Book Description
Western civilization tends to view secularism as a positive achievement. From this perspective, benefits of secularizing trends include the separation of church and state, the rule of law, and freedom from organized religion.

In the Arab Middle East, however, Islamist intellectuals increasingly cite Western-inspired secularism as the source of the region's social dislocation and political instability. While secularism in the West led to the spread of democratic values, in the Muslim world it has been associated with dictatorship, the violation of human rights, and the abrogation of civil liberties.

Islam and Secularism in the Middle East examines the origins and growth of the movement to abolish the secularizing reforms of the past century by creating a political order guided by Shariah law. Contributors explain the Islamic rejection of secularism as a failed Western Christian ideal and also discuss how secularization was pioneered by those who thought Muslims could only advance politically by emulating Western practices, including the renunciation of religion.

About the Editors
Azzam Tamimi is the director of the Institute for Islamic Political Thought, London. A Palestinian born in Hebron, Dr Tamimi holds a PhD from the University of Westminster, London. He has been visiting professor at Kyoto University (2004) and Nagoya University (2006 Dr Tamimi has written and lectured widely on Islamic political thought, and appears regularly on television and radio to discuss these issues. His publications include: Rachid Ghannouchi, Democrat within Islamism, Islam and Secularism in the Middle East, Power-Sharing Islam? (ed.) and Ash-Shar'iyah as-Siyasiyah fil-Islam (Political Legitimacy in Islam).

Hamas: Unwritten Chapters By Azzam Tamimi  is his recent book . He writes and lectures on issues related to Islamic political thought and Middle Eastern politics. He is a regular commentator on the Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera and makes frequent appearances on a number of other channels, both English and Arabic.

JOHN L. ESPOSITO is Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. Founding Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History and International Affairs in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, he has served as President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America and of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies as well as a consultant to governments, multinational corporations, and the media. His more than 25 books include: Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, Islam: The Straight Path, Islam and Politics, Islam and Democracy and Makers of Contemporary Islam (with John Voll), Political Islam: Radicalism, Revolution or Reform?, Iran at the Crossroads (with R.K.Ramazani), Islam, Gender and Social Change (with Yvonne Haddad), and Women in Muslim Family Law.