Long before the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Islamic fundamentalism was exerting a significant influence in nearly every corner of the world. Bassam Tibi, a widely recognized expert on Islam and Arab culture, offers an important and disquieting analysis of this particular synthesis of religion and politics. A Muslim and descendant of a famous Damascene Islamic scholar family, Tibi sees Islamic fundamentalism as the result of Islam's confrontation with modernity and not only--as it is widely believed--economic adversity. The movement is unprecedented in Islamic history and parallels the inability of Islamic nation-states to integrate into the new world secular order.

For this updated edition, Tibi has written a new preface and lengthy introduction addressing Islamic fundamentalism in light of and since September 11.

Preface to the updated edition
Introduction to the updated edition
Preface

1. The Context: Globalization, Fragmentation, and Disorder
2. The Study of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Scope of the Inquiry
3. World Order and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein
4. The Sociocultural Background and the Exposure to Cultural Modernity
5. Cultural Fragmentation, the Decline in Consensus, and the Diffusion of Power in World Politics
6. The Crisis of the Nation-State: Islamic, Pan-Arab, Ethnic, and Sectarian Identities in Conflict
7. The Fundamentalist Ideology: Context and the Textual Sources
8. The Idea of an Islamic State and the Call for the Implementation of the Shari'a/Divine Law
9. Democracy and Democratization in Islam: An Alternative to Fundamentalism
10. Human Rights in Islam and the West: Cross-Cultural Foundations of Shared Values

Notes
Names index
Subject index

Bassam Tibi was born in Damascus and is currently Professor of International Relations at the University of Göttingen, Germany. He is the author of several books in English, including Islam between Culture and Politics (2001), Arab Nationalism (third edition, 1996), Conflict and War in the Middle East, 1967-1981 (new edition, 1997), and The Crisis of Modern Islam (1988).

"No less than a clarion call to address what Tibi argues are deteriorating world relations before it's too late, this book urges political and religious leaders to foster cultural and religious tolerance among the world's religions."—Publishers Weekly

"This is arguing for greater understanding and communication between cultures, as well as for an Islamic enlightenment."—Charles Tripp, The Times Literary Supplement

"The Challenge of Fundamentalism contains a powerful and important argument, one all the more effective because made by a Sunni Muslim from Syria . . . . [A] brave and brilliant analysis."—Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly

"Tibi does not adopt the position of even-handedness toward proponents of what he always calls 'fundamentalism,' and he breaks with the current scholarly tendency to avoid both this word and strong criticism of the phenomenon it covers . . . . Tibi's book is highly recommended as an intelligent and informed critical view of fundamentalism."—Nikki R. Keddie, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

[A] highly informed and technical work."—Library Journal

“[Tibi] expresses empathy for those Muslims struggling against despotic states at home and against Western hegemony from abroad. . . . All should relish chapters seven through nine, where he introduces the ideas of representative Muslim fundamentalists and exposes in cogent critiques their ahistorical and often tautological approaches.”—Foreign Affairs