Islam Books

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Book SynopsisThanks to the advances of modern science, we have an ever-increasing appreciation of just what an amazing creation our universe is. Even the knowledge that scientists and doctors continue to gather about our bodies stagger our imaginations. We see miracles repeated so many times that we take them for granted; the changes of the seasons, rain from the clouds, the growth of flowers and trees, and the soil''s production of all kinds of fruit. We look around us and see the fantastic abundance of animate and inanimate life: animals, geological features, water, fish, stars and so on. Any person given to reflection must wonder what purpose all of creation serves. Does everything exist for a while and then disappear into nothingness? Or, is it here for a while and then transformed into something eternal? Of course, this question includes humanity. Where are we headed, and what will happen to us when we get there? Basing himself on Said Nursi''s ''Risale-i Nur'', Ali Ünal presents a scientific

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Book SynopsisInterest in Shi'a Islam has increased greatly in recent years, although Shi'ism in the Indian subcontinent has remained largely underexplored. Focusing on the influential Shi'a minority of Lucknow and the United Provinces, a region that was largely under Shi'a rule until 1856, this book traces the history of Indian Shi'ism through the colonial period toward independence in 1947. Drawing on a range of new sources, including religious writing, polemical literature and clerical biography, it assesses seminal developments including the growth of Shi'a religious activism, madrasa education, missionary activity, ritual innovation and the politicization of the Shi'a community. As a consequence of these significant religious and social transformations, a Shi'a sectarian identity developed that existed in separation from rather than in interaction with its Sunni counterparts. In this way the painful birth of modern sectarianism was initiated, the consequences of which are very much alive in SouTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Madrasas, mujtahids, and missionaries: Shi'a clerical expansion in colonial India; 2. Mosques, majalis and Muharram: marketplace Shi'ism; 3. Anjumans, endowments and Indian Shi'ism: the making of Shi'a society; 4. Aligarh, jihad, and pan-Islam: the politicisation of the Indian Shi'a; 5. The tabarra agitation and Shi'a-Sunni conflict in late colonial India; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book investigates the relationship between government and religion in Middle Eastern history. By tracing how political debates about leadership impacted the theological scholars and their own conception of communal guidance, it offers a new picture of premodern political authority and the connections between Western and Islamic civilizations.Trade Review'Ali Humayun Akhtar's Philosophers, Sufis, and Caliphs explores the interface and interplay between Sufism, philosophy, and politics in the medieval Islamic world. Examining diverse fields in the history of ideas - from metaphysics to politics, cosmology to psychology, and Sufism to philosophical theology - Akhtar examines how scholarly religious authority affected and was affected by political leadership between the tenth and twelfth centuries. The extensively researched chapters on the Spanish Sufi metaphysicians … are particularly valuable for placing their thought in the context of the dialectic of scholars with local monarchs and emirs.' Leonard Lewisohn, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter'This is a ground-breaking treatment of the intricate connections between politics and religious thought in the Islamic world over the course of three centuries. Ali Humayun Akhtar offers fresh insights on a half dozen of the most important Muslim thinkers of al-Andalus, including Ibn Masarra, Ibn Hazm, and Ibn Tufayl. His portrait of how Islamic thought developed in the region is a landmark.' Ken Garden, Tufts University, Massachusetts'… a brilliant and well-researched book … summarizes some of the most important discussions about religious and philosophical history occurring today between American, European, and Middle Eastern scholars.' Allen Fromherz, The American Historical Review'… the work is substantial thanks to the erudition of the author …' Lahouari Addi, Reading Religion'… a novel and stimulating work that should be consulted by anyone with an interest in Andalusian intellectual history.' Peter Adamson, Journal of Arabic LiteratureTable of ContentsList of figures; Acknowledgments; Introduction: politics, law, and authority in the Abbasid and Fatimid; Part I. Philosophical Caliphs and their Impact on the Scholars: 1. Rival caliphs in Baghdad and Cairo; 2. A third caliphate in Cordoba; 3. Political reform among the later Abbasids; Part II. Philosophical Sufis among Scholars and their Impact on Political Culture: 4. Sufi metaphysics in the twelfth century; 5. A new political model and its Sufi; 6. The transformation of caliphal politics; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe modern state of Lebanon, created after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, is home to eighteen officially recognised different religious communities (or sects). Crucially, political office and representation came to be formally shared along confessional lines, and the privileges of power are distributed accordingly. One such key prerogative is exclusivity when it comes to personal status laws: the family legal affairs of each community. In this book, Morgan Clarke offers an authoritative and dynamic account of how the sharia is invoked both with Lebanon''s state legal system, as Muslim family law, and outside it, as a framework for an Islamic life and society. By bringing together an in-depth analysis of Lebanon''s state-sponsored sharia courts with a look at the wider world of religious instruction, this book highlights the breadth of the sharia and the complexity of the contexts within which it is embedded.Trade Review'Morgan Clarke's Islam and Law in Lebanon is a superb study of the multiple registers of Islamic law both within and beyond the purview of the Lebanese state and its legal system. Through a close and incisive examination of discourses, individuals and institutions which participate in the discussion about the nature of Islamic law in contemporary Lebanon, Clarke draws attention to important, often overlooked dimensions of the dynamics between states, their laws and Sharia.' Guy Burak, New York University'The anthropology of Islamic ethics and of Islamic law are today both recognised as important