Introduction

Abstract

This is a book about ideologies and their relation to state power on the one hand and social classes on the other. It presents a comparative set of analyses of developing countries, covering Pakistan and the major states of the Middle East, and begins with a comparative survey of conditions under which Islamic political movements do, and do not, develop, before proceeding to a set of individual studies. Some of these chapters concern Arab countries (Syria, Egypt), others countries that are Muslim but not Arab (Iran, Pakistan and Turkey), and one focuses upon Israel. While written from distinct positions, and with a variety of concrete objects of analysis, the materials in this volume are convergent in their identification of key problems in the societies in question, and in the search for a theoretical framework through which a better understanding of them can be developed.