Amazon.com description: Product Description: Contemporary Islamism is a complex notion, encompassing a constellation of social, political, religious and ideological ideas that have evolved over the past two hundred years. These ideas have dramatically shaped modern and contemporary Arab societies, but they are little understood in the West. The Contemporary Arab Reader on Political Islam corrects this at a stroke. It brings together the writings of highly influential figures in the field of Islamism in the contemporary Arab world, many of whose writings have never been available before in English. Addressing the key issues such as Shari'ah, human rights, civil society, secularism, globalization and ummah, and the impact of the West on the modern Arab world, this is the perfect starting point for students and academics looking to understand "Political Islam" in contemporary Arab and Muslim societies. The contributors include such important Islamist thinkers and activists as Abdullah Azzam, central to the spread of Islamism in Afghanistan, Sayyid Muhammad Hussain Fadlallah, a major Shiite figure in contemporary Lebanon and Ahmad Bin Yousuf, a political advisor to Akram Haniyya in Gaza.