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The History of Islamic Political Thought, Second Edition: From the Prophet to the Present

Antony Black

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Paper, 416 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-7486-3987-8
$40.00

second edition
September, 2011
Cloth, 416 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-7486-3986-1
Edinburgh University Press
$125.00

This book provides a complete history of Islamic political thought from early Islam (c.622-661) to the present.

This comprehensive overview describes and interprets all schools of Islamic political thought, their origins, inter-connections and meaning. It examines the Qur'an, the early Caliphate, classical Islamic philosophy, and the political culture of the Ottoman and other empires. Major thinkers such as Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and Ibn Taymiyya are covered as well as numerous lesser authors, and Ibn Khaldun is presented as one of the most original political theorists ever. It draws on a wide range of sources including writings on religion, law, philosophy and statecraft expressed in treatises, handbooks and political rhetoric.

The new edition analyses the connections between religion and politics, covering the most recent developments in Islamic political thought and the current historical scholarship. It ends with a critical survey of reformism (or modernism) and Islamism (or fundamentalism) from the late nineteenth century up to the present day. In this, the only book to cover the whole of Islamic political thought, past and present.

Key Features of the Second Edition:
-Revised and updated throughout
-A new final section on Islam and the West
-New bibliographies of primary and secondary sources

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About the Author

Professor Antony Black has lectured in Politics at University of Dundee from 1963 until retirement in 2000, covering most aspects of political theory from Plato to contemporary international relations and social philosophy. Done research on and published on wide range of topics from medieval ecclesiastical theories to contemporary political philosophy. 1975-76 Visiting associate professor, School of Government and Public Administration, The American University, Washington DC., USA. 1980-81 Senior Research Fellow, Nuffield Foundation. March-April 1993 Visiting Professor, Faculty of Jurisprudence, University of Trento, Italy. 1993-7. Head of Dept. of Politics, University of Dundee 1995-9 Book Review Editor of Early Modern History: Contacts, Contrasts and Comparisons (Brill).

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