Marxism and the Muslim World

Description

In the wake of the uprisings which rocked the Arab world, Maxime Rodinson’s work has taken on a new and powerful resonance. Dating from 1958, the time of his expulsion from the French Communist Party, to 1972, the assembled articles, papers and essays which form this book outline his vision of the role of Marxist politics in Muslim history and society. By applying a materialist approach to Islam, which encompassed its social and economic history rather than simply studying it in terms of belief, Rodinson reclaimed the field of Islamic studies from Orientalism. Rodinson’s work was both pioneering and provocative. Today, when an increasingly virulent Islamophobia is taking hold across the West, Rodinson’s work provides a vital counterweight to reductionist depictions of Islam and remains just as indispensable to those seeking to understand the Muslim World as it was when it was first published. Cover Title Copyright Contents Foreword Acknowledgements Author’s preface to the original English edition 1. Marxist 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 of Egypt 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 Index Bibliographical Information