The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State Noah Feldman has written a remarkable book.

My interest in it was piqued by the fact that here was a Western author who seemed to recognize that the future nature of the Muslim Nation State maybe Islamic. Initially, I was going to read him with the casual curiosity that is given to ordinary garden variety polemics, who try pass themselves off as academics. However, upon further reading, it became clear that the author is a distinguished legal scholar, who has extensive and exhaustive knowledge in Islamic legal thought. What made Feldman rare specie was the fact that in a raging tide of Western writers who advocate all things Western and Secular for the Middle East, he was the lone fish swimming against that tide, by actively advocating the rule of the Islamists. Feldman beautifully builds a historic breakdown of the Classical Muslim model of governance and thus explains what ails the nations of the Middle East excessive executive power not balanced by the Ulema (1). In an atmosphere where the discourse is dominated by the likes of self serving reductionist argument exemplified by What Went Wrong, Feldman had the audacity to hint at What Went Right as the name of one of the sections of the book. Growing up in a Sunni Orthodox Hanafi branch of Islam, Feldman gave me a thorough technical understanding of the legal framework of Shariah(2) , fit for laity, that was never afforded to me from modern Pakistani Ulema. The ultimate failure of the Classical Islamic Ulema may lie in its ultimate failure in making Classical Islam valid for contemporary Muslim. The Sunni Ulema have a holier than thou attitude of telling intriguing minds of how it is , but fail to follow through of why it is so, and needless to say this void in understanding is filled with the knee jerk reactionary Islamists and the Modern day Wahabi Khawarijis. There is a reason why the Islamists, in Pakistan never garner more than a marginal voter bank in elections, its because they simply just dont fit in the Classical Model. The reason they are successful in Lebanon and Gaza is because they may be the only organized party and also the most hardcore in its opposition to regional and foreign opponents. A thoroughly illuminating book that ought to be a must read for all Muslims and Westerners of all stripes who are evenly marginally interested in what shapes the Broader Middle East. And although, I got much out of the book, I ultimately beg to differ with Feldman in his making the case for Ikhwan and other Islamist outfits to be allowed governance of States in the Middle East. I do agree to the extent that the Islamists ought to be allowed to compete in free elections. I wish he would opine on the legal issues surrounding the drone bombings in Pakistan. I do wish Feldman the best of luck and may Elohim bless him. Purchase .Princeton Univ. Press or Barnes&Noble

Read the book here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i8598.pdf (1) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ulama (2) http://www.islamicity.com/politics/shariah.htm (3) (4) http://search.barnesandnoble.com/What-Went-Wrong/BernardLewis/e/9780060516055 (5) http://www.islamicity.com/politics/shariah.htm (6) http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Fall-and-Rise-of-the-Islamic-State/NoahFeldman/e/9780691120454 (7) http://www.islamicity.com/politics/shariah.htm