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Popular uprisings have taken many different forms in the last hundred or so years since Muslims first began to grapple with modernity and to confront various systems of domination both European and indigenous.The relevance of studies of popular uprising and revolt in the Muslim world has recently been underlined by shattering recent events, particularly in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Libya.
The book consists of a close analysis of the problématique of the Qur'an, showing the openness of the text to Islamic reform and renewal; the role of Islam in creating a specific form of communism in Albania and Kosova; the Chechen revolts against Russian rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the short-lived period of alliance between communism and Islam in the early 1920s; the history of alliances between British Muslims and socialists since the 1950s. The book also traces the evolution of the Muslim-Communist alliance during the twentieth century, analyses the driving forces behind it, looks at the new situation created by the democratic revolts of 2010-11 in the Middle East and attempts a prognosis for future relations between these and existing communist groups.
This volume contributes to the debate over the aims and methods of these popular uprisings.
This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics.
About the author
Ben Fowkes has lectured at a number of universities in the course of his career, including Sheffield University and London Metropolitan University. He is a specialist in studies of Soviet, East European and communist history, and the author of several publications in these areas.
Bülent Gökay is Professor of International Relations at Keele University. He is on the editorial board of a number of journals, including the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, and the author of many publications in this area, as well as in the fields of Middle Eastern and international politics.
Summary
This book traces the evolution and changing course of the relationship between communists and Muslims from the emergence of communism after the First World War to the present day. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics.
