About the Author

Ali A. Allawi has served as Minister of Defense and Minister of Finance in the Iraqi postwar governments. The author of the highly praised Occupation of Iraq, he is senior visiting fellow at Princeton University.

Reviews

"'with intimate knowledge of both Islam and the West, and his unflinching honesty... Mr Allawi calmly and methodically deconstructs an Islamic revival which has failed to live up to its promises.' The Economist 'a challenging and ambitious effort... thoughtful, pertinent and informative... I have no hesitation in recommending The Crisis of Islamic Civilisation to others, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.' Muhammad Khan, Muslim News 'This is an intelligent, erudite work on the travails of Islamic civilisation as it has encountered the expansion of Western power... Allawi's work is a searing indictment of Islamic societies but not of Islam itself... his expositions of the ideas of Muslim thinkers are exemplary in their lucidity... I learnt a lot from this book.' Literary Review"

"'with intimate knowledge of both Islam and the West, and his unflinching honesty... Mr Allawi calmly and methodically deconstructs an Islamic revival which has failed to live up to its promises.' The Economist 'a challenging and ambitious effort... thoughtful, pertinent and informative... I have no hesitation in recommending The Crisis of Islamic Civilisation to others, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.' Muhammad Khan, Muslim News 'This is an intelligent, erudite work on the travails of Islamic civilisation as it has encountered the expansion of Western power... Allawi's work is a searing indictment of Islamic societies but not of Islam itself... his expositions of the ideas of Muslim thinkers are exemplary in their lucidity... I learnt a lot from this book.' Literary Review"

Allawi (The Occupation of Iraq) investigates the pathways that led to the deterioration of the Islamic civilization, known for its splendid culture between the eighth and 12th centuries. The inadaptability of Islam to modern life, the author argues, stems from its deep roots in the sacred. To be modern, according to Allawi, is to be liberated from the divine as the sole source of ethics and virtues. Allawi demonstrates that the individual in Islam is not an autonomous entity-a common principle in all religions-rather, its essence is driven from a complete submission to the godly creeds. He notes that the secularization of Muslim societies, which seemed to be on track until the mid-1970s, has shattered, giving way to political Islam. He suggests that the failure of Muslim societies to address the challenges and the threat of fast-growing Western cultural imperialism deepened their crisis. In an analytic, journalistic style, Allawi presents views about modern Islam that are both stimulating and informative. This provocative book is recommended for informed readers.-Sadiq Alkoriji, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.