John J. Donohue and John L. Esposito. Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 528 pp. Illustrations, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. $32.95 (paperback, 2^nd Ed.), ISBN 0195174313.

Reviewed by: A. E. SOUAIAIA, Department of Religious Studies, University of Iowa.
Published by: SIME journal (March, 2006).

The academic field of study Modern Islamic Thought now has a golden standard textbook. Undoubtedly, professors who have been teaching courses dealing with themes such as religion and politics in the Muslim world, religion and violence, modern Islamic thought and political movements, and/or political Islam will find the new edition of Islam in Transition to be a timely and welcomed release.

The new edition has almost doubled the content of the previous one and the revised organization makes this inclusive and informative collection of essays and historical documents an indispensable textbook. Instructors no longer need to mix and match books and articles in order to provide students with a broad selection of readings. The political, ideological, and philosophical arguments presented by Islamists, reformers, religious leaders, secularists are all presented in this thematic collection without interpretation or commentaries. Students and scholars now have the opportunity to allow Islamists and their opponents from the Muslim world to speak for themselves. This un-synthesized collection of documents should stimulate lively debates of each of the many topics. The unfiltered opinions expressed in Islam in Transition creates space for Muslim and secular voices to argue their cases directly to their audiences. Thereafter, it is assumed that professors’ lectures and students’ participations will add perspectives to the course.

The content of the book covers the last two centuries: from the time of the disintegration of the Islamic civilization through the end of Western colonialism and the emergence of modern day nation states. The editors managed to give the book a sense of seamlessness by organizing it thematically and, to some extent, chronologically taking the reader on a journey from the crisis of identity, to the emerging of modern nation states, ending with an exploration of the some contemporary issues.

Furthermore, the selection of authors and thinkers is compelling and inclusive. Adequate space was given to intellectuals, academicians, activists, and critics to engage the readers in a number of topics. The book opens by a selection of articles written during and immediately after the colonial era by national and international figures such as Rifaa al-Tahtawi, al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Ahmad Khan, Hasan al-Banna, and Mawdudi. Given that nationalist movements inherited governance in most, if not all Muslim and Arab countries, the editors did not exclude infamous and famous leaders such as Qadhdhafi and his call to Arab nationalism, Michel Aflaq’s campaign for Arab identity, and Baqir al-Sadr’s program of developing Islamic economic and philosophical blueprints.

More impressive is the international reach in the list of academicians who contributed to the analysis of modern Islamic thought. The editors brilliantly juxtaposed the writings and speeches of activists and politicians such as Rachid al-Ghannouchi, Qutb, and Azzam to that of the reform-minded Islamicist Muslims in the West like Sherman Jackson, Hossein Nasr, Sachedina, and Amina Wadud. Ultimately, the readers will be left with a sense of appreciation of the diversity, complexity, and richness of modern Islamic thought

Although the book is comprehensive, the editors did not include a single article that speaks for indigenous African American Islam. For instance, the section with the subheading Global Voices could have benefited from the writings and ideas of Malcolm X or other members or former members of the Nation of Islam. Similarly, the editors could have selected more materials representing African Islam as well as Far Eastern Muslims instead of selecting more than one piece from the same thinker or leader. Lastly, more Muslim women voices could have enhanced a reliably useful textbook.

Overall, this is a much needed and timely publication and I am sure it will be of great use for scholars of modern Islamic thought, students, and the general public.

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