subfields in anthropology, but both have developed in only intermittent dialogue with each other. Morgan Clarke's richly researched and elegantly written book brings the two fields together masterfully, while also exploring the no less important issue of the relationship between state and non-state understandings and practices of Islamic sharia. The result is an important work that should be read by all anthropologists of Islam, as well as the general reader interested in how Islamic law and ethics are made relevant and meaningful in modern social settings.' Robert W. Hefner, Boston University'Morgan Clarke's ethnographically rich account of sharia 'within and outside' the state in Lebanon offers a crucial step forward in articulating current concerns with institutions, ethics, and practices, particularly in the post-Ottoman context, and does so in a particularly clear and generous fashion.' John R. Bowen, author of On British Islam and A New Anthropology of IslamTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Contextualising Sharia Discourse in Lebanon: 1. Court, community and state – a legal genealogy; 2. The consequences for civility; 3. Becoming a shaykh; 4. Lessons in the mosque; Part II. Sharia within the State: 5. Introducing the sharia courts; 6. Marriage before God and the state; 7. Bringing a case; 8. Rulings and reconciliation; 9. The judge as tragic hero; 10. The wider world of the sharia; 11. Reform and rebellion; Part III. Sharia outside the State: 12. Becoming an ayatollah; 13. Making law from the bottom up; 14. The limits of authority; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn recent years, martyrdom and political violence have been conflated in the public imagination. Rubén Rosario Rodríguez argues that martyr narratives deserve consideration as resources for resisting political violence in contemporary theological reflection. Underlying the three Abrahamic monotheistic traditions is a shared belief that God requires liberation for the oppressed, justice for the victims and, most demanding of all, love for the political enemy. Christian, Jewish and Muslim martyr narratives that condone political violence - whether terrorist or state-sponsored - are examined alongside each religion''s canon, in order to evaluate how central or marginalized these discourses are within their respective traditions. Primarily a work of Christian theology in conversation with Judaism and Islam, this book aims to model religious pluralism and cooperation by retrieving distinctly Christian sources that nurture tolerance and facilitate coexistence, while respecting religious difference.Trade Review'This is an exceptional academic contribution to the historical study of martyrdom among the classic Abrahamic religions, but also to its contemporary religious, political, and cultural relevance. It is a highly ambitious project that will leave an enduring mark in the always pertinent field of religiosity and human sacrifice. I strongly recommend its careful and critical reading.' Luis N. Rivera-Pagán, Henry Winters Luce Professor in Ecumenics Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey'Christian Martyrdom and Political Violence is a serious and important work in constructive Christian theological ethics, intending to rescue the concept of martyrdom from contemporary corruptions - corruptions so grave that the very concept of martyrdom risks being discredited. This is a groundbreaking book which I recommend highly.' Rev. David P. Gushee, Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University, Georgia'Rosario-Rodriguez's attempt at a fundamental theology built around the narratives of martyrdom is a remarkable synthesis of long and serious work in the fields of liberation theology, biblical studies, systematics, interreligious dialogue, 'world church' studies, and moral theology; it is something truly new, and opens a whole fertile field of inquiry. I am especially impressed by the care and integrity with which he approaches Islamic martyr narratives without either assimilating them to the Christian narratives or creating a false partition between their theological meanings.' David Hart, Fellow of The Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies'Not only does this book offer a knowledgeable and self-critical reconstruction of the concept of Christian martyrdom, it also makes a plea for a living Christian witness in the globalized world of the twenty-first century.' Paul Schroffner, translated from Zeitschrift fur katholische Theologie 'Chapter 3, probably the strongest chapter, discusses the meaning of martyrs and martyrdom in the Jewish and Muslim Scriptures, in 'conversation with the book's central narrative about Christian martyrdom as nonviolent political resistance'. There is a very careful analysis of the Muslim interpretation of jihad ('struggle'), along with the Christian concept of just war. This chapter also offers a trenchant critique of Christian Zionism, along with Islamist violence, Israeli nationalism, and misuse of just war theory in the American 'war on terror'. These, Rosario Rodríguez asserts, do not reflect their parent traditions, but rather 'imperialist ideologies', like that of ancient Rome, which Christian martyrdom attempted to subvert.' Journal of Religion and Violence'[Rubén Rosario] Rodríguez astutely emphasizes that only forgiveness modeled on that of Jesus will break the cycle of violence. This book is an exemplary effort to sort out how a Christian comparative theology of martyrdom would appear. Ultimately, no religion can justify itself without reference to other religions which accompany it through history, sometimes peacefully and sometimes as antagonists. The author has credibly demonstrated that a viable Christian theology of martyrdom can be written and has honored the memory of its witnesses.' Michael T. McLauglin, Reading Religion'For scholars of Christian ethics … [Rubén Rosario Rodríguez] demonstrates that liberation theology is an essential literature for Christian ethics in the twenty-first century with almost unprecedented persuasion. With derision for 'contextual theology,' many Christian ethicists continue to doubt liberation theology's capacity to speak to our most urgent global problems. Rosario's work ought to disabuse the field of this shallow dismissal, demonstrating liberation theology's enormous potential to grapple with the problem of political violence across religious traditions.' Nichole M. Flores, Journal of the Society of Christian EthicsTable of Contents1. Scripture and political violence; 2. Early Christian martyrdom and political violence; 3. Comparative martyrologies; 4. Martyrdom or political violence?; 5. On becoming a 'faithful witness' today.

