Contemporary Islamic Political Thought in Egypt

This book takes a hermeneutic approach toward the writings of Jamal al-Banna and Tariq al-Bishri, in order to explore contemporary Islamic political discourse under authoritarian regimes. Ebtisam Aly Hussein uses the framework of ‘meta-languages’, in relation to the writing of these two particular Islamic intellectuals, to examine how authority over the public sphere is established, in both religious and political terms. Chapters outline the major themes of Islamic political discourse in the intellectual output of al-Banna and al-Bishri - such as the state in Islam, Shari’a and the law, political violence as jihad, and identity politics - and how these have interacted with the totalitarian and authoritarian regimes of Nasir, Sadat and Mubarak. The book puts forward a unique comparative case study of the role of politics and religion in establishing authority over the public sphere, and how this idea of authority is manifested in the intellectual output of these two Islamic scholars.