Muslims in Global Politics: Identities, Interests, and Human Rights

Mahmood Monshipouri

University of Pennsylvania Press, Jul 7, 2011 - Political Science - 344 pages

In Egypt Islamists clash with secularists over religious and national identity, while in Turkey secularist ruling elites have chosen to accommodate Islamists in the name of democracy and reconciliation. As Islam spreads throughout the world, Muslims living in their traditional homelands and in the Western world are grappling with shifting identities. In all cases, understanding the dynamics of identity-based politics is critical to the future of Muslims and their neighbors across the globe.

In Muslims in Global Politics, Mahmood Monshipouri examines the role identity plays in political conflicts in six Muslim nations—Egypt, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iran, and Indonesia—as well as in Muslim diaspora communities in Europe and North America. In each instance, he describes how conservatives, neofundamentalists, reformists, and secularists construct identity in different ways and how these identities play out in the political arena. With globalization, the demand for human rights continues to grow in the Muslim world, and struggles over modernity, authenticity, legitimacy, and rationality become increasingly important.

Muslims in Global Politics deepens our understanding of how modern ideas and norms interact with the traditions of the Islamic world and, in turn, shows how human rights advocates can provide an alternative to militant Islamist movements.

Contents

• 1 Muslims Quest for Identities Interests and Human Rights: 1
• 2 International Human Rights Norms and Muslim Experiences: 25
• 3 Gender Identity and Negotiating Rights: 47
• 4 Searching for a Modern Islamic Identity in Egypt: 73
• 5 Occupation Sectarianism and Identity Politics in Iraq: 100
• 6 The Melding of the Old and New in the United Arab Emirates: 121
• 7 Secularism Turkish Islam and Identity: 139
• Constructing New Identities: 165
• 9 Negotiating Modernity and Tradition in Indonesia: 192
• The Politics of Immigration: 217
• Identities Interests and Human Rights: 243
• Notes: 263
• Glossary: 315
• Index: 321
• Acknowledgments: 327

About the author

Mahmood Monshipouri is Associate Professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Muslims in Global Politics: Identities, Interests, and Human Rights; Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights
• Author: Mahmood Monshipouri
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011
• ISBN: 081220283X, 9780812202830
• Length: 344 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / Globalization; Political Science / Human Rights