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Book SynopsisSince the 1970s, movements aimed at giving Muslim women access to the serious study of Islamic texts have emerged across the world. In this book, Masooda Bano argues that the creative spirit that marked the rise and consolidation of Islam, whereby Islam inspired serious intellectual engagement to create optimal societal institutions, can be found within these education movements. Drawing on rich ethnographic material from Pakistan, northern Nigeria and Syria, Bano questions the restricted notion of agency associated with these movements, exploring the educational networks which have attracted educated, professional and culturally progressive Muslim women to textual study, thus helping to reverse the most damaging legacy of colonial rule in Muslim societies: the isolation of modern and Islamic knowledge. With its comparative approach, this will appeal to those studying and researching the role of women across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, as well as the wider Muslim world.Table of Contents1. Understanding knowledge creation: a re-reading of female Islamic education movements; Part I. The Power of Dispersed Knowledge: 2. Incentivising creative outcomes: historical patterns; 3. Knowledge production and student profiles; Part II. Incentivising the Mixing of Knowledge: 4. Institutional shifts: facilitating emergence; 5. Institutional shifts: facilitating expansion; 6. Institutional shifts: the rise of Western feminism; Part III. Conclusion: 7. Incentivising creative outcomes: looking forward.

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Book SynopsisChiara Formichi explores the ways in which Islam and Asia have shaped each other''s histories, societies and cultures from the seventh century to today. Challenging the assumed dominance of the Middle East in the development of Islam, Formichi argues for Asia''s centrality in the development of global Islam as a religious, social and political reality. Readers learn how and why Asia is central to the history of Islam, and vice versa, considering the impact of Asia''s Muslims on Islam; and how Islam became an integral part of Asia, and its influence on local conceptions of power, the sciences, arts, and bureaucracy. Grounding her argument in specific case studies, Formichi ultimately concludes that the existence of Islamized interactions across Asia have allowed for multi-directional influences on Islamic practices and interpretations throughout the Muslim world.Trade Review'Islam and Asia: A History integrates the expansion of Islam into the millennial trajectory of Asia and its multiple histories. Islamicate cultures of Central, South, South-east, and East Asia are traced with documentary care, abetted by narrative skill, to produce the newest, best introduction to a global civilization rooted and nurtured in Asia.' Bruce B. Lawrence, Professor of Islamic Studies Emeritus, Duke University, North Carolina'Accessible and original, Chiara Formichi's Islam and Asia puts the history of Muslims and Islam exactly where it belongs - in the vast area where most of the world's Muslims live. Muslims transformed Asia; and Islam here, as everywhere, was enriched and transformed as well. Enlivened by illustrations, maps, insets, and primary sources, the book is not only a delight for specialists, but an excellent if unexpected entrée for beginners curious about Islamic history.' Barbara D. Metcalf, Professor of History Emerita, University of California, Davis'This is a necessary and accessible volume. Formichi offers a bird's eye view of Islam in Asia, but does not skimp on rich examples. Readers are left with an understanding of Islam in Asia, Asian Islams, and how Asia is, in fact, central to the story of Islamic histories as well as specific, concrete examples of that history and its plurality.' Ilyse R. Morgenstein Fuerst, University of Vermont'Formichi here provides a wonderfully dynamic book. It is an innovative, pioneering historical survey; a well-designed, excellent textbook; and it is certainly adequate to serve as a concise reference book … It is a foundational work that points the way toward what could become a new generation of creative and urgently needed studies. Boxed key points, lists for further reading by chapter, a glossary, extensive citations and notes, and an analytic index round out this noteworthy volume.' G. R. Thursby, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Islam across the Oxus (7th–17th centuries); 2. Becoming Muslim (7th–18th centuries; 3. Networks and renewal (18th–19th centuries);4. Pan-Islamism and nationalism (19th–20th centuries);5. Muslims in the nation-state (1940s–1960s); 6. New imaginations of piety (1960s–1990s);7. Islam as resistance; 8. De-centering Islamic authority; 9. Studying Asia and Islam.

