Reaching beyond traditionally politicised scholarship to provide a unique perspective on the place of religion and culture in global and local politics, this book examines the impact of Islam on 'civilizational' relations between different groups and polities.

Bassam Tibi takes a highly original approach to the topic of religion in world politics, exploring the place of Islam in society and its frequent distortion in world politics to the more radical Islamism. Looking at how this becomes an immediate source of tension and conflict between the secular and the religious, Tibi rejects the 'clash of civilizations' theory and argues for the revival of Islamic humanism to help bridge the gap. Chapters expand on:

inter-civilizational conflict in global politics
dialogue between religious and secular, East and West
western concepts of Islamism
euro-Islam and the Islamic diaspora in Europe
Islamic humanism as a tool for bridging civilizations.

Shedding new light on the highly topical subject of Islam in politics and society, this book is an essential read for scholars and students of international politics, Islamic studies and conflict resolution.

Contents:
1. The Inter-Civilizational Conflict in World Politics: Value-Conflicts and Bridging in the Pursuit of Post-Bipolar Peace
2. Inter-Cultural Dialogue as a Global Communication in Pursuit of Bridging: Cultural Particularisms and Value Conflicts Among the Civilizations
3. The New Intercivilizational Cold War of Ideas and Alternatives to it
4. What Islam for Bridging? The Heterogeneity of Civilizations as a Background for the Plea to Revive the Grammar of Islamic Humanism
5. Euro-Islam as a Vision for Bridging: A Liberal and Secular Islam for the Islamic Diaspora in Europe 6. The Inter-Civilizational Conflict, Bridging and Critical Theory: The Western Third-Worldist Romantizication of Islamism and Beyond
7. From Conflict to Bridgings: Conclusions