Political Ascent: Contemporary Islamic Movements In North Africa (Westview Series on State, Culture & Society in Arab North Africa)

Islamic movements in North Africa have historically been distinguished from their counterparts in other parts of the Arab world because they have demonstrated a marked willingness to work within the political system and have at times even been officially recognized and allowed to participate in local and national elections. As a result, Islamic thinkers from the Maghrib have produced important writing about the role of Islam and the state, democracy, and nonviolent change. In this book, Emad Shahin offers a comparative analysis of the Islamic movements in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, exploring their formation and expansion in the late 1960s and the tenets of their ideology for social transformation. }Islamic movements in North Africa have historically been distinguished from their counterparts in other parts of the Arab world because they have demonstrated a marked willingness to work within the political system and have at times even been officially recognized and allowed to participate in local and national elections. As a result, Islamic thinkers from the Maghrib have produced important writing about the role of Islam and the state, democracy, and nonviolent change. In this book, Emad Shahin offers a comparative analysis of the Islamic movements in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, exploring the roots of their development, the nature of their dynamics, and the tenets of their ideology. He argues that the formation and expansion of Islamic movements since the late 1960s has come in response to the marginalization of Islam in state and society and to a perceived failure of imported models of development to resolve socioeconomic problems or to incorporate the Muslim belief system into a workable plan for social transformation. } Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Dedication -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction -- Current Approaches -- Notes -- 2 Islam in State Politics -- Pre-Colonial Religious Structures -- The Colonial Struggle -- Islam and the Post-Colonial State -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 3 The Rise and Repression of an Islamic Movement: Harakat al-Nahda in Tunisia -- Tunisia's Socialist Development -- The Islamic Tendency Movement -- Gaining Ground (1973-1979) -- Turning Political (1979-1987) -- Ben Ali: More of the Same (1987-Present) -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 4 From Silent Protest to Political Ascent: The Islamic Movements in Algeria -- The Nation's Turbulent Beginnings -- Silent Protest -- Mobilization and Recruitment: 1970s -- Political Ascent: 1980s -- The Armed Path -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 5 Under the Shadow of the Imam: Morocco's Diverse Islamic Movements -- The Evolution of the Religio-Political Associations -- The Movement for Reform and Renewal (HATM): A Perilous Beginning -- Al-'Adl wa al-Ihsan (Justice and Benevolence) -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 6 The Ideology of Change -- Sources of Discontent -- Change and the Islamic Model -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 7 General Conclusion -- Selected Bibliography -- About the Book and Author -- Index "In this book, Emad Shahin offers a comparative analysis of the Islamic movements in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, exploring the roots of their development, the nature of their dynamics, and the tenets of their ideology. He argues that the formation and expansion of Islamic movements since the late 1960s has come in response to the marginalization of Islam in state and society and to a perceived failure of imported models of development to resolve socioeconomic problems or to incorporate the Muslim belief system into a workable plan for social transformation."--BOOK JACKET The place of religion and politics in Middle Eastern society has immense importance not just in academic terms but in everyday affairs.