The Sociology of Islam : Secularism, Economy and Politics

The contributions of Islam to world civilization are undeniable. However, in the last 100 years, Muslims have been confronted with the effects and ramifications of modernity, caused by the emergence of global capitalism. What does modernity ultimately mean for Muslims? How will the historical precepts of Islam meet the changes in our globalized world? To date, most scholars on Islam have tried to understand Muslim societies from historical observation alone. This simplistic academic approach does not allow us to understand the entire transformation that has taken place in Muslim societies. Sociological scholarship, on the other hand, argues that it would be difficult to understand Islam without first understanding the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the social structure of Muslim societies, which are embedded in the relationship between religion, the economy, politics, and society. This book, therefore, makes a connection between the economic system and its social and political consequences within Muslim societies. To do this, it examines the role of Islam within Muslim societies in the context of ongoing and increasingly powerful neoliberal economic processes in a globalized world. The Muslim understanding of secularism, modernity, the state, collective identity, immigration, and Islamic political thought and economic life are all shaped by forces of globalization and new market conditions. However, this is a mutually constitutive process, as Islam also influences the West and its perceptions of Islam because of the interdependent relations brought about by the global economy. These interdependencies create social and political transformation on both sides. Contents......Page 8 Contributors......Page 12 Preface......Page 24 1 The Sociology of Islam......Page 26 ISLAM, ECONOMY AND POLITICS......Page 44 2 Islam and Moral Economy......Page 46 3 Has Modernity Ruptured Islamic Political Tradition?......Page 70 4 Neo-liberalism and 'Thrid Way' Islamic Activism: Fethullah Gulen and Turkey's New Elite......Page 86 5 From Islamism to Post-Islamism: The Coming of a New Intellectual Trajectory in Pakistan......Page 116 GLOBALIZATION AND ISLAM......Page 152 6 The Multicultural Ummah......Page 154 7 Power Struggle in the Religious Field of Islam: Modernization, Globalization and the Rise of Salafism......Page 178 8 Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Chandra Muzaffar: How Theology Impacts Reformist Views on Islamand Secularism......Page 202 9 Civil Islam, Means and End of Liberal Piety: Ethnographic Notes from among Turkey’sCharitable Foundations......Page 226 MUSLIM SOCIETY IN THE WEST......Page 252 10 Indigenous and Immigrant Faces of Islam in Poland......Page 254 11 Muslim Converts and Islamophobia in Britain......Page 272 12 Islam in Brazil: Reflections on Economic Life and Religiosity in a Minority Context......Page 294 13 Italian Secularism Revisited? Muslims’ Claims in the Public Sphere and the Long Struggle Towards Religious Equality......Page 316 ISLAM AND MUSLIM SOCIETIES......Page 342 14 Tradition and Response: Islam and Muslim Societies in a Nigerian City......Page 344 15 Religion–State Relations in Malaysia......Page 368 16 The Islamist Movement in Syria: Historical, Political and Social Struggle......Page 402 17 Many Hijabs: Interpretative Approaches to the Questions of Islamic Female Dress......Page 420 18 Pluralistic and Informal Welfare Regime: The Roles of Islamic Institutions in the Indonesian Welfare Regime......Page 444 19 What They Say About the Treatment of Expatriate Workers in the United Arab Emirates......Page 478 Index......Page 512 The contribution of Islam to world civilization is undeniable, however in the last one hundred years, Muslims have been faced with all the effects and ramifications of modernity, caused by the emergence of global capitalism. What does modernity ultimately mean for Muslims, and how will the historical precepts of Islam meet with changes in our globalized world? To date, most scholars on Islam have tried to understand Muslim societies from historical observation alone; however, this simplistic academic approach does not allow us to understand the entire transformation that has taken place in Muslim societies. Sociological scholarship, on the other hand, argues that it would be difficult to understand Islam without first understanding the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the social structure of Muslim societies which are embedded in the relationship between religion, the economy, politics and society. This book, therefore, will attempt to make a connection between the economic system and its social and political consequences within Muslim societies. To do this, it will examine the role of Islam within Muslim societies in the context of ongoing and increasingly powerful neoliberal economic processes in a globalized world. The Muslim understanding of secularism, modernity, the state, collective identity, immigration, and Islamic political thought and economic life are all shaped by forces of globalization and new market conditions. However, this is a mutually constitutive process, as Islam also influences the West and its perceptions of Islam because of the interdependent relations brought about by the global economy. These interdependencies create social and political transformation on both sides Attempts to make a connection between the economic system and its social and political consequences within Muslim societies. To do this, this book examines the role of Islam within Muslim societies in the context of neoliberal economic processes in a globalized world.