Islam and politics in the contemporary world

The dreadful events of 11 September have brought Islam to the forefront of world politics. This authoritative new book provides the analysis for a far-reaching introduction to Islamic politics for those coming to the subject for the first time. This account provides a deep insight into dimensions of Muslim political life; from democracy to despots, women to world affairs and history to heresy. Milton-Edwards offers an account of key contemporary concepts and debates that focus on the relationship between Islam and topical issues including politics, protest and opposition, violence, the West, democracy, the state and women. Giving an broad global overview the author includes a range of first-hand interviews with major Islamic figures and leaders of movements. Milton-Edwards charts the development of a political trend in Islam throughout the twentieth century and explores its myriad dimensions. The author also explores the prospects for political Islam in the new millennium. With further reading suggestions, and a glossary, Islam and Politics in the Contemporary World is an indispensable introduction to the subject and will prove invaluable as a textbook for students of politics and religion

Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccinationResearch in context

Summary: Background: While vaccines have established utility against COVID-19, phase 3 efficacy studies have generally not comprehensively evaluated protection provided by previous infection or hybrid immunity (previous infection plus vaccination). Individual patient data from US government-supported harmonized vaccine trials provide an unprecedented sample population to address this issue. We characterized the protective efficacy of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 early in the pandemic over three-to six-month follow-up and compared with vaccine-associated protection. Methods: In this post-hoc cross-protocol analysis of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we allocated participants into four groups based on previous-infection status at enrolment and treatment: no previous infection/placebo; previous infection/placebo; no previous infection/vaccine; and previous infection/vaccine. The main outcome was RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 >7–15 days (per original protocols) after final study injection. We calculated crude and adjusted efficacy measures. Findings: Previous infection/placebo participants had a 92% decreased risk of future COVID-19 compared to no previous infection/placebo participants (overall hazard ratio [HR] ratio: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.05–0.13). Among single-dose Janssen participants, hybrid immunity conferred greater protection than vaccine alone (HR: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.10). Too few infections were observed to draw statistical inferences comparing hybrid immunity to vaccine alone for other trials. Vaccination, previous infection, and hybrid immunity all provided near-complete protection against severe disease. Interpretation: Previous infection, any hybrid immunity, and two-dose vaccination all provided substantial protection against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 through the early Delta period. Thus, as a surrogate for natural infection, vaccination remains the safest approach to protection. Funding: National Institutes of Health