The line between popular culture and scholarship has been obscured by the large volume of books and articles dealing with Islam that came out in the United States after September 11. One can see the features of an Islam Industry dominating production (popular, commercial, media, and sometimes academic) on—or against—Islam. The matter is quite important as this has become an issue that transcends mere intellectual pursuits and deals with policy matters and, most importantly, with wars. Pundits now casually speak with glee about a war “within Islam” as if to portray U.S. official roles as marginal or secondary. Amid the plethora of books on Islam, one welcomes with great enthusiasm a serious and sober look at Islam in the political and social realms worldwide. Remaking Muslim Politics was based on an academic conference, and the papers were later collected in a book form.

While the chapters (case studies) deal with disparate topics and various countries, they are all to be read together because they serve to underline the diversity of the Islamic experience, or the “Islamicate” influences, as Marshall Hodgson had called them. And the editor sets the stage with a useful and general introduction to the volume, although one may disagree with some of his generalizations, especially when he claims that “Islamist issues and parties seemed to have been outflanked by their secular rivals” (p. 18). Robert Hefner was talking about the 1950s and 1960s, but it would be fallacious to extrapolate the slogans coming from above, and the discourse by a segment of the intellectuals, from the whole populations of the countries mentioned. Islam did not go to sleep and then suddenly awaken. It was always “there,” but perhaps it escaped the notice of Western (and Eastern) observers and researchers. Can one really speak about socialist and secular trends in rural Morocco or peasants of Hawran in the 1950s or later or earlier? Yet Hefner is correct in reminding readers that Islamic “resurgence was primarily an affair of civil society, not the state” (p. 20), but as other chapters show, most, if not all, movements of Islamic resurgence benefited from outside support and funding, and the state itself often used the resurgent or weak Islamic groups to strike at the Left and the secular nationalists. In the chapter by Dale Eickelman, we learn that the “imagined” Muslim communities are utilizing not only the traditional print forms but also the new media technology. Satellite TV channels have changed the style and mode of discourse among all political movements in the Middle East, and official speechmaking had to adjust to the new phenomenon. The hours-long speeches by Arab rulers seem to be a thing of the past; rulers know that viewers are now equipped with a powerful tool, that is, the remote control.

Qasim Zaman focuses primarily on the role of ‘ulama’ in Pakistan. He takes a cautious approach toward the (Western) demand for the reform of madrassas. He does not believe that reform in itself can guarantee the construction of “resources for democracy and plularism” (p. 81). Jenny White introduces the Turkish model of “Muslimhood,” which asserts that “believing Muslims can be secular politicians, that their qualities of personhood not only do not disqualify them from running the secular governmental machinery, but may even benefit the political realm by inserting personal ethics and a moral stance” (p. 88). But does that imply that religion has a superior claim over morality, in the ethical sense, than secular, non-religious-based ideologies? Scandals within churches, mosques, and synagogues confirm that religious ideologies are not immune from unethical behavior. White also has an interesting discussion of the Alevi presence in Turkey, which receives less attention than Islamism in most treatments. Bahman Baktiari's chapter deals with developments in the Islamic Republic in Iran but also reveals a range of opinions within the parameters of debate. Augustus Richard Norton's chapter on Hizb Al-Wasat is an important contribution to this volume, and to the study of Islam-in-the-political-process because such (“centrist”) Islamist trends rarely get any scholarly coverage, and they may represent a potent political force in the future, especially if Arab regimes undergo structural political transformations beyond the cosmetic reforms that George W. Bush expects from his allies in the region. Norton also proposes policy recommendations that tend to encourage and support such Islamist trends, but it is unlikely that in this age of us-versus-them, nuanced arguments can be heard in Washington, DC.

Diane Singerman's chapter is also important because she studies the genealogy of divorce laws in Egypt. Her study shows that women in Egypt, without Western prodding and inspiration, have been engaged in struggles for gender fairness and equality, and that any achievements made are not due to governmental initiatives, although sometimes alliances are made with segments of the ruling groups. Gwenn Okruhlik studies Islam in the Saudi political context and critically examines the roles of the ‘ulama and their relationship to the government. She, however, may have overstated her case when she refers to Crown Prince ‘Abdullah as “a champion of women's rights in the Saudi context” (p. 206); she perhaps may have wanted to say that he is less vocal in his sexism and misogyny than other members of the royal family. The person in charge of perhaps the most misogynist political order on earth cannot be said to be a “champion of women's rights” in any context.

Thomas Barfield's chapter may be the least analytical and most journalistic. It does offer an overview of the topic but seems to lack the research components of the other chapters. Michael Peletz's chapter on Malaysia situates Islamism and Islamic influences in the special context of a country rich with religious and ethnic diversity. Hefner then offers a detailed examination of the Indonesian experience, while Mandaville provides a general, too general indeed, picture of Islamic movements. His treatment of Hizb At-Tahrir is rather weak and incomplete, perhaps because it is based on the brochures of its British branch. John Bowen's chapter contains interesting references to debates among French Muslim leaders and intellectuals.

This is a most interesting and serious book on Islam. It is perhaps one of the most scholarly books on the topic since September 11. The authors for the most part should perhaps be commended for steering away from public pressures to stick to topics and approaches from outside academe. Remaking Muslim Politics is highly recommended and should be added to college courses dealing with Islamic issues.