The September 11 attacks on the US stunned Australians, as well as people all over the world, and the consequences have been far-reaching for both the West and the Muslim world. The subsequent War on Terror and its extension to Iraq, assaults on Muslims in many Western countries, and the recent bombing in Jakarta have brought to the fore many issues deserving attention and analysis. These include the prospects of conflict and co-operation between the Muslim world and the West–including Australia–and the future of Muslim communities in Australia. Islam and the West addresses these and other issues from a specifically Australian perspective.

Akbarzadeh and Saeed explore one of the most challenging issues facing the Muslim world: the Islamisation of political power. They present a comparative analysis of Muslim societies in West, South, Central and South East Asia and highlight the immediacy of the challenge for the political leadership in those societies. Islam and Political Legitimacy contends that the growing reliance on Islamic symbolism across the Muslim world, even in states that have had a strained relationship with Islam, has contributed to the evolution of Islam as a social and cultural factor to an entrenched political force. The geographic breadth of this book offers readers a nuanced appraisal of political Islam that transcends parochial eccentricities. Contributors to this volume examine the evolving relationship between Islam and political power in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

Researchers and students of political Islam and radicalism in the Muslim world will find Islam and Political Legitimacy of special interest. This is a welcome addition to the rich literature on the politics of the contemporary Muslim world.

This book brings together the foremost scholars of Islam and Muslim politics in Australia to consider the relationship between Australian politics and society and Muslim Communities in Australia. – The book responds to such questions as: – Is there a Muslim community in Australia? – How do national differences affect the assumed ‘Muslim community’? – How do Muslim residents in Australia identify themselves? – How has the experience of migration affected their sense of identity? – Does the establishment of Islamic schooling and finance amount to the separation of Muslims from the mainstream of Australian society? – How has the Australian mainstream media portrayed Muslims in Australia and how has this portrayal changed over the last 30 years? – By addressing such critical issues, the book will present a well-rounded picture of the Muslim experience in Australia and highlight key issues of concern for the Muslim community.