Behind Islamic Revivalism

Although complete in itself, the book under review has to be read in con­tinuation of the author’s work published earlier this year, The Origin and Develop­ment of Islam (Orient Longman; 1980; pp. 247; Rs. 65). It appears that the two books were originally conceived as one. In view of the rising prices of books, it is perhaps good for readers that they have been brought out separately. If the two are read in continuation, some repetition might be observed which probably becomes inevitable when one part of a planned book is brought out separately. The two books together are an attempt to come to grips with the pro­blems posed by the Islamic resurgence of the 1970s or, as some choose to describe it, Islamic fundamentalism. It is not possible to understand or explain the pheno­menon without going into the socio-eco­nomic factors behind the emergence of Islam in the Arab mainland in the seventh century, the military conquests and political expansion of Muslim rulers in the subsequent centuries,