Rashid al-Ghannushi?¯ A Key Muslim Thinker of the 21st Century

This book discusses various dynamic facets of the life of Rashid al-Ghannushi?¯, a distinguished Islamic thinker and activist not only in Tunisia and North Africa, but in the entire Muslim world. It especially focuses on those aspects related to his intellectual understanding and response to a number of critical contemporary issues. In the 21st Century, Rashid al-Ghannushi?¯ is considered as the most moderate among the Muslim thinkers and intellectuals, particularly when it comes to the question of Islam-democracy compatibility and power sharing theory. This book also offers an account of a previously little known, yet much talked about Muslim voice in the post-Arab Spring era.  It further shows how the intellectual Muslim thinkers’ own perspectives and expectations from Islamic movement(s) and their interaction with the ‘western oriented local leadership’, as well as their (secular) policies color their understanding of Islam and various other major issues.

Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 Life and Character: From Birth to the Formation of a Social Reformer.- Chapter 3 Post-Independent Tunisian Atmosphere and the Emergence of a Social Reformer.- Chapter 4 Towards an Exploration of Works of Rashid al-Ghannushi?¯.- Chapter 5 Rashid al-Ghannushi?¯’s Approach to Islam-West Relationship and Human Rights.- Chapter 6 Rashid al-Ghannushi?¯ on Islam-Democracy and Power Sharing Debate.- Chapter 7 Conclusion.

Mohammad Dawood Sofi is currently serving as post-doc fellow in the Faculty of Political Science, Ankara Beyazit Yildirm University, Turkey. He holds PhD in Islamic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, India (2016) on the topic “Contemporary Challenges to Islam: A Critique of Al-Nahda”. He is also a Member of Board of Reviewers of Al-Idah, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.
His major areas of interest include: Islamic history and sciences; modern Islamic movements; contemporary trends in Islamic reformist thought; and Middle Eastern politics, especially in Tunisia.