Waning Crescent: The Rise and Fall of Global Islam

In this brilliant book, Devji argues that in the late nineteenth century, Islam ceased to be primarily a religious movement concerned with scripture or the divine. Instead, it transformed into an ideological system—like capitalism or communism. Questions about God were sidelined. The Prophet Muhammad was refashioned not as the bearer of revelation but as an agent of history. But at the same time, Muslims came to see their faith as a victim, under permanent siege. This meant adherents turned away from theology and instead focused on disparate ideological and political threats. Devji argues that Islam’s transformation explains the decisions of many Muslim states and political movements. He argues, for example, that this transformation is why some Islamic governments punish blasphemy and why militants such as al-Qaeda wage violent jihad. He concludes that the project of imagining Islam as an ideological actor has become internally incoherent and lost popular support. But alternative political movements—such as those based on nationalism, class, or populism—do not yet command widespread backing. The result is a profound vacuum in the politics of the Islamic world.