States Without Citizens

"The ideals of civic activism and public service that inspired the Western Renaissance are absent in the Islamic world. Islamic religio-moral ethics aim at salvation; Islamic social ethics aim at clan dominance. Western-inspired solutions to the Islamic crisis are, therefore, inappropriate to Islamic states, inasmuch as they are "states without citizens."" "To mitigate the violence engendered by the Islamic crisis, culturally authentic institutions must be created that will instill a civic ethics of common cause and public service. The author recommends this approach for policymakers and development managers and deplores the dangerous vacuity of such drumbeat cliches as the "clash of civilizations" that have gained currency in "the war on terrorism.""--Jacket.