Tensions and Transitions in the Muslim World provides an alternative reading of Middle Eastern politics and political culture by focusing on the dynamics of change, and examining the role of Islam in the emerging modern Middle East. Louay Safi contends that by focusing on radical and traditionalist Islam, Middle East specialists often overlook the liberal manifestations of Islam, which, though marginalized, constitute the driving force in the sociopolitical development of the Middle East. To capture the dynamics of progress in the Middle East, Safi examines the impact of the ideological struggle and intellectual debate between the forces of modernism and Islamic traditionalism on the transformation of mainstream society, and delineates the emerging sociopolitical outlooks and orientations, locked in a fierce struggle for the heart and soul of the Middle East.

".... it nevertheless is a valuable contribution to contemporary debates over Islamic reform in general and political Islam in particular. Safi's attempts to overcome the dichotomous and polarized notions of what an Islamic political program entails by concentrating on the rich experiences and intellectual traditions of Islamic reformism that are conducive to formulating and articulating a pluralistic and democratic politics is particularly useful to the reader." - American Journal of Islamic Social Studies

"[T]his book provides a lucid and well-articulated case for situating perceived tensions between the Islamic world and the 'West' in perspective. In this respect, this commendable and sincere effort conveys an important point of view that deserves as much exposure as possible." - American Journal of Islamic Social Studies