This is a dense and densely argued book, in the best way.
I’m delighted that my review of Joseph Massad’s Islam in Liberalism by Joseph Massad (University of Chicago Press) was recently published in The Electronic Intifada.
Excerpts:
This is a dense and densely argued book, in the best way, full of lively histories of the political, intellectual and cultural twists and turns that have enabled Western liberalism to so clearly dominate the discourse on Islam, and to claim it as the evil opposite while in fact feeding off that projection in order to strengthen itself.
If we are to heed Massad’s call and be attentive to how liberalism works to continually other Islam, we are better off understanding that it is not a static entity but one capable of adapting quickly and effectively to assume power.