Pious Road to Development

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Islamism is often portrayed as a reaction against, or at best a belated accommodation to, modernization. Refuting this dismissive opinion, Bj?rn Utvik explores the movement through the lens of its engagement with social and economic change in Egypt. Utvik provides a comprehensive picture of debates within mainstream Islamist groups that are grappling with concrete economic issues. He also marshals powerful empirical evidence of the modernizing tendencies of these groups. The economic discourse of the Egyptian Islamists, he argues, echoes that of radical nationalism in its support for justice, development, and independence, tempered by advocacy of a moral economy as a platform from which to combat not only the injustices of the current order, but also the archaic social practices and attitudes that are hindering development.