforts, but only a few have achieved significant international visibility and influence. By examining the lives and work of nine such internationally recognized figures, Esposito and Voll provide a new understanding of the intellectual foundations of contemporary Islamic awareness andpolitics. Included are profiles of: Ismail Ragi al-Faruqi (U.S./Palestine), Khurshid Ahmad (India/Pakistan), Maryam Jameelah (U.S./Pakistan), Hasan Hanafi (Sudan), Rashid Ghannoushi (Tunisia), Hasan al-Turabi (Sudan), Abdolkarim Soroush (Iran), Anwar Ibrahim (Malaysia), and Abdurrahman Wahid(Indonesia). These thinkers contributed to some of the most significant intellectual and activist developments in the Muslim world during the 1980s and 1990s--the period during which Islamic movements became a major force in Muslim societies and international affairs. They helped to organize and lead themovements of Islamic renewal and provided the conceptual foundations for the programs those movements advocate. Together, they represent a distinctive phase in the evolution of Islamic thinking: the ongoing effort to create an effective synthesis of modernity and Islamic tradition. Their worksupplies the core of the Islamic resurgence of the1990s and the foundation for what it can become in the twenty-first century.

Author Biography

John L. Esposito is University Professor and Director for the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. His publications include The Oxford History of Islam (OUP, 2000), The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality (OUP, 1999), Islam: The Straight Path (OUP, 1998), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (OUP, 1995), and Islam and Democracy (OUP, 1996).

John O. Voll is Professor of Islamic History at Georgtown University. He is the author of Islam: Continuity and CHange in the Muslim World and coauthor of Islam and Democracy (OUP, 1996).

Table of Contents

Introduction: Muslim Activist Intellectuals and Their Place in History	3	(20)
Pioneer in Muslim-Christian Relations	23	(16)
Ismail Ragi al-Faruqi
Muslim Activist-Economist	39	(15)
Khurshid Ahmad
A Voice of Conservative Islam	54	(14)
Maryam Jameelah
The Classic Intellectual	68	(23)
Hasan Hanafi
Activist in Exile	91	(27)
Rashid Ghannoushi
The Mahdi-Lawyer	118	(32)
Hasan al-Turabi
Abdolkarim Soroush and Critical Discourse in Iran	150	(27)
Valla Vakili
Activist Moderate	177	(22)
Anwar Ibrahim
Scholar-President	199	(18)
Abdurrahman Wahid
Notes	217	(24)
Suggestions for Further Reading	241	(4)
Index	245