Islam Books

Book SynopsisThroughout the Middle East, and in the west as well, there has been much discussion concerning the notion of Islamic rule and the application of shari‘ah by the state. Central to these debates are the three key themes that Mohammad Abed al-Jabri looks at in this book: democracy, human rights and law. Jabri, one of the most influential political philosophers in the contemporary Middle East, examines how these three concepts have been applied in the history of the Arab world, and shows that they are determined by political and social context, not by Islamic doctrine. Jabri argues that in order to develop democratic societies in which human rights are respected, the Arab world cannot simply rely on old texts and traditions. Nor can it import democratic models from the West. Instead, he says, a new tradition will have to be forged by today's Arabs themselves, on their own terms. Through analysis of contemporary Arab ideology, its doubts about democracy, whether human rights are universal and the role of women and minorities in Islamic society, he expounds on the most pertinent issues in modern political philosophy. This lively interrogation of the building blocs of western conceptions of a modern state is a classic text and is vital for all students of modern Islamic political thought. Mohammed Abed al-Jabri (1936-2010) was Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rabat. As one of the most influential political philosophers in the contemporary Arab world, he authored many acclaimed books including, in Arabic: The Structure of Arab Reason, Arab Political Reason' and Arab Ethical Reason, and in English: The Formation of Arab Reason: Text, Tradition and the Construction of Modernity in the Arab World (I.B.Tauris, 2011).Table of ContentsVOLUME I: Religion, State and the Application of Islamic Shari‘ah Part One: The Question of Religion and the State Chapter 1: Religion and the State in the Authoritative Cultural Referent Chapter 2: Religion and State in the Renaissance Authoritative Referent Chapter 3: Religion, Politics and Civil War Part Two: The Question of Applying al-Shari‘ah Chapter 4: Awakening and Renewal Chapter 5: Traditionalism (al-salafiyah)… or The Historical Experience of the Nation? Chapter 6: Extremism: Right and Left Chapter 7: Extremism Between Creed and al-Shari‘ah Chapter 8: For the Procession of Ijtihad Chapter 9: The Rationality of the Rulings of al-Shari‘ah Chapter 10: Rulings and Dependence Chapter 11: Every Age has its Special Needs Chapter 12: ‘Avoid the Hudud Penalties when in Doubt’ Chapter 13: Concerning ‘Complete Application of al-Shari‘ah’ VOLUME II: Democracy and Human Rights Part One: Democracy: Its Historical Role in the Arab World Chapter 1: A Demands in the Arab World Chapter 2: Al-Shura and Democracy are not One and the Same Chapter 3: The Difficult Birth Chapter 4: Partnership in Human Governance Chapter 5: Democracy and the Right to Speak Chapter 6: No Way Out Except Through a Historical Bloc Part Two: Democracy and the Current Arab Reality Chapter 7: The Problem of the Transition to Democracy Chapter 8: Objective Situations Conducive to Democracy Chapter 9: Contemporary Arab Ideology and its Doubts about Democracy Chapter 10: Dispersing the Doubts about Democracy Chapter 11: The State that Swallows up Society Chapter 12: Civil Society and the Elites in the Arab Nation Chapter 13: Elites Fear Democracy Chapter 14: Democracy, a Necessity Part Three: Cultural Implantation of Human Rights in the Contemporary Arab Conscience Chapter 15: Human Rights: Particularity and Universality Chapter 16: Universality of Human Rights in the European Point of Reference Chapter 17: Universality of Human Rights in the Islamic Authoritative Point of Reference: Reason and Innate Nature Chapter 18: Universality of Human Rights in the Islamic Authoritative Point of Reference: Covenant and al-Shura Chapter 19: Philosophy of Human Rights and Religion Chapter 20: Freedom is One Things, Apostasy Another Chapter 21: Women’s Rights in Islam: Between the Fundamental Principles of al-Shari‘ah and its Particular Rulings Part Four: Enhancing Awareness of Human Rights in Islam Chapter 22: The Concept of the Human Being in Modern Though Chapter 23: The Concept of the Human Being in the Qur’an Chapter 24: The Right to Life and its Enjoyment Chapter 25: The Right to Freedom of Belief, Knowledge and Difference Chapter 26: Al-Shura between the Qur’an and the Circumstantial Interpretations Chapter 27: The Right to Equality and the Question of ‘Preference’ Chapter 28: Slavery and the Rights of Women Chapter 29: The Right to Justice: The Strength of the Qur’anic Text and the Vacillation of the ‘Advisory Discourse’ Chapter 30: The Rights of the Weak Oppressed: The Right of the Poor to the Wealth of the Rich Chapter 31: Social Security in Islam: Necessity of Development Chapter 32: The Rights of God, the Rights of People: Application of al-Shari‘ah

