Opinion Editorials, June 2013

Re-Emerging Islamic Civilization:

From Postmodernism to Post Secularism

a New Book By Eric Walberg  

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, July 22, 2013

FROM POSTMODERNISM TO POSTSECULARISM Re-Emerging Islamic Civilization by   Eric Walberg    ISBN: 978-0-9853353-8-0 $26.95  2013  369 pp.

The Arab Spring is really an Islamic one and the logical result of a century and a half of imperialist intrigues to incorporate the Middle East and Central Asia into the imperial project. How did this come about? What are the chances of the Muslim world asserting an independent position in the face of American empire and the rising non-imperial world bloc, BRICS? Here modernity and postmodernism are critiqued from both left and right, and Islam is seen as both an alternative worldview and world order. As the West continues its decline, the insights that Islamic civilization provides point to a new-old civilizational alternative. Key actors and milestones in the struggle to free the Muslim world from the imperial yoke are discussed. All the monotheisms have a linear concept of time/ history, which in the case of Christianity/ Judaism led logically to capitalism, Marx and the communist apocalypse. The Islamic project contains its own socio-economic solution which prevented the rise of capitalism/ imperialism, making it the loser in the technology race of the 19th-20th centuries.    Walberg provides an overview of imperialism and colonialism in the Muslim world, recapping his thesis in Postmodern Imperialism of the historical movement in the first “great Games” (ex-Ottoman Levant and Raj/ Afghanistan/ Iran under British empire ) through the second and third (colour revolutions vs revival of Islamic vision of Caliphate to replace imperialism).    The Islamic reform traditions from the 19th century on (deriving from Al-Afghani, Qutb) incorporating the Islamic critique of the West are addressed as well as the Sunni/ Shia, mainstream/ Sufi/ Salafi divisions. The 20th century experience of Islamic states (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran) is reviewed, as well as the current dynamics of the Muslim world (Saudi, Iran, Qatar, Turkey, and now Egypt/ Tunisia/ Libya).     Canadian Eric Walberg is known worldwide as a journalist specializing in the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia. A graduate of University of Toronto and Cambridge in economics, he has been writing on East-West relations since the 1980s. He has lived in both the Soviet Union and Russia, and then Uzbekistan, as a UN adviser, writer, translator and lecturer. Presently a writer for the foremost Cairo newspaper, Al Ahram, he is also a regular contributor to Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, Global Research, Al-Jazeerah and Turkish Weekly, and is a commentator on Voice of the Cape radio. His articles appear in Russian, German, Spanish and Arabic and are accessible at his website ericwalberg.com. Walberg was a moderator and speaker at the Leaders for Change Summit www.leadersofchangesummit.org in Istanbul in 2011. His book, Postmodern Imperialism, is also published in Chinese, Turkish and Russian.  He is a graduate of University of Toronto and Cambridge in economics         View synopsis and table of contents. Available in the US from Clarity Press, amazon.com, Available from Distributors in the USA, the UK/Europe, Middle East, Malaysia/Singapore Request a review or desk copy   CLARITY PRESS, INC. http://www.claritypress.com   You are presently listed as a subscriber for press releases from Clarity Press, Inc. To unsubscribe

"From Postmodernism to Postsecularism is a compelling representation of the current state of the Muslim world, positioned within a most illuminating historical expose. In this sequel to his equally authoritative Postmodern Imperialism, Walberg attempts to bridge the East-West gap, not through a reconciliatory discourse, but through a critical reading of history. He juxtaposes religion and ideology using a methodological and epistemological critique, a style that is both crucial and in some ways, incomparable. This volume should serve as a gateway to understanding Islam, and its location in the emerging new political dynamics, resulting from the bankruptcy of capitalism, and the lack of any other convincing alternatives. Walberg's book is an essential read, both revealing and very inspiring." Ramzy Baroud, Palestinian-American journalist, author, editor-in-chief of Palestine Chronicle "Anti-imperialists need this sort of critical analysis in order to understand whether, to what extent and especially how we can work in alliance with different Islamic political movements on common causes." David Heap, University of Western Ontario   "Walberg's contribution is a welcome addition to a debate that needs to return to mutual respect rather than mutual demonization and name-calling. It is a thought-provoking and informative book. causes." Zafar Bangash, Director, Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, Toronto "Edward Said's criticism of Orientalism and the postmodernist deconstruction of dominant narratives have challenged the traditional ethno-centricity of western historical studies. Walberg's analysis incorporates the experiences of the Other in a new dialectical approach to international relations. Brought up in the West, he has lived in the East, and is endowed with a cross-civilizational knowledge of the world. Here he describes globalization and imperialism from the point of view of Islamic civilization, seeing it as inheriting the role which Communism once had as the main opponent of western hegemony, but with important differences that are not a derivation of western civilization itself." Daniele Scalea, Director of the Rome Institute of Geopolitics (IsAG) and the Italian journal, Geopolitica "Eric Walberg sheds a sharply different light on the nature of the imperial world. A convincing argument and a must-read for anyone interested in the anatomy of labyrinthine imperialism." Dr. Ismail Salami, Visiting Professor, University of Tehran      Eric Walberg's POSTMODERN IMPERIALISM: "It will be hard to understand the complex machinery of post-imperialism without this ideology-smashing road map." PEPE ESCOBAR "An important reference for understanding the historical and current events, and expectations for the future." ZIAD MUNA, AL-JAZEERA.

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