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Offering a timely new appraisal of the political and social impact of Islam, this expanded second edition of Religion and Politics has been fully updated in line with new events. Jan-Erik Lane and Hamadi Redissi look at the underlying social consequences of religious beliefs to account for the political differences between major civilizations of the world against a background of the rise of modern capitalism

A review essay on books by (1) Charles E. Butterworth & I. William Zartman (Eds), Between the State and Islam (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge U Press, 2001); (2) Peter Mandaville, Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimaging the Umma (London, Routledge, 2001); (3) Neamatollah Nojumi, The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan: Mass Mobilization, Civil War, and the Future of the Region (New York: Palgrave, 2002); (4) Anthony Shahdid, Legacy of the Prophet: Despots, Democrats and the New Islam (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2001); & (5) Antony Black, The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present (London: Routledge, 2001).

"Nach zum Teil mehr als 1200 Jahren der Islamisierung sind heute fast die Hälfte aller Afrikaner Muslime, und fast ein Drittel der heutigen islamischen Weltgemeinschaft setzt sich aus afrikanischen Muslim/ innen zusammen. Dabei präsentiert sich der Islam in Afrika ebenso wie in anderen Teilen der islamischen Ökumene als ein breites Spektrum unterschiedlichster lokaler Kontextualisierungen des Bezugsrahmens Islam, eine Vielfalt, die auch im 20. Jahrhundert im Kontext der Entwicklung islamischer Reformbewegungen in Afrika nicht geringer geworden ist." (Autorenreferat)

In einer historisch und vergleichend angelegten Studie werden Mechanismen des Zusammenwirkens von religiöser und weltlicher Autorität in Senegal und Mali untersucht. Der Autor zeigt auf, wie sich diese Mechanismen aus einem zunächst konfrontativen Verhältnis entwickelten und zum gesellschaftlich und politisch stabilisierenden Faktor verstetigten. In beiden Ländern haben Bruderschaften zentrale Bedeutung für den Zusammenhalt. Diese Rolle werden sie nach Ansicht des Autors unter sich verändernden Bedingungen auch in Zukunft spielen. (DÜI-Kör)

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between Islam and democracy with emphasis on the issue of whether and how Islam has bearings on democratic adjustment speed. Using comprehensive data on 17 Asian countries from 1996 to 2010, the study demonstrates that religion is a significant factor for determining democracy. Results indicate that the level of democracy in Islamic countries is generally lower than that in non-Islamic countries. However, the level of democracy in Islamic countries exhibits an upward trend, whereas that in non-Islamic countries displays a downward trend. Moreover, when benchmark variables are controlled, democratic adjustment in Islamic countries is faster than in non-Islamic countries. Hence, despite the current lower level of democracy in Islamic countries, the results of this study refute the conventional wisdom that Islam hinders democracy. Instead, Islamic countries are highly malleable and exhibit a potential for faster democratic development compared with non-Islamic countries. Results further suggest that Islamic countries can effectively promote democracy by improving education, minimizing the gender gap, controlling population growth, or becoming an oil exporter similar to non-Islamic countries. However, Islamic countries likely own an additional unique advantage in effectively improving democracy – that is, promoting urbanization. This aspect is in contrast to non-Islamic countries where urbanization plays no role in determining democracy.