Book review: Jamey E. Dorsey, The Battle for the Soul of Islam: Defining the Muslim Faith in the 21st Century

Published date01 March 2025
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/23477970241298785
AuthorAzim Zahir
Date01 March 2025
Book Reviews 171
defeat which decimated India’s prestige obtained through an over-reliance on soft
power (p.76).
However, it appears at a few places that conclusions have been drawn by the
author without providing evidence. While describing India’s soft power assets,
the author states that there’s been a decline in India’s democratic ethos and that
illiberal policies have been adopted against the nation’s minorities (pp. 73, 82, 84,
85, 181). This is a recurring theme throughout the book. These statements are not
backed up with sufficient evidence other than the works of a few Western schol-
ars. Also, it appears at times that the factor of status enhancement creeps into the
author’s calculations even when the decisions under consideration were taken
largely for real-world reasons with minimal, if any, status calculations involved.
This occurs in the discussion about Russia–India defence relationships regarding
the transfer of crucial military hardware to India by Russia and the banning of
several Chinese apps by the Indian Government post-Galwan clashes in 2020
(pp.116,122). The author overlooks that the defence relationship between Russia–
India gave India the opportunity for the indigenisation of crucial military technol-
ogy and that the Chinese Government could have used the apps to influence
Indian social media and critical infrastructure such as 5G. Instead, Paul ascribes
these actions to status calculations by the Indian elite and focuses on their rewards
in terms of status.
Overall, India’s Unfulfilled Quest offers a rigorous account of India’s journey
from 1947 to the present day with a focus on its evolving worldview, its evolving
capabilities and challenges and the evolving perceptions of India by other powers.
The occasional references to Indian songs, the author’s familiarity with modern-
day Indian literature and the mention of Sanskrit names given to Indian indigenous
weapons provides the book with a touch of cultural authenticity. If one wishes to
understand India’s post-independence journey along the military, economic and
interstate relations dimensions with an eye towards the future, T. V. Paul’s book
would be a great pick.
Nikhil Godbole
O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat
E-mail: nikhilgodbole1997@gmail.com
Jamey E. Dorsey, The Battle for the Soul of Islam: Defining the Muslim
Faith in the 21st Century. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2024, 216 pp.
(paperback), ISBN-13: 978-9819728060.
DOI: 10.1177/23477970241298785
The concept of ‘Liberal Islam’ that aligns with the modern liberal state is not
a recent development; it traces back to the nineteenth century and reached its
peak in the early twentieth century. In their authoritative 1996 book, Muslim
Politics, anthropologist Dale F. Eickelman and political scientist James Piscatori
documented the significant changes in the Muslim world where not just religious

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