Synopses & Reviews
In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Maxime Rodinsons Marxist analyses of contemporary politics and economics in the Muslim world are more salient than ever. In this collection, Rodinson emphasizes the economic and political, rather than religious, characteristics of Islam, covering topics like the history of the Marxist movement in the Islamic Middle East; the dialogue between socialism and Islam, and Marxism and Arab nationalism; the relationship between national conflicts and class struggle, and the history of communism in Arab states such as Syria and Egypt.
Unashamedly political and polemical, Rodinson offers an insightful picture of political Islam and Marxism, and their profound implications for the Arab working classand the future of the region.
Review
“Rodinson was the most delightful person you could imagine, with a scrupulous honesty that one would like to find in more intellectuals.”
Synopsis
Maxime Rodinson has long been known in Europe as one of the foremost interpreters of Arab history and thought. In this concise overview of the Arab people and their distinctive culture, the author discusses the extend to which Arabs can be defined by religion, language, or race; surveys the Arab diaspora; examines modern Arab nationalism; and questions the degree to which it is possible to generalize about the Arab people and their "personality."
Synopsis
In the aftermath of the Arab Uprisings, Maxime Rodinson's Marxist commentary has a new and powerful resonance. Political repression, corruption and economic stagnation stimulated revolt across the Arab world. Now the revolutionary euphoria has faded, leaving violent power struggles, overtly Islamic political parties have begun to take power. Meanwhile hysteria over terrorism and fundamentalism has made Islam the neoliberal West's enemy number one.
In this collection Rodinson studies the economic and political, rather than religious, characteristics of Islam. His major themes include: the history of the Marxist Movement in the Islamic Middle East; the dialogue between Socialism and Islam, and Marxism and Arab nationalism; the relationship between national conflicts and class struggle; and the history of Communism in Arab states such as Syria and Egypt.
Breaking from colonial "Orientalism" Rodinson invented new critical approaches, helping to define the discipline of Islamic studies. Unashamedly political and polemical, he provides an insightful picture of political Islam and Marxism, and the implications for the Arab working class. The subject of this book could hardly be more relevant to politics today.
About the Author
Maxime Rodinson (1915-2004) was a French historian, sociologist, and specialist of Islam and the Arab world.
Arthur Goldhammer is an award-winning translator who has translated books by Georges Duby, Jacques Le Goff, and Jean Starobinski.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Gilbert Achcar
Author's preface to the original English edition
1. Marxism Ideas and the Study of the Muslim World
2. The Nature and Function of Myths: Marxist Communism and Arab Nationalism Compared
3. Relationships between Islam and Communism
4. Problems facing the Communist Parties in Syria and Egypt
5. Marxism and Arab Nationalism
6. The Bolsheviks and Colonized Muslims
7. A Forgotten Precursor
8. Islam and the Modern Economic Revolution
9. The Political Structure under Nasser
10. Islam as a Political Factor in Egypt after Nasser
11. On the Contemporary Culture of the Muslim World
12. A Marxist Policy for the Arab Countries