Islam and democracy

Is Islam compatible with democracy? Must fundamentalism win out in the Middle East, or will democracy ever be possible? In her groundbreaking new book, Moroccan sociologist Fatima Mernissi explores the ways in which people on dramatically opposing sides - feminists and defenders of democracy versus violent fundamentalists - must use the same sacred texts to prove different views. Islam and Democracy serves as a guide to the players moving the pieces on the rather grim Muslim chessboard, to illuminate what seems to be a battle from another age - a battle the Gulf War revealed as having a very modern technological component. It raises provocative questions about the possibilities for democracy and human rights in the Islamic world, and it is essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of the Middle East.