Additional information
by Azmi Bishara (Author)
This volume analyses the transformation of social sectarianism into political sectarianism across the Arab world. Using a framework of social theories and socio-historical analysis, the book distinguishes between ta'ifa, or 'sect', and modern ta'ifiyya, 'sectarianism', arguing that sectarianism itself produces 'imaginary sects'. It charts and explains the evolution of these phenomena and their development in Arab and Islamic history, as distinct from other concepts used to study religious groups within Western contexts.
Author Biography
Azmi Bishara is General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, and the author of numerous works on political thought, social theory
and philosophy. His most influential in Arabic include Civil Society: A Critical Contribution; The Arab Question; and Religion and Secularism in a Historical Context.
