by Ruth J. Nicholls (Editor), Richard Shumack (Contribution by), Denis Savelyev (Contribution by)

From the beginning religious Islam has had political expressions. This volume of the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam (Melbourne School of Theology, Australia) Occasional Papers 'Perspectives on Islam and Politics' examines a variety of relevant topics. The first section is more theoretical: Islam as a nomocracy; the caliphate; the expansion of Islam through peninsular Arabia by raids and war; the concept of the dhimmi in relation to the West, as well as an exploration of Islam's political dealings with the West and the West's response. The second section examines regional expressions of political Islam: Islam in the North Caucasus and the Russian Federal Law; Said Nursi's response to Mustafa Kemal's reforms in Turkey; ISIS and the caliphate; Iran and Khomeini's political theory; Pakistan's political conundrum and the first 60 years of statehood in Malaysia. While it is a small volume with its offerings wide and varied it provides insights into the very important issue of Perspectives on Islam and Politics.