Political Islam, Iran, and the enlightenment : philosophies of hope and despair / Ali Mirsepassi.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: political Islam's romance with the 'West' -- 1. Intellectuals and the politics of despair -- 2. The crisis of the nativist imagination -- 3. Modernity beyond nativism and universalism -- 4. Heidegger and Iran: the dark side of being and belonging -- 5. Democracy and religion in the thought of John Dewey -- 6. Enlightenment and moral politics -- 7. Conclusion.

"Ali Mirsepassi's book argues that the discourse of political Islam has strong connections to important and disturbing currents in Western philosophy and modern Western intellectual trends"--Provided by publisher.

"Ali Mirsepassi's book presents a powerful challenge to the dominant media and scholarly construction of radical Islamist politics, and their anti-Western ideology, as a purely Islamic phenomenon derived from insular, traditional, and monolithic religious "foundations." It argues that the discourse of political Islam has strong connections to important and disturbing currents in Western philosophy and modern Western intellectual trends. The work demonstrates this by establishing links between important contemporary Iranian intellectuals and the central influence of Martin Heidegger's philosophy. We are also introduced to new democratic narratives of modernity linked to diverse intellectual trends in the West and in non-Western societies, notably in India, where the ideas of John Dewey have influenced important democratic social movements"--Provided by publisher.