Shabbir Akhtar - Islam as Political Religion

Islam as Political Religion

This comprehensive survey of contemporary Islam provides a philosophical and theological approach to the issues faced by Muslims and the question of global secularization. Engaging with critics of modern Islam, Shabbir Akhtar sets out an agenda of what his religion is, and could be, as a political entity.

Exploring the views and arguments of philosophical, religious and political thinkers, the author covers a raft of issues faced by Muslims in an increasingly secular society. Chapters are devoted to the Quran and Islamic literature; the history of Islam; Sharia law; political Islam; Islamic ethics; and political Islams evolving relationship with the West. Recommending changes which enable Muslims to move from their imperial past to a modest role in the power structures of todays society, Akhtar offers a detailed assessment of the limitations and possibilities of Islam in the modern world.

Providing a vision for an empowered yet rational Islam that distances itself from both Islamist factions and Western secularism, this book is an essential read for students and scholars of Islamic studies, religion, philosophy and politics.

Shabbir Akhtar is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. This political work is a sequel to his philosophical treatise The Quran and the Secular Mind (Routledge, 2007). He has written a number of articles and books on philosophy of religion, Christianity and Islam, and is currently working on a book on Islamic humanism.

Islam as Political Religion

The future of an imperial faith

Shabbir Akhtar

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2011
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
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This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.

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2011 Shabbir Akhtar

The right of Shabbir Akhtar to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Akhtar, Shabbir, 1960
Islam as political religion : the future of an imperial faith / Shabbir Akhtar.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Islam and politics. 2. Islam and secularism. 3. Islam and culture.
4. Religion and politics. I. Title.
BP173.7.A4925 2011
297.272dc22 2010017592

ISBN 0-203-84182-4 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 978-0-415-78146-6 (hbk)

ISBN 978-0-415-78147-3 (pbk)

ISBN 978-0-203-84182-2 (ebk)