Political Islam has often been compared to ideological movements of the past such as fascism or Christian theocracy. But are such analogies valid? How should the Western world today respond to the challenges of political Islam? Taking an original approach to answer this question; Confronting Political Islam compares Islamism's struggle with secularism to other prolonged ideological clashes in Western history. By examining the past conflicts that have torn Europe and the Americas―and how they have been supported by underground networks; fomented radicalism and revolution; and triggered foreign interventions and international conflicts―John Owen draws six major lessons to demonstrate that much of what we think about political Islam is wrong.Owen focuses on the origins and dynamics of twentieth-century struggles among Communism; Fascism; and liberal democracy; the late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century contests between monarchism and republicanism; and the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century wars of religion between Catholics; Lutherans; Calvinists; and others. Owen then applies principles learned from the successes and mistakes of governments during these conflicts to the contemporary debates embroiling the Middle East. He concludes that ideological struggles last longer than most people presume; ideologies are not monolithic; foreign interventions are the norm; a state may be both rational and ideological; an ideology wins when states that exemplify it outperform other states across a range of measures; and the ideology that wins may be a surprise.Looking at the history of the Western world itself and the fraught questions over how societies should be ordered; Confronting Political Islam upends some of the conventional wisdom about the current upheavals in the Muslim world.
#122916 in Books 2012-04-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.20 x 1.70 x 6.00l; 2.55 #File Name: 0691154074848 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The Golded Legend is an invaluable source of early church history and lore.By Risdon W. HankinsonThe Golden Legend is a fascinating book containing a wealth of valuable historical and traditional information about the men and women of the first thousand years who founded and expanded the church. It is impossible to comprehend the spread of Christianity especially for the first two centuries taking place in a vacuum. The exploits of the early missionaries had to have been documented. Accept the term "Legend" as correctly meaning 'stories that should be passed on' and not as myth and the book contains many of these documentations as seen through and interpreted by the eyes of the then observers.38 of 39 people found the following review helpful. Abridged; and w/o warningBy Happy HelenaNowhere in the intro or apparatus to this translation does the publisher tell us that this is an ABRIDGED version of the GL. If you look at the Medieval Sourcebook (online) and check Caxton's 1483 edition of the GL; you find all sorts of other stories--such as of Adam; Noah; Ten Commandments; etc. that do not appear here. So; while this is a useful digest of the original; much material that medieval audiences read is missing here; without any notification to the reader about what has been excluded; esp. as I have noticed so far; in the early parts of the work. Great stuff; but misleading to the scholar who's looking for the GL itself. A simple list of what usually appears in the GL; and has been left out; would be most helpful.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Good bookBy xzhang12@nd.eduA very useful book for the studies on Hagiography. Good edition in one volume; easy to carry around;but really expensive!
