Islams and Modernities

Islam has become the new spectre haunting Europe. All too often, even well-meaning liberals portray the modern resurgence of Islam as the new “Green Menace”—intolerant, medieval and barbaric—which has replaced Communism as the main threat to Western civilization and values. For Aziz Al-Azmeh, this Orientalist and racist view of Islam is nothing but the mirror-image of the myths propagated by Islamic fundamentalists and radicals. Both views share an erroneous and ahistorical conception of Islam as an unchanging and monolithic entity. Surveying both its social origins and its intellectual genealogy, Al-Azmeh rethinks the relationship between Islam and the West, uncovering a rich actual history of interaction.

In this expanded new edition, the author examines the discourse surrounding Islamism and irrationalism after 9/11.“Islams and Modernities raises urgent questions that are central to the concerns of the contemporary world.”—Guardian

“Aziz Al-Azmeh is perhaps the most original thinker on these themes in Britain today.”—New Statesman

“Deserves to be widely read.”—Times Literary Supplement

“An invaluable addition to the growing literature available.”—Times Higher Education Supplement

“The importance of this work is difficult to exaggerate.”—Middle East Studies Association BulletinAziz Al-Azmeh was born in Damascus. He received the PhD in Oriental Studies from University of Oxford. He is currently University Professor at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. His other works include Keywords, Islam in Europe, Ibn Khladun, and The Times of History.