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Since the uprisings of 2010 and 2011, it has often been assumed that the politics of the Arab-speaking world is dominated, and will continue to be dominated, by orthodox Islamic thought and authoritarian politics. Challenging these assumptions, Line Khatib explores the current liberal movement in the region, examining its activists and intellectuals, their work, and the strengths and weaknesses of the movement as a whole. By investigating the underground and overlooked actors and activists of liberal activism, Khatib problematizes the ways in which Arab liberalism has been dismissed as an insignificant sociopolitical force, or a mere reaction to Western formulations of liberal politics. Instead, she demonstrates how Arab liberalism is a homegrown phenomenon that has influenced the politics of the region since the nineteenth century. Shedding new light on an understudied movement, Khatib provokes a re-evaluation of the existing literature and offers new ways of conceptualizing the future of liberalism and democracy in the modern Arab world.

Contemporary studies on Syria assume that the country's Ba'thist regime has been effective in subduing its Islamic opposition, placing Syria at odds with the Middle East's larger trends of rising Islamic activism and the eclipse of secular ideologies as the primary source of political activism. Yet this assumption founders when confronted with the clear resurgence in Islamic militantism in the country since 2004. This book examines Syria's current political reality as regards its Islamic movement, describing the country's present day Islamic groups - particularly their social profile and ideol

Contemporary studies on Syria assume that the country's Ba'thist regime has been effective in subduing its Islamic opposition, placing Syria at odds with the Middle East's larger trends of rising Islamic activism and the eclipse of secular ideologies as the primary source of political activism. Yet this assumption founders when confronted with the clear resurgence in Islamic militantism in the country since 2004. This book examines Syria's current political reality as regards its Islamic movement, describing the country's present day Islamic groups - particularly their social profile and ideology - and offering an explanation of their resurgence. The analysis focuses on: Who are today's Syrian Islamic groups? Why and how are they re-emerging after 22 years of relative silence as an important socio-economic and political force? How is the Syrian state dealing with their re-emergence in light of Syria's secularism and ideologically diverse society? Bridging area studies, Islamic studies, and political science, this book will be an important reference for those working within the fields of Comparative Politics, Political Economy, and Middle Eastern Studies.

In More Religious, Yet Still Secular? The Shifting Relationship Between the Secular and the Religious in Syria, Line Khatib takes us on a more recent journey than that of Aldoughli's narrative, and explores how secularism was in fact enriched by the very religious discourse assumed to be its antagonist. By focusing on the words and actions of various religious scholars active in recent Syrian history, Khatib documents the inclusiveness, moderation, and indeed 'secularism' of key religious scholars. She leaves us with a question, perhaps too early to be answered, on whether or not this type of religious sensibility is more representative of Syrians than that of the radical forces now fighting on the ground. In the current politicised and highly inflamed context, it is clearly too difficult to determine how deeply rooted this secular approach to Islam is amongst the majority of Muslims in Syria. ; Publisher PDF

In More Religious, Yet Still Secular? The Shifting Relationship Between the Secular and the Religious in Syria, Line Khatib takes us on a more recent journey than that of Aldoughli's narrative, and explores how secularism was in fact enriched by the very religious discourse assumed to be its antagonist. By focusing on the words and actions of various religious scholars active in recent Syrian history, Khatib documents the inclusiveness, moderation, and indeed 'secularism' of key religious scholars. She leaves us with a question, perhaps too early to be answered, on whether or not this type of religious sensibility is more representative of Syrians than that of the radical forces now fighting on the ground. In the current politicised and highly inflamed context, it is clearly too difficult to determine how deeply rooted this secular approach to Islam is amongst the majority of Muslims in Syria.

In the wake of the protests that spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa in late 2010 and early 2011, Islamist movements of varying political persuasions have risen to prominence. This is especially the case in post-Mubarak Egypt and post-Ben Ali Tunisia. Popular Protest in the New Middle East examines Islamist approaches to political participation and integration and asks whether regional trends can be discerned with respect to either the strategy of disparate movements or the challenges they face. It offers analysis of the ideologies and actions of these movements, ranging from countries where Islamism is in control of the state as an Islamic theocracy (Iran), the ruling party (for example, Turkey), part of the ruling coalition (Lebanon), or a parliamentary minority (such as in Jordan or Yemen). Are Knudsen and Basem Ezbidi's analysis of the various experiences of protest, participation and integration make this book vital for researchers of the impact of religion on politics (and, indeed vice versa).