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Book SynopsisBoasting an in-depth analyses of individual texts over half a century, this intriguing history of the dynamics of Islam and culture in modern Egypt presents the conflict between tradition and secular values in a challenging new light. Including literature and film as crucial sources, this book is accessible to general readers and scholars alike.Trade Review'This is a scholarly achievement of the highest caliber. Salama goes to great lengths to offer a compelling (re)reading of Egypt's cultural history through the lens of literary theory in a project intent on deciphering the codes connecting Islam, culture, and modernity. He boldly identifies vital intersections between the formative tenets of modernity and conventions of Islamic thought … Salama's book is bound to provoke vital debate that will enrich knowledge and elevate consciousness of a moment of history in Egypt's culture which current generations are in dire need of revisiting and contemplating, as Salama does, armed with tools of contemporary literary theory. It shows us that we must not be content with reading our history using only the tools of the past. Modernity does not have a definitive endpoint and therefore readings and re-readings can only yield positive epistemologies and fresh understandings of both Islam and modernity.' Gaber Asfour, Cairo University and Former Minister of Culture, Egypt'Professor Mohammad Salama raises the perennial question of identity in modern times, in this case Egyptian identity … [he] has written an outstanding book not just for literary scholars and historians in Arabic studies but for all those reflecting on first world and third world culture.' Peter Gran, Temple University, Pennsylvania'This is a critically self-assured, excitingly competent, and beautifully written book. It is nothing less than a most formative treatment of a precisely delineated, historical slice of literary - but also broadly cultural - time that made Modern Egypt … This book may very well become the recommended - if not obligatory - reading for the present Egyptian generation: old and young.' Jaroslav Stetkevych, University of Chicago'This is a groundbreaking book. Salama's goal is to address 'the relationship between Islam, culture and history' (p. 216) in twentieth-century Egypt, and he does an outstanding job of presenting relevant examples to his readers, from the first novel (Zaynab) to the films of Youssef Chahine. He personalizes and makes engaging his journey along the way, but never loses sight of important theoretical insights by both Arab and Western critics, and how they can illuminate the course of events he treats. No student of modern Arabic literature and culture can afford to be unacquainted with this work.' Terri DeYoung, University of Washington'Islam and the Culture of Modern Egypt is another insightful discussion of a field that has been inviting heated and also rigorous debates. In his effort to tackle issues of culture, modernity, and Islam, Salama offers a significant contribution to the intellectual history of Egypt.' Muhsin al-Musawi, Columbia University'Islam and the Culture of Modern Egypt is a tour de force treating the reader to a unique behind the scenes glimpse into the heart of Egyptian history and politics in the last century. In a highly original, lucid, and comparatively sophisticated diction, Mohammad Salama proves that despite Islam's contested and celebrated reiterations in Egypt's philosophical, literary, and cinematic production, it continues to shape our understanding of a precarious national identity during colonial, Islamist, Nasserist, Pan-Arabism, and revolutionary times. A vital contribution to the fields of Arab cultural and Islamic studies.' Hanadi Al-Samman, University of Virginia'His close readings of texts ... are often subltle and enlightening.' Raphael Cormack, Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPreface; A note on transliteration and translation; Introduction: prelude, considerations, and definitions; 1. History matters; 2. Nahḍa-t Miṣr: Zaynab and the cultural Renaissance of modern Egypt; 3. Blindness and insight: challenging the sacred/secular divide in Ṭāhā Ḥusayn's The Days; 4. An Egyptian Sophocles: Qurʾānic inspiration in Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm's People of the Cave; 5. Writing the mad text: freedom, modernity and God in Naguib Mahfouz's 'The Whisper of Madness'; 6. Islamism writes back: Alī Aḥmad Bākāthīr's Red Revolutionary and the dismantling of the secular; 7. Realism and utopian irony in Yūsuf Idrīs's Faraḥāt's Republic; 8. Islam and secular nationalism in a film age: unveiling Youssef Chahine's Gamīla al-Gazā'iriyya; Appendix 1: 'The Whisper of Madness'; Appendix 2: an interview with Youssef Chahine; Appendix 3: feature films produced in Egypt from 1927–62; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe history of the Indonesian Revolution has been dominated by depictions of grassroots fighters and elite politicians who thought of it as a nationalistic or class-based war. In this major new study, Kevin W. Fogg rethinks the Indonesian Revolution (194549) as an Islamic struggle, in which pious Muslims, who made up almost half the population, fought and organized in religious ways. Muslims fighting on the ground were convinced by their leaders'' proclamations that they were fighting for a holy cause. In the political sphere, however, national leaders failed to write Islam into Indonesia''s founding documents - but did create revolutionary precedents that continue to impact the country to this day. This study of a war of decolonization in the world''s most populous Muslim country points to the ways in which Islam has functioned as a revolutionary ideology in the modern era.Trade Review'Indonesia's Islamic Revolution offers a fine analysis of the distinct place of the Muslim elites and grassroot activists in the Indonesia's revolution - an alternative to the conventional secular and leftist narratives, and not only sheds a fresh light on