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goofy_ruthie's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
good intro to the history of islamic thought and leading to poltical islam currents, the lack of differentiation between salafi jihadism and other form of political islam was noticeable, would have liked more historical citations as it was largely anecdotal. still some fantastic and interesting work in here.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
I picked this book up in order to try to understand a little more about the views of the author behind 'The Islam Qintet'. While my primary regional interest is South Asia, I'm interested in what Ali has to say about 'fundamentalisms' more generally.
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in understanding some of the historical factos behind the increase in fundamentalism. I don't agree with all of Ali's views, but I consider that I am better informed for having read them.
A full reviw is on Amazon.com for those interested: http://tinyurl.com/2kkz5c
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in understanding some of the historical factos behind the increase in fundamentalism. I don't agree with all of Ali's views, but I consider that I am better informed for having read them.
A full reviw is on Amazon.com for those interested: http://tinyurl.com/2kkz5c
sarahreadsaverylot's review against another edition
4.0
"None of the cultures/civilizations spawned by the three monotheistic religions are monolithic or timeless. Despite the differences between them, they are all affected by the world they cohabit. Times change and they change with them, but in their own way. A striking feature of the present is that no mainstream political party anywhere in the world even pretends that it wishes to change anything significant. If it is true that history and democracy were born as twins in Ancient Greece, will their deaths, too, coincide? The virtual outlawing of history by the dominant culture has reduced the process of democracy to farce. The result is a mishmash of cynicism, despair and escapism. This is precisely an environment designed to nurture irrationalisms of every sort. Over the last fifty years, religious revivalism with a political edge has flourished in many different cultures. Nor is the process finished. A major cause is the fact that all the other exit routes have been sealed off by the mother of all fundamentalisms: American imperialism."
kosr's review against another edition
5.0
Islam and the West
This is an excellent book and my first outing with Tariq Ali. Despite a much needed update from its 2003 release, I found myself receiving a serious education on the history of India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. This is not to mention an excellent summary of Islam at the beginning, followed by a cultural essay on America foreign policy in the Middle East. It puts into context the sheer magnitude of western ignorance of these complex areas of the world.
The lense this is conveyed through comes from a focus Ali places on the ruling elites of each country and how events that took place (e.g. the partition of Kashmir) affected individuals and large portions of the population. It's pretty grim but completley cuts to bone of how our world leaders and their institutions seem to share a pretty simplified view of the world at large, and try to push this as the narrative pill we should all swallow.
I should finally warn other readers that this doesn't lead to big cumulative chapter at the books end. There is a general chronology, however most of the book splits into large essays on parts of the Islamic world and their respective backgrounds. Highly recommended for those who want to understand these cultures and communities through a more honest voice.
This is an excellent book and my first outing with Tariq Ali. Despite a much needed update from its 2003 release, I found myself receiving a serious education on the history of India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. This is not to mention an excellent summary of Islam at the beginning, followed by a cultural essay on America foreign policy in the Middle East. It puts into context the sheer magnitude of western ignorance of these complex areas of the world.
The lense this is conveyed through comes from a focus Ali places on the ruling elites of each country and how events that took place (e.g. the partition of Kashmir) affected individuals and large portions of the population. It's pretty grim but completley cuts to bone of how our world leaders and their institutions seem to share a pretty simplified view of the world at large, and try to push this as the narrative pill we should all swallow.
I should finally warn other readers that this doesn't lead to big cumulative chapter at the books end. There is a general chronology, however most of the book splits into large essays on parts of the Islamic world and their respective backgrounds. Highly recommended for those who want to understand these cultures and communities through a more honest voice.
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