Contemporary Arab Scholarship in the Social Sciences – serie

The rapid expansion of the early Islamic world is conventionally ascribed to a combination of perceptive military leadership and religious fervour. By looking at the administration and taxation which would be implemented by political rulers, Abd al-Aziz Duri demonstrates how these leaders were able to provide for growth, development and durability in a turbulent time, as well as efficient mechanisms for taxation and tax collection. Drawing on original research into the fiscal policies of this period, especially land tax and the tax on non-Muslim populations, Duri shows how different models evolved and renewed themselves. He examines the political systems that accompanied these fiscal regimes, and attitudes towards them. He also scrutinises the institutions which supported this remarkably coherent mode of governance, offering a new perspective on the relationship between politics and Islam in this formative period. By looking at these early Islamic institutions, Duri makes the argument that due to persistence of such organization, from the early Muslim conquests and the later Umayyad era to the end of ‘Abbasid rule, the leaders of the time can be seen to be particularly politically and organizationally skilled. Duri’s work makes a major contribution to our understanding of how Islam established itself and flourished as a lasting major force in the development of world history.Abd al-Aziz Duri (1919-2010) was Professor of History at the University of Jordan, having previously served as President of Baghdad University from 1963 to 1968. Among the most influential of his books on early Islam are The Economic History of Iraq in the Fourth Century AH (1948), An Introduction to the History of the Dawn of Islam (1949), and The Early Abbasid Period (1988), as well as treatises on Arab nationalism such as The Historical Roots of Arab Nationalism (1960) and The Historical Formation of the Arab nation: A Study in Identity and Consciousness (1987).

In any debate on ‘Islam’ and ‘Modernity’, the notion of the state looms large. Abdelillah Belkeziz here charts the development of the concept of ‘the state’ (al-Dawlah) in Islamic discourse over the last two centuries. The result is a tour de force survey of the most influential Muslim thinkers of the modern era, which encompasses three successive waves: the Modernist trends of the early and later reformers such as Sayyed Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad ‘Abduh and Rashid Rida; the transition and break with the Reformist trend associated with Hasan al-Banna; and the political rhetoric of Revivalists such as Sayyid Qutb and Ayatollah Khomeini. Belkeziz also examines key, formative concepts in the history of intellectual development in Islamic thought concerning the state and power, including long-standing issues such as the debates surrounding the implementation of the Shari‘ah or the meaning of al-Shura, as well as more recent evolutions in Islamic political thought, such as Khomeini’s Wilayat al-Faqih. Through this analysis, Belkeziz argues that modern Islamic political thought has ultimately failed to produce a unified theory of state. Covering topics such as democracy, theocracy, constitutionalism and law, this work is an essential encyclopaedic resource for all scholars and researchers of Political Islam.Abdelillah Belkeziz is Professor of Philosophy at Hasan II University in Casablanca, Morocco. He is the author of several books, including The Formation of Political Islam: The Prophetic and Politics (2005) and Arabs and Modernity: A Study in the Discourse of Modernists (2007).

British attitudes towards Arab unity have frequently been a source of controversy in the Middle East. From the Treaty of Versailles to the end of World War II, and the withdrawal of Mandates from the region, British involvement in Arab affairs has been well-documented from the British perspective. But here, Younan Labib Rizk provides a coherent Arab perspective. His analysis reveals not only how British government policy developed in this period but also the different influences on policy-making and implementation – from the changing situation on the ground to the state of Anglo-French relations and the concerns of the Cairo and India offices. He shows how all these factors coincided to produce a policy, repeated across several British administrations, which was consistently hostile towards the notion of Arab unity. While this conforms to traditional Arab views of British policy in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, the importance of Rizk's work lies in his extensive and meticulous research into British archives, through which he documents British attitudes and motivations. As he quotes the internal correspondence between departments and individual officials in the Foreign Office and its Eastern Department, the Colonial Office and several British Cabinets, Rizk shows that divisions within the Arab world – of which there were plenty – were initially exacerbated by British officials, and eventually acquired their own dynamic. This book enhances our understanding of how the international politics of the region evolved during a critical phase in the modern history of the Middle East.

