This comprehensive overview describes and interprets all schools of Islamic political thought, their origins, inter-connections and meaning. It examines the Qur'an, the early Caliphate, classical Islamic philosophy, and the political culture of the Ottoman and other empires.

Table of Contents

• Abbreviations
• Map
• Time Chart
• Preface to the Second Revised and Expanded Edition
• Introduction
• Part I The Messenger and the Law c.622-1000
• 1 The Mission of Muhammad
• 2 The Idea of Monarchy under the Umayyads and ‘Abbasids c.661-850
• 3 The Formation of the Shari'a
• 4 Shi'ism
• 5 The Restoration of Persia c.850-1050
• 6 Knowledge and Power: Philosophy without the Polis
• Part II Religion and State Power (din wa dawla): The Sunni Doctrine of the State c.900-1220
• 7 The Theory of the Caliphate
• 8 State and Religion under the Saljuks
• 9 Al-Ghazali: Mysticism and Politics
• 10 The Ethics of Power: Advice-to-Kings (nasihat al-muluk)
• 11 Ibn Rushd
• 12 Sufism and Politics
• Part III The Shari'a and the Sword c.1220-1500
• 13 The Rape of Asia
• 14 Mamluk Ideology and the Sultan-Caliph
• 15 Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201-74): Social Philosophy and Status Groups
• 16 Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328): Shari'a Governance (al-siyasa al-shar'iyya)
• 17 The Delhi Sultanate and al-Barani: Statecraft and Morality
• 18 Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406): The Science of Civilisation and the Governance of Islam
• 19 The Decline of Classical Islamic Political Thought
• Part IV Religious Ideology and Political Control in Early Modern States
• 20 A New World Order
• 21 The State of the House of Osman (devlet-i al-i Osman)
• 22 The Safavids
• 23 India and the Mughals
• 24 The Decline and Reform of the Ottoman Empire
• Part V Islam and the West
• 25 Modernism from the Ottoman Reforms to the Turkish Revolution
• 26 Conservatism and Modernism in Iran
• 27 Islamism
• 28 Islamism, Modernism and the Secular State
• Conclusion
• Glossary
• Bibliography