Islamic Activism
This book, an exciting development in the study of Islamic activism, is destinedto become a landmark text. The reason for this, as Kurzman observesin his conclusion, is as simple as it is strange: The authors treat Islamicactivists as normal human beings who make decisions about activism inways that are similar to decision-making methods used by non-Muslimactivists. Were it not for the persistent notion in both academic and popularcircles that Islamic activists are their own species, one that is motivated byan irrational fanaticism, any such conclusion would be seen as humdrum.Such is the isolation of Islamic studies from theoretical developments inother fields that it was not until the turn of the twenty-first century that scholars began to study Islamic activists from the vantage point of state-of-the artinsights on social movements. For this, Wiktorowicz and the contributors tohis book are pioneers who deserve our appreciation.Islamic Activism is divided into three parts: “Violence and Contention,”“Networks and Alliances,” and “Culture and Framing.” It also features aforeword by Charles Tilly, an introduction by the editor, and a conclusion byCharles Kurzman. Each chapter is a strong contribution based on solidempirical research with Islamic activists from various Muslim societies.Many chapters also provide synopses of social movement theory beforemoving on to a discussion of their particular case study. Due to the profundityof social movement theory, this never becomes repetitive, and a nonspecialistreader will gain an understanding of social movement theory whilelearning more about Islamic social movements. For this reason, both Tillyand Kurzman note that the study of Islamic social movements is not just aone way street – applying theoretical insights in social movement theoryderived from the study of non-Muslims to Islamic activists. Rather, thebroadening and deepening social movement theory itself is accomplishedvia the empirical study of Islamic activists ...