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When 7/7 occurred last year, many people questioned
how, in the
UK, British born Muslims could be involved in a terror attack. They
asked for a new understanding of Islam and Muslim culture or
demanded that Muslims integrate by changing their modes of behaviour.
In his new book Rethinking Islamism (I.B. Tauris, 2006), Lord Desai
argues that such views and attitudes are mistaken. To understand
and fight terrorism we need to distinguish between Islam the religion
and Islamism the political ideology. It is not a more nuanced
understanding of Islam that is required, but rather a proper
understanding of Islamism the political ideology which is quite
distinct from religion. It is the ideology which is the principal
agent for recruitment of Muslim youth around the world to attempt
and sometimes commit acts of violence in which many innocent
people Muslims and non-Muslims alike suffer.
Lord Desai will take an in-depth look at the nature of ideology
in
contrast to religion and places Osama Bin Laden’s Global Islamism
in the context of the modern history of the Muslims in Arabia and
will ask what can we learn about countering this ideology from our
experience with fighting other ideologies such as Anarchism,
Communism and Fascism.
A master theorist of political philosophy, Professor Lord Desai
Of St Clement Danes is Professor Emeritus at the London School
of Economics.
Members’ Priority Booking Period to 1 November then open
to the public. Asia House Members and concs £4,
Non-members £7 Tickets available from
Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP
enquiries@asiahouse.co.uk mailto:enquiries@asiahouse.co.uk
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