how and why religious aspiration hardly dies in contemporary Indonesian politics but also significantly contributes to a comparative study of religion and revolution in the modern societies.' Muhamad Ali, University of California, Riverside'Bringing his subject alive with beautifully illuminating vignettes and acute observations, Kevin W. Fogg presents a powerful new interpretation of Indonesia's revolution that is also a pleasure to read. Indonesia's Islamic Revolution is a major work of social and political history that casts new light on the Islamic origins of modern Indonesia.' Edward Aspinall, Australian National University'Indonesia's Islamic Revolution is a good place to start, with an interesting bibliography that combines Western and Indonesian publications, and a narrative made more intriguing by excerpts from oral interviews.' Chiara Formichi, South East Asia ResearchTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Islam in Indonesia before the Revolution; 1.1 Islam in Indonesia at the turn of the twentieth century; 1.2 Divisions within the Muslim community; 1.3 Trends in the early twentieth century; 1.4 Japanese occupation; Part I. Islam in Indonesia's War of Independence: 2. Islamic calls to action; 2.1 The reasons for the revolutionary struggle; 2.2 Early Fatwas; 2.3 A flood of Fatwas; 2.4 A manifesto for the Islamic revolution: M. Arsjad Thalib Lubis's Toentoenan Perang Sabil; 2.5 Attacks on Islam as calls for action; 2.6 Conclusion; 3. Ulama, Islamic organizations, and Islamic militias; 3.1 Ulama as revolutionary leaders; 3.2 The mobilization of Islamic organizations; 3.3 Sabilillah and Hizbullah; 3.4 Islamic militias in battle; 3.5 Conclusion; 4. Magic, amulets and trances; 4.1 Tradition of Islamic magic; 4.2 Prayers and incantations; 4.3 Amulets and spells; 4.4 Martial arts and trances; 4.5 Consequences of Islamic magic: fearlessness and high casualties; 4.6 Conclusions; 5. Social revolution; 5.1 Meaning of social revolution; 5.2 Out with the old; 5.3 In with the new (and Islamic); 5.4 Social revolution in Aceh: the Cumbok War; 5.5 Madiun affair as competing social revolutions; 5.6 Staying power of social revolution; 5.7 Conclusion; 6. Darul Islam; 6.1 Sequence of events leading Kartosuwirjo into rebellion; 6.2 The Darul Islam movement within the Islamic spectrum; 6.3 Exceptional factor: Kartosuwirjo; 6.4 Conclusion; Part II. Islam in Indonesia's Political Revolution: 7. The Jakarta Charter controversy; 7.1 Creation of the investigatory board; 7.2 The creation of Pancasila and the Jakarta Charter; 7.3 Removal of the Jakarta charter from the constitution; 7.4 Implications of the elimination of the Jakarta Charter; 8. The creation of Masjumi; 8.1 The evolving state in 1945; 8.2 Founding an Islamic political party: Masjumi; 8.3 Extraordinary members; 8.4 Masjumi leadership in 1945; 8.5 Conclusions; 9. The ministry of religion; 9.1 Colonial precedents; 9.2 Establishing a ministry; 9.3 The ministry of religion in action; 9.4 Conclusions: importance of the ministry; 10. Rise of Islamic socialists; 10.1 Background of the Islamic socialists; 10.2 Rise in government and the party; 10.3 Islamic socialists and the Masjumi platform; 10.4 Conclusions; 11. Regional Islamic parties; 11.1 Masjumi's geographic expansion; 11.2 Persatuan Tarbiyah Islamiyah (Perti); 11.3 Regional political Islam facing federalism; 11.4 Conclusion; 12. The exit of PSII and the first fracture of Masjumi; 12.1 Standard narrative of PSII's exit: central power play; 12.2 PSII's own narrative: regional initiative; 12.3 Weighing personal versus regional interests in PSII's rebirth; 12.4 Conclusions: the implications of PSII's exit for Islamic politics; 13. Islamic diplomacy; 13.1 Grassroots Islamic diplomacy; 13.2 Success with the Arab League; 13.3 Diplomatic milestones; 13.4 Conclusions; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Everything I Know About Love, Wrong Knickers and The Right Sort of Girl this is the incredibly honest and brilliantly raunchy memoir you don''t want to miss.''Honest. Much needed.'' FRANK SKINNER''A hilarious, courageous and compelling read that explores the complicated relationship between culture, religion, identity and sexuality within the British Asian community. A must read for those who have lived it, and for those who haven''t.'' ANITA BHAGWANDAS''Azmat raises complex, consequential matters with a lightness of touch. Sex Bomb is an easy read as she reflects candidly and boldly on her experiences and the factors that led to them.'' CHORTLE__________Sadia is a comedian who loves sex. She is also a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. The two are in a lifelong relationship, but it''s complicated.Sadia Azmat has many different sides to her, she is the goTrade ReviewHonest. Much needed. I was surprised several times... it's a very respectable book in many ways. A logical move from stand-up to autobiography -- Frank Skinnerbold and honest... a memoir that is sure to bring you some warmth and joy * Bustle *Thought-provoking, educational and funny * Tim Lovejoy *Sex Bomb is so hilarious, raw and poignant. I couldn't put it down! * Jena Friedman *Sex Bomb brims with vulnerability, patience and a refreshing mix of confidence and empathy. Frankly, it's impossible not to come away from this book feeling richer, smarter and honoured to have been let into Sadia's world. Sex Bomb is a privilege and a joy to read, and everybody you've ever met should read it. * Anne T. Donahue *Sadia Azmat raises complex, consequential matters with a lightness of touch. Sex Bomb is an easy read as she reflects candidly and boldly on her experiences and the factors that led to them. * Chortle *wickedly entertaining -- Anna Bonnet, Best Non-Fiction Picks of 2022 * i *Refreshing, candid, hilarious and necessary. -- Sarah MalikA hilarious, courageous and compelling read that explores the complicated relationship between culture, religion, identity and sexuality within the British Asian community. A must read for those who have lived it, and for those who haven't. -- Anita Bhagwandas

