This work provides seeks to foster a better understanding of the multifaceted phenomenon of political Islam, especially in the context of the post-Arab Spring Middle East. The aim of this work is to refute the oft-cited cliche that "Islamists" are hostile to representative and accountable government and seek a return to some distant, barbaric past. To the contrary, many Islamists have made innovative contributions to religiously informed political thought in the Islamic context. In actual fact, no "Islamic state" has ever existed in the history of Islam, and the Islamist conviction that...