Moderate and Radical Islamic Fundamentalism ― The Quest for Modernity, Legitimacy, and the Islamic State

"Well-argued, highly original . . . [Moussalli] asks one basic question--does Islamic fundamentalism have a philosophical basis?--and then proceeds to demonstrate how particular Islamic fundamentalist theorists have addressed issues such as ideology and knowledge, society and politics."--Bruce B. Lawrence, Duke University

Ahmad Moussalli redefines the bases and scope of modern Islamic thought, suggesting that Islamic fundamentalism might prove to be a liberating theology for the modern Islamic world.
Basing his argument largely on Arabic documents, he analyzes the basic concerns of fundamentalism--epistemology, knowledge, philosophy, modernity, and science as well as politics, political philosophy, and political economy. He examines the ideas of major Muslim thinkers who have affected the contemporary Islamic revival--especially Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, and Hasan al-Turabi--showing the range of Islamic fundamentalist views from liberal democracy to authoritarianism. He then discusses how their thinking could affect an Islamic state, from political repression at one extreme to political representation at the other.
Going to the core of issues raised by fundamentalists, he maintains that Islamic fundamentalism is a modern development that will have a lasting impact on the history of Islam--one comparable to the impact of Protestantism on the history of Christianity.

Ahmad S. Moussalli is associate professor of political science at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He is the author or editor of many books, including Islamic Fundamentalism: Myths and Realities; Historical Dictionary of Islamic Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey; and Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb (a 1994 Choice Outstanding Academic Book).