Sayeed explores the kinds of resistance Western hegemony has provoked in the Middle East and shows that, although Islamic fundamentalism cannot provide a viable alternative to Western political, cultural, and economic systems, some of the major Islamic ideas can do so.

Volume 5 of The New Cambridge History of Islam examines the history of Muslim societies from 1800 to the present. Francis Robinson, a leading historian of Islam, has brought together a team of scholars with a broad range of expertise to explore how Muslims responded to the challenges of Western conquest and domination across the last two-hundred years. As their articles reveal, the social, economic, political and historical circumstances which influenced these responses have, in many different parts of the world, empowered Muslim societies and encouraged transformation and religious revival. The volume offers a fascinating glimpse into the local dimensions of that revival and how regional connections have been forged. Synthesising the academic research of the past thirty years, as well as offering substantial guidance for further study, this book is the starting-point for all those who wish to have a serious understanding of modern Muslim societies.

"The clash of civilizations" has become a common phrase in discussions of U.S.-Middle East relations. This book explores the nature of the friction between the Muslim world and Western states, looking at legitimate perceptions and grievances on both sides involving historical, political, economic, cultural, psychological, and strategic elements. Arguing that "Islam versus the West" does not represent the arena of the next global ideological struggle, the authors examine specific issues of a bilateral nature that require careful handling to prevent the consolidation of states into opposing blocs. They discuss Islam's efforts to politically enhance the real power of Muslim states and to equalize relations with the West in the strategic arena; the enlarged role of Islam in the internal politics of Muslim countries; and the urgency of political, economic, and social change to break away from traditional authoritarian orders. A central theme of the book is that political Islam threatens the established order in most Muslim countries far more than it threatens the West and that violent confrontation can best be circumvented by integrating Islamist forces into the political process.

Looks at how the rise of political Islam has been expressed: first in the Arab world, then in its interactions with French and Western societies, and finally in its interactions with other European and Western societies.

Graham E. Fuller brings a lifetime of experience in the Muslim world to shed light on how common, even universal, political behavior takes on a distinctively Islamic guise in the Muslim world. By examining the social, economic and political context, he explains that the struggle between the fundamentalists and liberals will determine the future of political Islam. This sweeping survey of trends in the Muslim world, from Morocco to the Philippines, explores the diversity of Islamic political activity and makes clear that Islamic political movements represent a broad spectrum of outlook and behavior. Whether traditional or liberal, these movements have become an important vehicle for the concerns, aspirations and grievances of vast numbers of Muslims worldwide and are a natural outgrowth of Muslim history. Fuller contends that while political Islam is the dominant intellectual current, a focus on radicalism and extremism blinds us from another trend: liberal political Islam. The issues are not what is Islam, but what Muslims want, and not whether Islam will play a central role in politics, but which Islam. As Islam has become the vocabulary for political and social expression, it has come to serve various agendas.

The essays and case studies collected here—featuring some of the best material from Middle East Report over the past decade as well as much original material—challenge the facile generalizations about what Western media and political establishments usually call "Islamic fundamentalism." The authors demonstrate the complexity of these movements and offer complementary and contrasting interpretations of their origins and significance. The material included covers a broad range of themes—including democracy and civil society, gender relations and popular culture—as they have emerged in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

This book challenges prevalent Western media and popular interpretations of Islam. Through a political and historical analysis of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan—countries that represent the religious, ethnic, and ideological spectrum of the Muslim world—it explores whether or not Islam as a political religion and civilization can provide a preferable alternative to Western capitalist democracy. Sayeed argues that although Islamic fundamentalism, particularly in its militant and violent form, lacks the potential to become such a system, some of the major Islamic ideas, if reinterpreted and reformulated, can provide a viable alternative to Western political and economic dominance, especially in the Middle and Near East.