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Everything I Know About Love, Wrong Knickers and The Right Sort of Girl this is the incredibly honest and brilliantly raunchy memoir you don''t want to miss.''Honest. Much needed.'' FRANK SKINNER''A hilarious, courageous and compelling read that explores the complicated relationship between culture, religion, identity and sexuality within the British Asian community. A must read for those who have lived it, and for those who haven''t.'' ANITA BHAGWANDAS''Azmat raises complex, consequential matters with a lightness of touch. Sex Bomb is an easy read as she reflects candidly and boldly on her experiences and the factors that led to them.'' CHORTLE__________Sadia is a comedian who loves sex. She is also a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. The two are in a lifelong relationship, but it''s complicated.Sadia Azmat has many different sides to her, she is the goTrade ReviewHonest. Much needed. I was surprised several times... it's a very respectable book in many ways. A logical move from stand-up to autobiography -- Frank Skinnerbold and honest... a memoir that is sure to bring you some warmth and joy * Bustle *Thought-provoking, educational and funny * Tim Lovejoy *Sex Bomb is so hilarious, raw and poignant. I couldn't put it down! * Jena Friedman *Sex Bomb brims with vulnerability, patience and a refreshing mix of confidence and empathy. Frankly, it's impossible not to come away from this book feeling richer, smarter and honoured to have been let into Sadia's world. Sex Bomb is a privilege and a joy to read, and everybody you've ever met should read it. * Anne T. Donahue *Sadia Azmat raises complex, consequential matters with a lightness of touch. Sex Bomb is an easy read as she reflects candidly and boldly on her experiences and the factors that led to them. * Chortle *wickedly entertaining -- Anna Bonnet, Best Non-Fiction Picks of 2022 * i *Refreshing, candid, hilarious and necessary. -- Sarah MalikA hilarious, courageous and compelling read that explores the complicated relationship between culture, religion, identity and sexuality within the British Asian community. A must read for those who have lived it, and for those who haven't. -- Anita Bhagwandas

