Amin Saikal traces the history of the relationship between the ‘domain of Islam’—the Muslim nations of the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Central Asia—and the West. Taking the events of 11 September 2001 as his starting point, Saikal seeks to investigate whether a ‘clash of civilisations’, as described by Samuel Huntington in his book of the same title, is as inevitable as current events might imply.
This book’s central objective is to examine the growing tension between the West and the domain of Islam, with respect to three fundamental questions: first, what has happened to the relationship in both historical and contemporary terms; second, to what extent do Muslims bear responsibility and in what ways has Western, and more specifically American, policy behaviour contributed to diluting the relations between the two sides; and third, how to repair the damage already done?
Saikal’s main premise is that the radical Islamification of Muslim civil society is a relatively recent phenomenon, and that it is primarily a reaction to external factors. Chief among these are the policies pursued by the West since the rise of colonialism on the European continent in the 16th century. Saikal argues that since then, secularism has been gradually superseded by radicalism, with the greatest spike occurring since World War II. The main reason for this historically recent surge in radicalism has been the support provided by the West, principally the United States, to authoritarian regimes in North Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East.
Much has been said and written about jihad in the mainstream press since September 11, but Saikal stresses that this is a multidimensional concept. Rather than assuming the existence of some kind of monolithic ‘Arab Street’, Saikal carefully documents the competing strains of political identity that have struggled to assert themselves within the domain of Islam. To simplify the historical and cultural diversity inherent among these, Saikal identifies them as ascribing to one of either two interpretations of political Islam: jihadi or itjihadi.
The jihadi form of political Islam is characterised by radicalism, extremism and the attempt to incite violence against its opponents—whether they be Western or local. In contrast, itjihadi is a more liberal, inclusive and secular interpretation of political Islam. The modern itjihadi movement is perhaps best illustrated by the democratic reform movements, spearheaded by Presidents Abdurrahman Wahid in Indonesia and Mohammed Khatami in Iran. Al Qaeda and