After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic DemocracyA lucid and compelling case for a new American stance toward the Islamic world. What comes after jihad? Outside the headlines, believing Muslims are increasingly calling for democratic politics in their undemocratic countries. But can Islam and democracy successfully be combined? Surveying the intellectual and geopolitical terrain of the contemporary Muslim world, Noah Feldman proposes that Islamic democracy is indeed viable and desirable, and that the West, particularly the United States, should work to bring it about, not suppress it. Encouraging democracy among Muslims threatens America's autocratic Muslim allies, and raises the specter of a new security threat to the West if fundamentalists are elected. But in the long term, the greater threat lies in continuing to support repressive regimes that have lost the confidence of their citizens. By siding with Islamic democrats rather than the regimes that repress them, the United States can bind them to the democratic principles they say they support, reducing anti-Americanism and promoting a durable peace in the Middle East. After Jihad gives the context for understanding how the many Muslims who reject religious violence see the world after the globalization of democracy. It is also an argument about how American self-interest can be understood to include a foreign policy consistent with the deeply held democratic values that make America what it is. At a time when the encounter with Islam has become the dominant issue of U.S. foreign policy, After Jihad provides a road map for making democracy work in a region where the need for it is especially urgent. |
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AFTER JIHAD: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy
User Review - Jane Doe - KirkusLost cause, bright future, or something in between? A Rhodes scholar with a doctorate in Islamic thought surveys the prospects for democracy in countries dominated by Islam. Although Islamic ... Read full review
After Jihad: America and the struggle for Islamic democracy
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictAn NYU law professor with a doctoral degree in Islamic studies considers whether Islamic nations can also be democratic. Read full review
Contents
| 3 | |
| 6 | |
The Idea of Islamic Democracy | 17 |
Varieties of Islamic Democracy | 79 |
The Necessity of Islamic Democracy | 187 |
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Bibliographic information
| Title | After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy |
| Author | Noah Feldman |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007 |
| ISBN | 0374708177, 9780374708177 |
| Length | 272 pages |
| Subjects | › › Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy Religion / Islam / General Religion / Religion, Politics & State |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |