In "The Future of Political Islam", Fuller engages two broad questions: what is political Islam and how should it develop in the future? In answering the first, he has done an excellent job of contextualizing his subject, locating its development within a historical trajectory, and clearly and convincingly outlining those problems for which Islamists claim to have solutions.

In his introduction, he makes it clear that his goal in writing the book is to counter those analyses which view the rise of political Islam purely as an injection of religious irrationality into the political realm. Instead, he claims that political Islam is a rational response to modernity and all its attendant problems. It is an engagement with modernity, not a rejection of it. Islamists, he claims, whether they are liberal and more openly "modernizing" or more conservative, are incorporating the language and structures of modernity - political representation, human rights, civil society - into Muslim culture.

This explanatory account of political Islam is the book's strength. Fuller's attempt at the second question - how should political Islam develop in the future - is less convincing. It is informed fully by his desire to incorporate the Muslim world as seamlessly as possible into the liberal-democratic ethos of the West. This desire infects the more descriptive aspect of his book as well, possibly resulting in an overemphasis on liberal Islamists and their compatibility (or, indeed, adoption) of Western political values.

While an accusation of an Orientalist attitude might not be entirely wrong, it would be misplaced. Fuller is sincere in his respect for the Muslim world and its ability to solve its own problems. Instead, I think his approach in this regard is more of an outgrowth of the disbelief in alternatives to the current world order, the kind of assumptions which underpin Francis Fukuyama's assertion that liberal democracy as practiced in the developed world is the last evolution of the political system, the "end of history".

This position, from which he sets out his recommendations for Islamists, unfortunately leaves unexamined the degree to which Islamists are attempting to establish a unique system that may incorporate much of the language and institutions of liberal democracy, but could establish new relationships between political, economic, social and cultural institutions. As a result, the concluding chapter, from which the book's title is taken, is the most disappointing, its conclusions obvious and lacking originality (or maybe they only seem so now, four years after the invasion of Iraq and the publication of this book).

Perhaps I am asking too much. Fuller's book might best be described as a "thorough overview", with each chapter broken down into small sections, some only a paragraph long. This makes it easy to dip in and out of, but can also serve to compartmentalize the information and disconnect some of the broader arguments, leaving me with a sense of shallow analysis, despite how thoroughly he has tackled so many of the different aspects of political Islam.

The writing quality is also a problem. Perfect prose is not crucial for this kind of book, but barely a page went by without a glaring mistake. Some editing is sorely needed.

Despite these criticisms, Fuller's book is incredibly useful and important. His description of the political, social and economic conditions from which political Islam has arisen is informed, honest and, above all, encouraging. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Review of The Future of Political Islam, by Graham Fuller