Mobilizing Islam - Carrie Rosefsky Wickham

The rise of a popular Islamic reform movement in Egypt has had considerable influence beyond its borders, as events since September 11, 2001, attest. This book explains how militant Islamist groups captured the hearts and minds of educated youth in the Arab world. It focuses on the first 12 years of Hosni Mubarak's presidency, from 1981 to 1993, the period when participation in the movement reached its peak and before a wave of repression brought it to an abrupt end.;How does mobilization by opposition groups become possible in authoritarian settings? What enabled Islamist groups to overcome authoritarian constraints more easily than their secular rivals? Building on recent theoretical advances in the social movement field, and based on fieldwork, including numerous interviews in Cairo over a three-year period, "Mobilizing Islam" offers a fresh perspective on the origins, dynamics, and consequences of Islamic activism in this important part of the world.