Born in Cairo, Hanafi studied first in Egypt but obtained his PhD in Paris (1966), working with Robert Brunschvig on a thesis entitled Les méthodes de l'exégèse: Essai sur les fondements de la compréhension, 'Ilm usūl al-fiqh. Hanafi has been a professor of philosophy in Cairo University since 1967 and has written many substantial works, three of which are particularly significant. He produced a study in five volumes on political theory, From Dogma to Revolution (in Arabic, 1985), an eight volume inquiry (in Arabic) on the links between religion and revolution in Egypt that focuses also on contemporary Islamic trends (Religion and Revolution in Egypt, 1989). The perspective of the foundation of an "Islamic left" leading through religion to a reconstruction of politics is outlined in the book and represents the main political approach of the author. The collected papers of Islam in...