Product Description: What were the reasons behind the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the many others perpetrated by radical Islamist groups? Does the cause of Islamist terrorism relate to the lack of democracy in the Middle East? The assumption that there is a causal link between the two phenomena was widely accepted in the post-2001 period and appeared to inform Western foreign policies in the region, but does the premise really stand up to scrutiny? Through detailed research into the activities of both radical and moderate organizations across the Middle East, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hizbullah, and the GIA, and via interviews with key personnel, Katerina Dalacoura investigates whether repression and political exclusion pushed Islamist entities to adopt terrorist tactics...read more

In Islam, Liberalism and Human Rights, Katerina Dalacoura explores the concept of human rights, and debate between understanding them as a simply universal norm, or a ‘Western’ value, and therefore inappropriate and irrelevant for other cultures. She examines Islam's influence on the understanding of human rights in Muslim societies, and whether there is an inherent antithesis between Islam as a religion and the value of human rights.