Is there a truly Arab feminist movement? Is there such a thing as 'Islamic' feminism? What does it meant to be a 'feminist' in the Arab World today? Does it mean grappling with the main theoretical elements of the movement? Or does it mean involvement at the grassroots level with everyday activism? This book examines the issues and controversies that are hotly debated and contested when it comes to the concept of feminism and gender in Arab society today. It offers explorations of the theoretical issues at play, the latest developments of feminist discourse, literary studies and sociology, as well as empirical data concerning the situation of women in Arab countries, such as Iraq and Palestine. It is certainly not surprising that when looking at the situation on the ground in many countries of the Arab World- particularly Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as Sudan- issues of war, civil conflict, military occupation and imperialism often override those of gender.The place of feminism in this context is extremely problemati, as nationalist, sectarian, religious and class interests- not to mention the interests of occupation authorities and the resistance movements that oppose them- supersede feminism as a public concern, even among many women. Arab feminists are thus either co-opted by these interests or find themselves in the frustrating position of negotiating their way through a minefield of contradictory imperatives and loyalties. Arab Feminisms examines these contexts and sheds light upon the difficult position in which feminists often find themselves. It looks at different social and political situations, such as the development of Palestinian feminist discourse in a post-Oslo world, the impact of the civil war in Lebanon on women, and Kuwaiti women's struggles for equality. This book therefore offers valuable theoretical analysis as well as indispensable first-hand accounts of feminism in the Arab World for those researching gender relations in the Middle East and beyond.

British attitudes towards Arab unity have frequently been a source of controversy. Younan Labib Rizk here provides a coherent Arab perspective derived from considerable in-depth research into British archives, covering the period 1919 to 1945. His analysis reveals how British government policy was formed in this period and concludes that repeated British administrations were consistent in their concern and hostility towards the notion of Arab unity. While this conforms with traditional Arab views of British policy in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, the importance of Rizk's work lies in his meticulous research through which he is able to document British attitudes and motivations. As he quotes the internal correspondence between departments and individual officials in the Foreign Office and its Eastern Department, the Colonial Office and several British Cabinets, Rizk shows that divisions within the Arab world - of which there were plenty - were nurtured by British officials, only eventually to acquire their own dynamic. This book enhances our understanding of how the international politics of the region evolved during a critical phase in the modern history of the Middle East.

Since the earliest period of Islamic history, Arab thought has been dominated by a reverence for tradition and textual analysis. In this groundbreaking work, the great contemporary Arab philosopher Mohammed Abed Al-Jabiri seeks to chart a route towards modernity via the proposition that respect for textualism and tradition are not inconsistent with rationalism and that both history and philosophy are key to the evolution of knowledge systems and ways of reasoning in Arab culture. This book has been an enormous influence within the Arab world on the 'Islam and Modernity' discourse. It is published here for the first time in English and provides a fascinating insight into the currents of contemporary Arab thought.

The debates on 'Islam and Modernity' clearly include in their analysis notions of the State. Abdelillah Belkeziz here charts the development of the concept of 'the state' (al-dawlah) in Islamic discourse over the last two centuries. The result is a tour de force survey of the most influential Muslim thinkers of the modern era, which encompasses three successive waves: the modernist trends of the early and later reformers like Sayyed Jamal Eddin Al-Afghani; the dogmatism of ideologues like Hasan Al-Bana; and, the rhetoric of revivalists like the Ayatollah Khomeini. Through this analysis, Belkeziz argues that modern Islamic political thought succeeded in producing ideologies, but ultimately failed to produce a unified theory of state. This work is an essential encyclopedic resource for all scholars and researchers of Political Islam and will become a standard work in the field.