Politics Books

The historian and gender studies specialist Margot Badran has devoted her life's work to the Muslim world. Here she explains what feminism means in the context of Islam and chooses five books that have been critical in its evolution.

British lawyer Ahmad Thomson converted to Islam in 1973 and founded Wynne Chambers—one of the first chambers to specialise in Islamic law in the UK. Here he recommends five books on 'the essence of Islam.'

American Enterprise Institute and campaigner for women's rights against militant Islam discusses five books ranging from the Koran to Hayek's Constitution of Liberty

The writer, broadcaster and cultural critic Ziauddin Sardar says Muslim societies are not always good at looking towards the future, dwelling instead on the glories of the past and feeling fatalistic about the present

CEO and founder of Demotix, the multiple-awardwinning open newswire, discusses five books on Islam and Modernity and the politicisation of Islam in the last decade.

Reporter for the BBC World Service and Radio 4, who specialises in reporting on faith and culture selects five books on Islam

Professor David Waddington tells us why riots are neither irrational nor mere hooliganism, and says the approach police take is critical in determining how a protest develops

Andy McNab, author and SAS veteran, discusses the politics of war, arguing that it's principally all about money and politics.

Lindsay Porter, author and cultural historian who has published widely on conspiracy theories, discusses five books on the different concepts of politically motivated killing and asks whether assassination can ever be justified

Director of Landmine Action who served in British army with the Black Watch, talks crime and terror and explores the extent to which al Qaeda is the creation of the Pakistani Intelligence Services backed by Saudi money