Marxism and the Muslim World

In the aftermath of the Arab Uprisings Maxime Rodinson's Marxist commentary has a new and powerful resonance. Political repression, corruption and economic stagnation stimulated revolt across the Arab world. Now the revolutionary euphoria has faded, leaving violent power struggles, overtly Islamic political parties have begun to take power. Meanwhile hysteria over terrorism and fundamentalism has made Islam the neoliberal West's enemy number one. In this collection Rodinson studies the economic and political, rather than religious, characteristics of Islam. His major themes include: the history of the Marxist Movement in the Islamic Middle East; the dialogue between Socialism and Islam, and Marxism and Arab nationalism; the relationship between national conflicts and class struggle; and the history of Communism in Arab states such as Syria and Egypt. Breaking from colonial "Orientalism" Rodinson invented new critical approaches, helping to define the discipline of Islamic studies. Unashamedly political and polemical, he provides an insightful picture of political Islam and Marxism, and the implications for the Arab working class. The subject of this book could hardly be more relevant to politics today.