Muslim Politics

Two leading interpreters of Islam team up to take on the large topic of Islam in politics. They reach many noteworthy and provocative conclusions—e.g., that "‘Islam' cannot thus be a threat." The authors know their subject well, as the many and highly interesting specific examples amply show, but their presentation is highly confusing, perhaps because it is so relentlessly postmodern. From beginning to end, readers will be intrigued by the microinformation but will not be sure how it connects to the authors' macropurpose. For all their knowledge, Eickelman and Piscatori have difficulty showing how their erudition informs their theories. Their study offers substance and controversy to the professional/practitioner but flies over the head of almost everyone else.