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Nasr Vali, ""

Vali Nasr, the author of the New York Times bestseller The Shia Revival, offers a dissection of the problem the West faces with Iran and reveals how, by building strong ties to the new, pragmatic business class that is emerging in Iran, the West can pull the rug of power out from under the extremist mullahs and forge strong new alliances in the region.

Summary: How to See Through Fundamentalism to Blend Islamic Values and Economic Vitality

Rating: 5

Vali Nasr reminds his audience that since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the U.S. has placed the greatest emphasis on containing and defeating Islamic fundamentalism in the Islamic world, especially in the Middle East (pp. 1-2; 84). Nasr invites the West, especially the U.S., to see the whole picture (p. 10). The sub-optimal integration of the Middle East into the global economy is largely responsible for the key role that this region plays in fueling global political instability (pp. 168; 262).

To his credit, Nasr shows with much clarity how the failures of secularism have made possible for fundamentalism to survive past its prime across the Islamic world (pp. 11; 84-85; 142-143; 146-148; 152; 156; 164-165; 173; 175; 213; 255). Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of Modern Turkey, was decisive in westernizing his country to catch up with the West in the 1920s and 1930s. The leadership of Iran and much of the rest of the region followed in his footsteps, despite the fact that their countries were not as well-endowed as Turkey after WWI (pp. 95-97; 106). Kemalism, a model of modernization-by-command, resulted in several failures after scoring some remarkable successes:

1) Patronage state, mismanagement, and corruption rather than robust capitalist economies;

2) The absence of a middle class of merchants and professionals with their own bases of economic power, independent from state sponsorship;

3) Suppression of Islam and its accompanying resentment (pp. 8-9; 65-69; 72-75; 85; 90-91; 94; 98-110; 113-114; 118-119; 129; 141; 149-150; 169-171; 192; 207; 219; 229; 236; 250).

Nasr observes that Kemalism is now playing a key role in undermining stronger capitalist growth and liberalization in the Islamic world (pp. 94; 114; 167; 226). The U.S. is a lightning rod of resentment because it has provided for decades so much support to authoritarian and so often corrupted leadership, even in the face of their incompetence, as in the recent example of former President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan (pp. 86; 172; 205-207; 216; 221-223; 256; 259). The West, including the U.S., interprets the fury and violence that go hand in hand with this resentment as the result of subservience to a rigid faith instead of the outcome of failing secularism (pp. 86; 110).

Nasr learns from history that the left sort of economy will have to precede the left sort of politics in the Muslim world (pp. 26; 109; 259). The West seems to forget that it was not Reformation, which was a brutal reign of terror for 150 years, but commerce going hand in hand with trade that resulted in the Industrial Revolution. Commerce and the social changes it requires and simulates made it possible for the rising bourgeoisie to press for democratization in the West, and not the other way around (pp. 24; 185-186; 254). For this reason, pressure from below will be as important as dialogue, incentives, and concerted pressure by the international community to bring about this paradigm shift in the Muslim world (pp. 14; 22-23; 115; 223; 258).

To facilitate this shift, Nasr recommends that the West, including the U.S., bets on the profit motive that will further encourage the comparatively small but growing middle class in the region to press over time for a more comprehensive integration of the Middle East into the global economy and for better relations with the West (pp. 9; 227-228; 261).

Nasr demonstrates convincingly that the model that works for Dubai cannot be reproduced in the larger states of the Middle East and South Asia (pp. 30; 32; 37; 40-45). Nasr encourages Westerners to learn from Turkey that has made much progress on its way to capitalist growth and increasing political pluralism under the leadership of the AKP political party in the last decade. Neither authoritarian leadership nor oil money was behind this positive evolution (pp. 114; 176; 202; 231; 233-234; 237; 243-244). Liberalizing, free-market reforms and the ongoing process of adhesion to the European Union have opened the doors for the provincial, religiously conservative rising middle class that is on the march across the region to show its entrepreneurial mettle (pp. 182; 228; 234; 253). The increasing influence of this bourgeoisie makes the Kemalist, secular establishment in Turkey nervous (pp. 145-146; 240; 247-249).

Interestingly, Nasr compares these "Islamic Calvinists" with the more conservative Republicans in the U.S. and the conservative Christian Democrats in Europe (pp. 236; 238; 241-242). For these Muslims, Islam is a way of life, not a matter of political mission (p. 246). Expecting Muslims, including the "Islamic Calvinists," to blindly embrace Western values at the expense of their traditional values will only lead to a culture war that will weaken the moderates, pragmatists keenest on change (p. 261). Like it or not, the rising middle class in the Muslim world is going to be - at least in the short term - Islamic, conservative, and all too often prudish and misogynist (pp. 144; 175; 183-188; 197; 199; 235-236; 244; 248; 259-260). The U.S. knows from the experience of the civil rights movement that fundamental change often comes only slowly (pp. 253; 260).

Unsurprisingly, Nasr emphasizes that sanctions and isolations of countries such as Iran and Syria undermine the interests of the social class which is keenest to shift the balance of power in the region from hard power to economics (pp. 8; 25; 45-49; 53; 57-59; 63-66; 79-84; 250-251; 255; 261-263). As many observers note, Iran and the Middle East have a shared destiny (pp. 262-263).

In conclusion, Nasr has made an important contribution to highlighting this distinctive blending of Islamic values and economic vitality in the Muslim world (pp. 24; 112; 237). Acting on this understanding will help both the U.S. and the Islamic world to sail past the populist but deeply flawed clash of civilizations to nurture reform and achieve vastly improved relations with each other (p. 27).

Summary: Forces of Hope

Rating: 5

Vali Nasr presents a to us a simple and straightforward notion, that a majority of people living in predominately Muslim countries value hard work and believe in the fundamental left to equal economic opportunity. Values unfortunately not respected by their unelected leaders and their patrons in the West. Nasr urges us to pay closer attention to the segment of population identified as the "critical middle", the burgeoning middle class which has a growing stake in the world economy such as those in Turkey, Indonesia, India and Pakistan. These are the men and women Muslim countries and the world can count on for a push toward stability and growth. This critical middle already exists and has in many ways been burgeoning. The answer was staring us in the face yet invisible in policy debates and straegic reviews. Nasr writes about Turkey as a model to emulate and Egypt as one to discard where overbearing government control only fosters patronage and stagnation and where the critical middle is critically small and state dependent. The idea is simple, those who have a stake in a stable world will help maintain this stability. Let us help increase their numbers and strengthen their hands. May be then they will reach out and help another segment of society, "the missing middle", lower income families who face socio-economic apartheid and lack access to even basic services. Vali Nasr's latest book gives me renewed hope, especially since he presents to us the story of what already exists as opposed to what needs to be imported or transformed!

Summary: A book to read

Rating: 5

Nasr has been a voice of reason for some time. This book only confirms that. Nasr argues that economics will defeat extremism. A middle class with money will not be interested in extremism. He makes an important point that money from oil will not do the trick, you actually must have a middle class that creates wealth and works in the global economy. The chapters on Dubai and Turkey make this clase and are very interesting. A good deal of the book is on Iran and Pakistan, and there nasr claims that these countries will only havre a bright future if they were open to trade. What makes Nasr's book fascinating is that it says that we should not worry about religion but economics, and that economics is more powerful that religion. It is an intriguing idea--capitalism defeating fundamentalism. This is a an easy read, ful, of personal anecdotes and stories. It is also a whole college course on Islam and Middle East.

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