Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective by Michael Cook (PDF)

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Why Islam is more political and fundamentalist than other religionsWhy does Islam play a larger role in contemporary politics than other religions? Is there something about the Islamic heritage that makes Muslims more likely than adherents of other faiths to invoke it in their political life? If so, what is it? Ancient Religions, Modern Politics seeks to answer these questions by examining the roles of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity in modern political life, placing special emphasis on the relevance—or irrelevance—of their heritages to today’s social and political concerns.Michael Cook takes an in-depth, comparative look at political identity, social values, attitudes to warfare, views about the role of religion in various cultural domains, and conceptions of the polity. In all these fields he finds that the Islamic heritage offers richer resources for those engaged in current politics than either the Hindu or the Christian heritages. He uses this finding to explain the fact that, despite the existence of Hindu and Christian counterparts to some aspects of Islamism, the phenomenon as a whole is unique in the world today. The book also shows that fundamentalism—in the sense of a determination to return to the original sources of the religion—is politically more adaptive for Muslims than it is for Hindus or Christians.A sweeping comparative analysis by one of the world’s leading scholars of premodern Islam, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics sheds important light on the relationship between the foundational texts of these three great religious traditions and the politics of their followers today.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Given our times, and with so much of the rhetoric concerning our relations with Islam reeking of ignorance, dogmatism and fear, this is an absolutely compelling and fascinating book. It should be required reading for anyone trying to make sense of today’s headlines, particularly for those who are in a position to influence policy towards the Islamic world. In places the reading does get a little laborious for those who are not specialists in the field (such as myself), but the rewards of perseverance are considerable.No doubt a scholar would find any number of technical minutiae to challenge, but the overall import of this work is undeniable. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, and supposing that Prof. Cook reads these reviews, I am going to make a suggestion: lose the comparative focus and concentrate on Islam, perhaps with an abridged version of this work. I say this because, against the background of today’s headlines, the sections on Hinduism and Catholicism, though fascinating, are really peripheral. A slimmer volume with somewhat less of an academic edge would be less taxing, would result in a wider readership, and would constitute a valuable contribution to the ongoing Islam vs. West dialogue/conflict. And happily the present work is so organized that an abridgment would not be unduly taxing.

⭐Michael Cook is a meticulous scholar. I’m so grateful the book went into paperback. I look forward to reading it. Nothing Professor Cook writes disappoints.

⭐Absolutly recomended as a basic source to understand contemporary politics in today’s Middle East.

⭐As always, Micheal Cook, has a fresh perspective, with substantial historical heft behind it, I recommend this book without reservation.

⭐A fascinating comparative study seeking to explain why and how Islam provides a more coherent and actively used framework for political action in developing Muslim countries than Roman Catholicism in Latin America or Hinduism in India. Cook is a well-known expert in Islam and not afraid to stake out new territory–witness some work from earlier years from which he has since backed away. His book’s weight comes from skillfully deployed comparative theorizing and dazzling sourcing. And it could not be more timely. But it is a dense read and not for the faint of heart. Those who persist, though, will be challenged and illuminated by every chapter because of Cook’s rigor and imaginative posing of questions. Mainly his work is limited to the Sunni religious revival. (One shortcoming: there is far too little about the timing of the Islamic revival: third-world development has been underway for more than a century, so why is Islam only recently so to the fore?) Cook is abundantly careful to reject the Islamic revival = violent jihad equation so beloved of American neo-cons. Islam has a complex history and there are many possible strands for activists and ideologists to tap. For those Westerners smugly convinced the obvious solution is that Islam must have its Reformation, Cook convincingly counters with the reminder that the western Reformation brought on centuries of fanatacism, intolerance and wholesale slaughter. There are some odd omissions–Indonesia, for example, which would have helped Cook elucidate his “many strands” argument. Cook explores nary at all the grapplings of a few Islamic scholars with questions like feminism and religious pluralism; perhaps feminism is not a vigorous strand in the complex Muslim tradition but respect in Muslim theology for people of the Book, and respect among more hard-headed and practical men for adherents of other religions, are parts of Muslim history even most well-read non-specialists know about. But these grapplings have no widespread following outside of academe and often deracinated intellectual circles and it’s what’s on the ground that is Cook’s concern.

⭐An engaging reflection on a current problem.

⭐1. Micheal Cook surprisingly does not give much attention to Scholars like fatwas of Bayah, Buti’s book on Jihad in Islam and Zuhaili whose now 12 vol. book on Islamic Law has a volume devoted to modern understanding of Jihad is a bestseller going through multiple editions. In addition there is Qaradawi and the Deobandi School in India. Majority of Muslims look to these sources for their guidance on what is Shariah in the modern age. Certainly their thoughts are no liberal manifestos but at the same time they don’t call for violent. I find it interesting that only discourse that is happening is here is with the extremists. The majority is invisible.2. Dr Cook wonders near the end the reason for the rise of Islamism now as opposed to during the brunt of colonial attack on Muslim word. The answer is that probably the response was truer to Islamic sources and unadulterated with modern revolutionary ideologies.3. I can’t really say much about the affect of Sufism in the Muslim world currently and kind of agree with him as regards to Sufism and politics.Slightly disappointing work from Dr Cook because of above reasons.

⭐Das Schrifttum über das Verhältnis von Islam und Staat bzw. Politik ist längst schon Legion, vor allem mit Blick auf die Kalifatsidee und den zeitgenössischen Fundamentalismus. Der Islamwissenschaftler Michael Cook hat für dieses Thema nun eine ganz eigenwillige Herangehensweise gewählt, indem er die Frage stellt, in welchem Masse der Islam überhaupt politisierbar ist. Auf diese Weise entgeht er dem Vorwurf, seinen Ausführungen ein essentialistisches Verständnis des Islam zugrundezulegen.Besonders anspruchsvoll wird das Buch durch die Tatsache, dass Cook den Islam zusätzlich in vergleichender Perspektive unter die Lupe nimmt, wobei ihm das Christentum und der Hinduismus (!) als Referenzgrössen dienen. Das Christentum wiederum nimmt er nicht so sehr pauschal in den Blick, sondern vor allem in seiner lateinamerikanisch-katholischen Ausprägung.Die weitere Vorgehensweise besteht nun darin, bestimmte Diskursfelder zu beleuchten (Identität, Werte und Fundamentalismus), anhand derer sich Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen den drei Glaubenssystemen aufzeigen lassen, was Cook virtuos bewältigt. Er kommt zu einigen bemerkenswerten Schlussfolgerungen, die für das Verständnis heutiger religiöser Bewegungen überaus erhellend sind.Gerade vor dem Hintergrund, dass heutzutage so häufig und gerne die Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen den Religionen betont werden, bietet Cook eine erfrischend konträre Sichtweise, die gerade die Unterschiede nicht ausser Acht lässt. So hält er den Hinduismus für weitgehend immun gegen fundamentalistische Deutungen, was sich vom Islam nicht sagen lässt. Letztlich, so Cooks Schlussfolgerung, lädt doch keine Religion so sehr dazu ein, politisch ausgedeutet zu werden, wie der Islam.Das Buch Ancient Religions, Modern Politics ist eines der bemerkenswertesten Bücher, die in der vergangenen Jahren zum Thema Religion und Politik bzw. Islam und Politik erschienen sind und von seiner Wucht und Gelehrsamkeit wohl nur noch mit J. Chr. Bürgels Allmacht und Mächtigkeit (1991) zu vergleichen.Absolute, uneingeschränkte Leseempfehlung.

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