The Failure of Political Islam

Roy demonstrates that the Islamic Fundamentalism of today is still the Third Worldism of the 1960s: populist politics and mixed economies of laissez-faire for the rich and subsidies for the poor. In Roy’s formulation, those marching today beneath Islam’s green banners are the same as the “reds” of yesterday, with similarly dim prospects of success. Olivier Roy demonstrates that the Islamic Fundamentalism of today is still the Third Worldism of the 1960s: populist politics and mixed economies of laissez-faire for the rich and subsidies for the poor. In Roy’s striking formulation, those marching today beneath Islam’s green banners are the same as the “reds” of yesterday, with similarly dim prospects of success. Richly informed, powerfully argued, and clearly written, this is a book that no one trying to understand Islam can afford to overlook.