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the role of Shia Islam in the world today. It covers several regions and nearly two dozen countries from both a contemporary and historical perspective. It deals with various divisions of Shia Islam, but concentrates on the majority sect of Twelver Islam. Through this narrative, Global Shia examines the critical role played by groups such as the Khojas and Lebanese immigrants as well as post-revolutionary Iran in global Islam. Global Shia concludes with an analysis of the present global status of Shia.

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Book SynopsisIn human progress unity and complexity are the two correlatives forming together the great paradox. Life is manifold, but it is also one. So it is seldom possible, and still more seldom advisable, to divide a civilization into departments and to attempt to trace their separate developments; life nowhere can be cut in two with a hatchet. And this is emphatically true of the civilization of Islam. Its intellectual unity, for good and for evil, is its outstanding quality. It may have solved the problem of faith and science, as some hold; it may have crushed all thought which is not of faith, as many others hold. However that may be, its life and thought are a unity.

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Book SynopsisThis work is a collection of essays on Islamism and global opinion surveys, focusing on their implications for the future of Arab countries. Much of Western academia and the media still seem to be unable to come to terms with the real challenges posed by Islamism two decades after 9/11 and half a decade after the horrendous Paris 2015 terror attacks. What is at stake is the question of whether moderate Islamist political movements can and should be a partnered with the West. President Obama personally issued the Presidential Study Directive 11 (PSD-11) in 2010, ultimately concluding that the United States should shift from its longstanding policy of supporting "stability" in the Middle East and North Africa to a policy of backing moderate Islamic political movements. The present book squarely contradicts this perspective. Bassam Tibi maintains that only liberal Islam approves of democracy, while Islamism absolutely does not. The empirical basis of the book is based on estimates of the development of civil society in the Arab World by using comparative opinion survey data based on the evaluation of the World Values Survey and other global and regional surveys. Variables of trust, non-violence, gender justice and tolerance towards homosexuals indicate some of existing deficits in the development of civil societies in the region. Thus, Inglehart and Norris correctly foresaw that the real distinguishing parameter for Huntington's theory is not his opinion on democracy, but his societal opinion on gender issues. This perspective is followed up with an empirical analysis of the gender ideology of Islamism and its gender values, all based on World Values Survey data. Muslim feminism, which implies the rejection of Islamism and the veil, and the democracy movement in the Muslim world are closely interrelated. In a chapter on Islamism and anti-Semitism, the book identifies the extent of relationships between anti-Semitism, the current economic and social situation, religious data, and opinions on terrorism among the global Muslim society. Islamism is deeply connected to anti-Semitism. The book also explores which factors contribute to the approval of terroristic acts, measured by such variables as opinions on suicide bombing and the favorability of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The book shows how wrong it is to neglect the underlying ideological radicalism which characterizes the support of organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates in the region. Along with most radicalized factions of Islamist terrorism, they share intense hatred of Jews and Free Masons and Western civilization. In a concluding chapter, the book analyzes globalization, the environment in the Arab World and the future "greening" of Arab politics.Table of ContentsPreface; Summary of the Main Findings and Perspectives; The Civic Culture of the Arab World: A Comparative Analysis Based on World Values Survey Data; lslamism and Gender Relations in the Muslim World as Reflected in World Values Survey Data; Islamism and Antisemitism: Preliminary Evidence on Their Relationship from Cross-National Opinion Data; Islamism as Reflected in International Survey Data; Globalization, the Environment and the Arab World; Literature and Some Suggested Further Readings; Index of Persons and Authors; Index of Subjects.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a comprehensive listing of resources on Jerusalem''s history, politics and government, ethnic relations, social conditions, and international status.

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Book SynopsisThis extensive analysis of the Mardin conflict in south-east Turkey considers the likelihood that socio-religious movements, such as the popular Gülen movement, could effect positive change in ethno-religious disputes, even those decades old. By focusing specifically on how Gülen volunteers helped minimise the support of terrorist organisations in Anatolia, this guide illustrates how potent non-political solutions to ethnic conflict can be.

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Book SynopsisExploring the response and contributions of Muslims and Turkish Muslims to globalization?including areas such as democratization, scientific revolution, changing gender roles, and religious diversity?this study identifies the common values and visions of peace Muslims share. This study places specific analysis on the Glen movement?a growing approach to the reunification of faith and reason with hopes for a peaceful coexistence between liberal democracies and the religiously diverse.

