Knowledge is often thought of as something to be attained and the pursuit of knowledge is usually considered to be a neutral endeavour, involving a higher order of consciousness somehow independent of social influences. While these assumptions may hold true in a limited way, they do not provide a complete picture of knowledge in our lives today. In this wide-ranging work, Yusef Progler suggests that the pursuit of knowledge can be a profoundly political process, and knowledge itself can be shaped, sifted and sorted through political forces and power relations hidden beneath the veils of objectivity.
Taking the reader on a journey from the halls of academia to the images of popular culture, from the events of the distant past to the headlines of the day, this highly readable and imaginative work emphasises the crucial point that our encounters with the Islamic religion and our assumptions about its followers are profoundly shaped by implicit and explicit political forces and that if left to their own means these forces may bring forth a future further ensnared by violent conflict and social intolerance.
Yusef Progler is a Professor of Comparative Societies and Cultures at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan and has also taught at Zayed University in Dubai and the City University of New York.
