From the cleric-led Iranian revolution to the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, many people have been surprised by what they see as the modern re-emergence of an anti-modern phenomenon. This book helps account for the increasingly visible public role of traditionally educated Muslim religious scholars (the 'ulama) across contemporary Muslim societies. Muhammad Qasim Zaman describes the transformations the centuries-old culture and tradition of the 'ulama have undergone in the modern era - transformations tht underlie the new religious and political activism of these scholars. In doing so, it provides a new foundation for the comparative study of Islam, politics, and religious change in the contemporary world. This book offers a comparative perspective on the 'ulama and their increasingly crucial religious and political activism of these scholars. It shows how issues of religious authority are debated in contemporary Islam, how Islamic law and tradition are continuously negotiated in a rapidly changing world, and how the 'ulama both react to and shape larger Islamic social trends. Introducing previously unexamined facts of religious change unfolding in the contemporary Muslim world and goes a long way toward explaining their vast social ramifications.