Modern Islamic political thought

This book describes the main political ideas that Muslims knew during the twentieth century, and it strives to interpret them. It is a book primarily concerned with ideas, and it relies on history and sociology only in places where they may help shed light on the backgrounds of the ideas it discusses. However, this book does not pay much attention to the ideas presented by Muslims, as much as it is concerned with "Islamic ideas"; meaning those formulated within the framework of the accepted notions and terminology in Islamic jurisprudence, theology, and other related fields. This approach stems from the author's belief that any effort to understand the contributions of modern Muslims, as well as to critique them, should focus on the way the thinker arrived at their idea, as much as on the idea itself; for praising a writer because of their bold new ideas is not enough, without first verifying the extent to which their doctrinal, epistemological, and methodological foundations are established to ensure the continuity of Islamic thought. Without this approach, we become vulnerable to the trap of being dazzled by novelty, which blinds us from distinguishing between what is closely related to Islamic culture and what is alien and foreign to it. The amount of modern political writings that can be categorically classified as within this "Islamic framework" is astonishing; hence, the researcher seeking to understand the general trends and patterns must inevitably select some prominent writers as representatives of the overall schools of thought they belong to. This naturally opens the door to debate, with critics pointing to other writers and other writings. Such criticisms are welcomed as much as they contribute to revealing other facets of Muslims' intellectual endeavors.