Muslims in Global Politics
Identities, Interests, and Human Rights

Mahmood Monshipouri

As Islam spreads throughout the world, Muslims living in their traditional homelands and in the Western world are grappling with shifting identities. These questions of identity are an integral part of national and international politics. In Egypt Islamists clash with secularists over religious and national identity, while in Turkey secularist ruling elites have chosen to accommodate Islamists in the name of democracy and reconciliation. In all cases, understanding the dynamics of identity-based politics is critical to the future of Muslims and their neighbors across the globe.

In Muslims in Global Politics, Mahmood Monshipouri examines the role identity plays in political conflicts in six Muslim nations—Egypt, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iran, and Indonesia—as well as in Muslim diaspora communities in Europe and North America. In each instance, he describes how conservatives, neofundamentalists, reformists, and secularists construct identity in different ways and how these identities play out in the political arena. With globalization, the demand for human rights continues to grow in the Muslim world, and struggles over modernity, authenticity, legitimacy, and rationality become increasingly important.

Muslims in Global Politics deepens our understanding of how modern ideas and norms interact with the traditions of the Islamic world and, in turn, shows how human rights advocates can provide an alternative to militant Islamist movements.

Mahmood Monshipouri teaches international relations at San Francisco State University.

To listen to an interview of Mahmood Monshipouri, visit the Penn Press podcast web site.

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Muslims in Global PoliticsIdentities, Interests, and Human Rights

Mahmood Monshipouri

Muslims in Global Politics
Identities, Interests, and Human Rights