Sadek Hamid

Ziauddin Sardar

Abdelwahab El-Affendi

Amr G.E. Sabet

Jay Willoughby 

Ali Aslan

Turan Kayaoglu

Abadir M. Ibrahim

Esmaeil Esfandiary 

Lyndall Herman

Stephen Cory 

Dale J. Correa

Nader Hashmi 

Meriem El Haitami

Afif Pasuni 

The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS), established in 1984, is a quarterly, double blind peer-reviewed and interdisciplinary journal, published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), and distributed worldwide. The journal showcases a wide variety of scholarly research on all facets of Islam and the Muslim world including subjects such as anthropology, history, philosophy and metaphysics, politics, psychology, religious law, and traditional Islam.

American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 30:4

This book offers a novel and productive explanation of why 'ordinary' people can be moved to engage in destructive mass violence (or terrorism and the abuse of rights), often in large numbers and in unexpected ways. Its argument is that narratives of insecurity (powerful horror stories people tell and believe about their world and others) can easily make extreme acts appear acceptable, even necessary and heroic. As in action or horror movies, the script dictates how the 'hero' acts. The book provides theoretical justifications for this analysis, building on earlier studies but going beyond them in what amount to a breakthrough in mapping the context of mass violence. It backs its argument with a large number of case studies covering four continents, written by prominent scholars from the relevant countries or with deep knowledge of them. A substantial introduction by the UN's Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide demonstrates the policy relevance of this path-breaking work.

Narratives of Insecurity and the Logic of Mass Atrocities

Genocidal Nightmares

Khalil Al Anani

This book brings together experienced scholars from the region and beyond to cast new light on the challenges facing democratic transitions and democratic stability. Rather than taking refuge in 'context' and 'regional specificity' to excuse failures to unpack Arab politics, the book argues that sound political science should - and could - prove relevant across regions and cultures. This radical critique reclaims and recasts the 'Transition Paradigm', countering the habit of using advanced and successful democratic transitions as a template to be followed in other regions. It argues that the Arab (and broader Middle Eastern) experience has important lessons to offer, even in its failures. For example, it could help to explain the West's recent populist upsurge and other democratic reversals.

Decentring Democratic Transition Theory

After the Arab Revolutions

Abdelwahab El-Affendi

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