The challenge of fundamentalism : political Islam and the new world disorder / Bassam Tibi

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-251) and index.

1. The Context: Globalization, Fragmentation, and Disorder. Islamic Fundamentalism, the West, and World Order. Fundamentalism: A Response to the Problems of Globalization and Fragmentation. The Secular Nation-State: Prime Target of Fundamentalism. After the Cold War: Further Fragmentation. The "Islamic Resurgence": Two Views. Political Islam as a Variety of Fundamentalism. The Clash of Two Universalisms: A "Clash of Civilizations"? -- 2. The Study of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Scope of the Inquiry. Religion, Fundamentalism, and Civilizations. Cultural Modernity in Reverse: Back to Collectivities. Antagonizing Democracy and Creating Disorder. Inventing Tradition: The Legacy of Islamic Reformism and Traditionalism. The Structure of This Inquiry -- 3. World Order and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein. The Legacy of the Gulf War. The Search for a New World Order. The Concept of Order between Cultural Relativism and Neo-Absolutism.

The Regionalization of World Politics and the Politicization of Middle Eastern Islam. The Fundamentalist World Revolution: Jihad between Peace and Militancy. An Islamic World Order? -- 4. The Sociocultural Background and the Exposure to Cultural Modernity. Culture in World Politics: Globalized Structures and Cultural Fragmentation. Islamic Fundamentalism as a Semi-Modern, Backward-Oriented Utopia Contesting Cultural Modernity. Between Private Religiosity and the Politicization of Religious Beliefs -- 5. Cultural Fragmentation, the Decline in Consensus, and the Diffusion of Power in World Politics. Cultural Fragmentation and the International Diffusion of Power. Islamic Fundamentalism as the Expression of a Revolt against the West. The Political Claims of Religious Options in a Secular World Order. The Islamic State as the Nucleus of an Islamic World Order. The Islamist Challenge: A Divine Global Order as an Alternative to Global Secularization?

The Cultural Basis of World Politics in an Age of Intercivilizational Conflict -- 6. The Crisis of the Nation-State: Islamic, Pan-Arab, Ethnic, and Sectarian Identities in Conflict. Understanding the Resort to Politicized Religion. Is Political Islam the Solution? Between the Government of the People and the Government of God. The Nation-State: Between Ethnicity and Fundamentalism. Ethnicity, Regionalism, and the Search for Identity. The Institutionally Fragile Nominal Nation-State -- 7. The Fundamentalist Ideology: Context and the Textual Sources. The Repoliticization of Islam in Pursuit of a New Order. The Regional and Global Context of the Fundamentalist Writings. The Caliphate, the Fetwa, and the Distortion of History and Scripture -- 8. The Idea of an Islamic State and the Call for the Implementation of the Shari'a/Divine Law. Din wa dawla/Unity of Religion and State: But What Else? Is the Shari'a an Islamic Constitution for an Islamic State?

Islamic Critics and the Islamic State: Is It True that the Shari'a Rules? Is Shura an Islamic Substitute for Democracy? -- 9. Democracy and Democratization in Islam: An Alternative to Fundamentalism. Democracy and International Morality. Islamic Civilization, the West, and Democracy. The Accommodation of Democracy without a Rethinking of Islam. The Requirements for Democracy: Political Culture and Democratic Institutions. The Cases of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia -- 10. Human Rights in Islam and the West: Cross-Cultural Foundations of Shared Values. Islam and the West: From Dissent to International Morality. What Are "Human Rights"? Why Do They Matter for Muslims? A Need for "Rethinking Islam": The Cultural Accommodation of Human Rights. Local Cultures, Regional Civilizations, and Their Exposure to Globalization.