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The Future of Islam and the West Clash of Civilizations or Peaceful Coexistence?
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Shireen T. Hunter
Foreword by Marc Gopin
Published with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington D.C.
Book Code: B6288
ISBN: 0-275-96288-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-96288-3
208 pages
Praeger Paperback
Publication: 3/30/1998
List Price: $34.95 (UK Sterling Price: £19.95)
Availability: Print on demand
Media Type: Paperback
Also Available: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 X 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • [T]he Future of Islam and the West is a fascinating countervailing study of Huntington's "civilizational crash" thesis. Lucidly written and rich in details, the books makes an interesting reading. Students of political science and religion, particularly those with an interest in political Islam, should not pass an opportunity to read this invaluable addition to the debate on Islamic-Western relations.
    —Journal of Third World Studies
  • Endorsement From Hafeez Malik
    Professor of Political Science, Villanova University
    editor, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies:     (Displays) Hunter's impressive knowledge of political Islam and the dynamics of Islamicist movements in various countries and contributes substantially to the debate on the role of Islam...in the contemporary environment. Lay public and policymakers (will find) deep insights into this delicate subject for policymaking toward the Muslim states.
  • Endorsement From John Esposito, Director
    Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University:     Really good! This study is packed with information and, more importantly, excellent analysis.
  • Endorsement From Joseph Montville, Director
    CSIS Preventive Diplomacy & Conflict Resolution Project:     (A) very effective rebuttal of Huntington's dangerous "Clash of Civilizations" thesis, systematically dismantling the stereotypical simplicity of self-conscious "cultures."
Description: Shireen Hunter provides a pragmatic analysis of relations between Islam and the West, marked by specific cases from the contemporary Islamic/Western divide. Her book gives a realistic and accurate assessment of the relative role of civilizational factors in determining the nature of the state and the prospects for Muslim-Western relations (i.e., whether they will be conflictual or cooperative). Hunter answers the question: Can an accommodation between Islam and the West take place in a gradual and evolutionary manner or will it happen only after conflict and confrontation? And, contrary to Huntington's vaunted thesis in The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (Simon & Schuster, 1996), she finds that the reality of modern Islam offers room for hope. Hunter challenges many of the prevailing Western views of the Muslim world. For example, despite the widespread belief on the specificity of Islam because of an assumed fusion of politics and religion, in reality the fusion--of the spiritual and the temporal--has not been greater in Islam than in other religions. Therefore, Hunter asserts, the slower pace of secularization in Muslim countries can not be attributed to Islam's specificity. This is a major study that will be of interest to concerned citizens as well as scholars and students of the Middle East and Islam.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • Unfolding of the Islamic Experience
  • The Islamist Movement and Its Anti-Western Dimensions: Islamic Particularism or Sociopolitical Mutation?
  • The Role of Islam in Shaping Foreign Policy: Case Studies of Iran and Saudi Arabia
  • Conclusions and Outlook for Islam-West Relations: Implications for Future Relations
  • Select Bibliography
  • Index
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