Description: Debates about Muslim societies have intensified in the last four decades, triggered by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and 9/11. At the heart of these assumptions is Muslim exceptionalism: the idea that Muslims think and behave differently from other faith communities. This book debunks this flawed notion by looking at religious trends in Iran since 1979.
Brief description: Abdolmohammad Kazemipur is professor of sociology and chair of ethnic studies at the University of Calgary.
Review Quotes: "This book navigates through a maze of misconceptions to cast an expertly presented look at practices and institutional arrangements that, while on the surface appear to be overdetermined by religion, are unfolding in the context of the secularization of Iranian society." Nazanin Shahrokni, London School of Economics and Political Science