ভূমিকা

Second, Islamic revival is basically defensive and anti-modern. In addition, the modernity/jahiliyyah polarity (read as modernity/tradition polarity) provides the most adequate approach to study the dynamics of modern Islam. [^7] Sivan's takes a political-theological approach to discuss the history of Arab societies in the past three decades.

In other words, his objective is to analyze the connection between "political Islam" and society in selected Arab countries, especially Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. To my mind, the book is highly reductionist and selective and does not adequately portray the historical dynamics between religious institutions, ideas, and personalities, on the one hand, and Arab society, on the other. Sivan uses a multitude of terms to refer to the phenomenon of Islamism, such as radical Islam (p.

1); Islamic revival (p. 3); Islamic militancy (p. 11), and fundamentalism (p. 67). Sivan asserts in the first chapter, "The Mood: Doom and Gloom," that Muslim "fundamentalists" are a pessimistic group of people because they abhor current social and political realities. This aversion to reality has translated itself into a radical political movement which aims at restructuring the status quo.

Thus Sivan reduces Islamism to mere politics: "Islamic revival-while activist and militant-is thus essentially defensive; a sort of holding operation against modernity. And though it has no doubt a sharp political edge, it is primarily a cultural phenomenon. Its very strength proceeds from this alliance of political and cultural protest." [^8] As is common in a lot of Western writings on Islam, the term modernity is used often.