The Islamic Theory of International Relations: New Directions for Islamic Methodology and Thought

Abstract

This book provides a remarkable reformist approach to Islam in general and to the Islamic theory of international relations in particular. The author begins by attributing the tragic condition of the modern Islamic world to its stagnation, brought about by the predominance of taqlid. Only with a resolution of the “time-place issue” (p. 4), a phrase that recurs throughout the book in relation to the necessity of distinguishing between what is permanent and what is a mere dated application in another time and place, does AbuSulayman believe that “the badly needed original dynamic and realistic policies” (p. 4) can be found.