Debating the War of Ideas

Book excerpt: The War of Ideas is being fought both within Islamic societies and between some Muslim voices and the West. The War of Ideas is a struggle between moral claims, political philosophies, and historical interpretations that compete for assent within a society and across borders. Like the ideological component of the Cold War, the War of Ideas is about the fundamental principles of human society, from the basis for law and structures of governance to gender relations and the nexus of religion and politics. It is a global War: the foes have resorted to arms to protect and promote their worldview. This book brings together some of the most important voices from different partisan, theoretical and religious perspectives to argue and forecast the next phase in the War of Ideas.