Islam and Political Violence: Muslim Diaspora and Radicalism in the West (Library of International Relations)

How do we engage with the pressing challenges of xenophobia, radicalism and security in the age of the "war on terror"? The widely felt sense of insecurity in the West is shared by Muslims both within and outside Western societies. Growing Islamic militancy and resulting increased security measures by Western powers have contributed to a pervasive sense among Muslims of being under attack (both physically and culturally). __Islam and Political Violence__ brings together the current debate on the uneasy and potentially mutually destructive relationship between the Muslim world and the West and argues we are on a dangerous trajectory, strengthening dichotomous notions of the divide between the West and the Muslim world. "Acts of violence by extremist groups and the resultant state responses (both national and international) have added fresh uncertainties to an already complex global order and heightened a widely felt sense of insecurity in the West and the Muslim world. Just as terrorism and counter-terrorism are locked in a mutually re-enforcing symbiosis, the sense of insecurity felt by Muslims (in both Muslim majority and minority states) and non-Muslims is mutually dependent and has the potential to escalate. The pervasive sense of being under attack by the United States and its Western allies, has contributed to a growing unease among Muslims and re-enforced deep-seated mistrust of the 'West'. The subsequent policies that have emerged in this context of fear and mutual distrust have contributed to xenophobia and a vicious cycle of insecurity. 'Islam and Political Violence' seeks to redress the current debate on the uneasy and potentially mutually destructive relationship between the Muslim world and the West. It explores the modern concept of Islamism and the re-invention of Islam by political elites and counter-elites to advance temporal objectives. This book provides us with a new angle from which to examine the range of challenges to social cohesion and multiculturalism in Western societies and the future of Islam in the West."--Bloomsbury Publishing. 'Judiciously blending theoretical discussions with the analysis of manifestations of Islamic sentiment in important parts of the world, this book offers a wealth of instructive material for both specialist and general readers.'-Professor William Maley, Director, Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, Australian National University, Canberra 'This is a timely and significant volume. Produced by two of Australia's leading Muslim intellectuals ... it provides fresh insight not just on jihadi Islamist terrorism itself but also on our reaction to it, laying bare some of the central complexities and moral quandaries of our troubled times. In their probing essays James Piscatori, Bryan Turner, Riaz Hassan, Greg Fealy and other leading scholars of Muslim society explore the drivers of jihadi Islamism in contemporary Muslim societies, including in Indonesia and the rest of Muslim Asia, and the Islamophobic fears and dark anxieties that this threat has unleashed in western societies. There are no easy answers in this field, but knowledge and insight of the kind presented here is essential to finding a way forward.'-(Dr Greg Barton, Associate Professor, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), USA) Library of International Relations Series Front Cover 1 Front Flap 2 Title Page 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 1. Contextualising Neo-Islamism 12 Part I. The Global Context 24 2. Radical Islamism and the ‘War on Terror’ 24 3. Imagining Pan-Islam 38 4. Jihadism and Intercivilisational Conflict: Conflicting Images of the Self and of the Other 50 Part II. The Enemy Within 76 5. New and Old Xenophobia: The Crisis of Liberal Multiculturalism 76 6. Risk Society and the Islamic Other 98 7. From Diaspora Islam to Globalised Islam 118 Part III. Jihadism and its Alternatives 136 8. Conceptions of Jihad and Conflict Resolution in Muslim Societies 136 9. Hizbut Tahrir in Indonesia: Seeking a ‘Total’ Islamic Identity 162 10. Between ‘Jihad’ and ‘McWorld’: Engaged Sufism in Indonesia 176 11. No Respect: Forging Democracy in Bosnia and Kosovo 190 Endnotes 208 Notes on Contributors 232 References 236 Name Index 254 Subject Index 258 Back Flap 271 Back Cover 272 REVELATION Contextualizing Neo-Islamism / Shahram Akbarzadeh & Fethi Mansouri pt. 1. The global context. Radical Islamism and the "War on Terror" / Amin Saikal Imagining Pan-Islam / James Piscatori Jihadism and intercivilisational conflict: conflicting images of the self and the other / Bassam Tibi pt. 2. The enemy within. New and old xenophobia: the crisis of liberal multiculturalism / Bryan S. Turner Risk society and Islamic other / Sue Kenny From diaspora Islam to globalised Islam / Michael Humphrey pt. 3. Jihadism and its alternatives. Conceptions of Jihad and conflict resolution in Muslim societies / Riaz Hassan Hizbut Tahrir in Indonesia: seeking a 'total' Islamic identity / Greg Fealy Between 'Jihad' and 'McWorld': engaged Sufism in Indonesia / Julia Day Howell No respect: forging democracy in Bosnia and Kosovo / Lynne Christine Alice