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Book SynopsisFethullah Glen is a Turkish intellectual, scholar, and activist whose influence over a new Islamic intellectual, social, and spiritual revival is revealed in this insightful book. Readers will gain a fuller understanding of where Glen stands on issues of inherent human value and dignity, freedom of thought, education and taking responsibility for creating society and the world. In addition, readers will also see how different perspectives across time, geography, and worldview can still find points on which to engage in dialogue and find a deep resonance.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisAddressing the sociological, cultural, and religious aspects of the Glen movement, this insider?s look also explores the failure experienced by many other Islamic movements that attempted to combine traditional values with the modern world. The influence Fethullah Glen has had on secularist Turkey is also examined.

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Book SynopsisOffering a perspective of the world as an arena of assessment and testing, this masterfully illuminating investigation explores the struggle between man and his archenemy, Satan. The book claims that success in life is based on knowing one?s enemies and developing strategies. Discussing the attributes of Satan and his methods of approach, this study references Satan?s most obvious trait?his declaration of war on humankind?and notes that his deception, whispers, trickery, and diabolical plots can only be effective when human beings display weakness. The only traditional prevention is to lead a pious life without leaving any gaps for the attacks of Satan and his aids, but this examination presents another prescription for protection from Satan?s evil?becoming spiritually equipped by attaining inner and outer unity and attaining cohesion between one?s heart and actions.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisEmphasizing the esthetic concerns of the Islamic civilization as well as underlining the true nature of the religion, this insightful opus contains a collection of essays on the art of language from a revered contemporary scholar of Islam. Written separately as lead articles for the Turkish literary magazine, Yagmur, the volume eloquently articulates the author?s approach to speech as well as his definitions of poetry, history, and beauty, all of which are deeply embroidered around the lacework of Islam. With powerful emphasis on belief in God, each essay addresses an important matter of language that aptly relates to the current state of affairs in the Muslim world and the nature of human existence in the 21st century as a whole.

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Book Synopsis'You should pursue God's good pleasure in your actions. If He is pleased with you, even if the whole world is displeased, it is of no consequence. If He approves, it has no effect even if all others reject your ideas and actions. When He is pleased and approves, even if you do not seek the approval of others, should He will it to be and His Wisdom requires it, He will make others accept it and be pleased with you. For this reason, it is absolutely necessary to aim at God Almighty's good pleasure in the service of the Quran and belief.'

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Book SynopsisIf the thing which naturalists call 'nature' has an external reality, it can, at the very most, be a work of art, not an artist; it can be design, not a designer; a set of decrees, not an issuer of decrees; a set of laws of the creation and operation of the universe, not a lawgiver; a created veil before God's dignity, not a creator; something originated according to God's way of acting, not an originator; only a law, not an independent, conscious power or a powerful one; and a set of lines to inscribe on, not a source or origin or an author.

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Book SynopsisThrough the light of the Quran, I saw that both for myself and everyone else this world is temporary market place set up on the road for the passers-by to shop in, a guest-house which is every day filled and emptied…O respected elderly men and women who feel their old age as I do! We are leaving, there is no use in deceiving ourselves. Even if we close our eyes to it, we will not be allowed to remain here. There is mobilization. The land of the Intermediate Realm of the grave, which appears to us as dark and as the land of eternal seperation because of the delusions that arise from heedlessness and in part from the people of misguidence, is the meeting place of friends. It is the realm where we will meet with, foremost, God's Beloved, upon him be peace and blessings, and with all our friends.

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Book SynopsisEmphasizing the character of the religion of Islam as consisting of faith and practice, this book analyzes thoroughly the five most important “pillars of Islam” that form the core of Islamic life, namely the profession of faith, the prayer, which is the first practical manifestation of faith, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage to Mecca. Explaining lucidly the necessity of fulfilling these “pillars” of Islam with the intention of pleasing God and purely for His sake, the author gives us insights into the moral, spiritual, psychological, physical, individual, and social aspects of these five central practices of Islamic worship in the context of our modern age of globalization.

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Book SynopsisThe Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be the final word of God revealed to humanity through Prophet Muhammad speaking to all humans for all times. This nature of Islam’s holy book brings along a continuous study of it so that its injunctions are reinterpreted according to constantly changing times and conditions of our world. This book presents such interpretations from a respected Muslim scholar who explains verses for the modern age. Gülen is well-informed of the classical exegetical discipline; nevertheless in this book he keeps his explanations short and to the point, not to tire away readers. The book does not cover all the verses of the Qur’an, but selected ones, those relate most to the human existence on earth, life after death, and stories revealed in the holy book

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