Modern Islamist Movements: History, Religion, and Politics

Islamism has become one of the most potent political and religious movements of our time . Modern Islamist Movements provides a clear and accessible examination of the histories, beliefs, and rationales of various Islamist groups; it includes discussions of their humanitarian and militant aspects as well as their grievances with respect to the West and governments within the majority–Muslim world. The book also examines some Islamist groups′ reasons for desiring a global Islamic state and their visions for it. Beginning with a thorough introduction to various trends within Islamism, this volume analyzes the formation and development of such groups and trends as Egypt′s Muslim Brotherhood, al–Qaida, Hamas, the Wahhabis, Pakistan′s Jama ( at–i Islami, and the Taliban. The book then discusses the historic evolution of various institutions and ideas related to Islamist groups in Egypt, the West Bank and Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Exploring several Islamic understandings of jihad and explaining the Islamists′ interpretations of this concept, this book sheds light on the thought and ideologies of Islamists within the broader context of Islam and its history.

List of Maps viii Acknowledgments ix 1 Introduction 1 2 Egypt 37 3 The West Bank, Gaza, and Israel 85 4 Saudi Arabia 122 5 Pakistan 164 6 Afghanistan 188 7 Conclusion 218 Index 221

Jon Armajani is Associate Professor in the Department of Theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John′s University in Minnesota. He is the author of Dynamic Islam: Liberal Muslim Perspectives in a Transnational Age (2004) and, with James E. Lindsay, co–editor of and contributor to Historical Dimensions of Islam: Pre–Modern and Modern Periods; Essays in Honor of R. Stephen Humphreys (2009). He has also made contributions to scholarly journals and encyclopedias in Islamic Studies and Religious Studies.