Synopses & Reviews
In this thought-provoking book, Ali Mirsepassi explores the concept of modernity and exposes the Eurocentric prejudices underlying its development. He provides a new interpretation of Islamic Fundamentalism through a detailed analysis of the ideas of key Islamic intellectuals and argues that the Iranian Revolution was not a simple clash between modernity and tradition but an attempt to accommodate modernity within a sense of authentic Islamic identity and culture. He concludes by assessing the future of secularism and democracy in the Middle East in general, and in Iran in particular.
Review
"...an excellent addition to the on-going debates in sociology and the Middle East." Contemporary Sociology
Synopsis
Examines modernity in the context of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Iranian Revolution.
Synopsis
Ali Mirsepassi explores Eurocentric assumptions about modernity and Islamic Fundamentalism. He argues the Iranian Revolution was not a clash between modernity and tradition but an attempt to accommodate modernity within a sense of authentic Islamic identity and culture and assesses the future of secularism and democracy in the Middle East.
Table of Contents
Introduction: modernity and âcultureâ; 1. Western narratives of modernity; 2. Reconciling with the Westâs âotherâ; 3. Crisis of secularism and the rise of political Islam; 4. Islam as a modernizing ideology: Al-e Ahmad and Shariâati; 5. German intellectuals and the culture of modernity; 6. The tragedy of the Iranian left; 7. Modernities of our time; Notes; References; Index.