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Book SynopsisInterest in Shi'i Islam is running at unprecedented levels. International tensions over Iran, where the largest number of Shi'i Muslims live, as well as the political resurgence of the Shi'i in Iraq and Lebanon, have created an urgent need to understand the background, beliefs and motivations of this dynamic vision of Islam. Abbas Amanat is one of the leading scholars of Shi'ism. And in this powerful book, a showcase for some of his most influential writing in the field, he addresses the colourful and diverse history of Shi' Islam in both premodern and contemporary times.Focusing specifically on the importance of apocalypticism in the development of modern Shi'i theology, he shows how an immersion in messianic ideas has shaped the conservative character of much Shi'i thinking, and has prevented it from taking a more progressive course. Tracing the continuity of apocalyptic trends from the Middle Ages to the present, Amanat addresses such topics as the early influence on Shi'ism of Zoroastrianism; manifestations of apocalyptic ideology during the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the rise of the Shi'i clerical establishment during the 19th and 20th centuries. His book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of both religious studies and Middle Eastern history.Trade Review'Abbas Amanat is among the brightest stars in the firmament of historians who have treated Shiite millenarian movements in depth. He always avoids the easy temptation to dismiss them as outbursts of irrational fanaticism, instead patiently tracing their roots in social discontent and teasing out the significance of their often recondite writings. Any historian can mine the British archives for imperial reactions to such popular manifestations. But Amanat is among the few with the linguistic and historiographic skills to be able to offer us the inside story, full of drama, texture and immense local significance. Those who wish to understand the Iranian Shiite tradition must come to terms with this essential aspect of it. No better guide than the magisterial Amanat could be found.' - Juan R I Cole, Richard P Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan.Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements and Citations Note on Transliteration Introduction Part One: Apocalypticism in the Islamic Middle East Apocalyptic Anxieties and Millennial Hopes in the Salvation Religions of the Middle East The Resurgence of the Apocalyptic in Modern Islam Part Two: Millennial Cycles and Commemorating Martyrs The Nuqtavi Movement of Mahmud Pasikhani and His Persian Cycle of Mystical-Materialism Nuqtavi Agnostics and Shaping of the Doctrine of ‘Universal Peace’ (sulh-i kull) in Mughal India Meadow of the Martyrs: Kashifi’s Persianisation of the Shi’i Martyrdom Part Three: The Babi Movement and the Baha’i Faith The Persian Bayan and the Shaping of the Babi Renewal in Iran The Historical Roots of the Babi and the Baha’i Persecution in Iran Part Four: Clerical Encounters with Modernity Mujtahids and Missionaries: Shi’i Responses to Christian Polemics in the Early Qajar Period In Between the Madrassa and the Marketplace: the Designation of Clerical Leadership in Modern Shi’ism From ijtihad to wilayat-i faqih: The Evolving of the Shi’i Legal Authority to Political Power Part Five: Satan and Salvation in the Islamic Revolution Khomeini’s Great Satan: Demonizing the American Other in the Islamic Revolution of Iran Messianic Aspirations in Contemporary Iran

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Book SynopsisThis final volume in the successful series "The Idea of Iran" addresses the astonishing impact made by Islam during and after the Arab conquest of Iran in the middle of the seventh century. As the Sasanian dynasty crumbled before the invaders' triumphant onslaught, its state religion of Zoroastrianism was unceremoniously dismantled to make way for the new faith of the victorious desert warriors. Yet why, if Iran jettisoned its indigenous religion, did it still manage to retain its Persian language and distinctive Iranian identity once Muslim governance took hold?These, and other intriguing questions, are addressed by the book, which includes distinguished contributions from world-renowned scholars such as Hugh Kennedy, Edmund Bosworth, Robert Hillenbrand and Ehsan Yarshater. Discussing a large variety of subjects which covers the whole spectrum of life in early Islamic Iran, the volume offers one of the most ambitious perspectives on Persian religion, society and culture to be published to date. It will be consulted by all students of Iranian history, and will be regarded as essential reading for scholars of Islam, the Middle East and medieval religion alike.Table of ContentsIntroduction - Vesta Curtis and Sarah Stewart Iranian Identity after Conversion to Islam - Ehsan Yarshater Why Iran is Not an Arab Country - Hugh Kennedy The Persistent Older Heritage in the Medieval Iranian Lands - Edmund C Bosworth Social and Economic Life in Early Islamic Iran - Richard W Bulliet Quddities, Algorithms, Oranges - Iran in Islamic Science and Beyond - Lutz Richter-Bernberg The Cross and the Lotus: An Armenian Miscellany - James R Russell What Happened to the Sasanian Hunt in Islamic Art? - Robert Hillenbrand Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe second largest branch of Islam, with between 130 and 190 million adherents across the globe, Shi'i Islam is becoming an increasingly significant force in contemporary politics, especially in the Middle East. This makes an informed understanding of its fundamental spiritual beliefs and practices both necessary and timely. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi is one of the most distinguished scholars of Shi'i history and theology, and in this volume he offers a wide-ranging and engaging survey of the core texts of Shi'i Islam. Examining in turn the origins and later developments of Shi'i spirituality, the author reveals the profoundly esoteric nature of the beliefs which accrued to the figures of the early Imams, and which became associated with their interaction between the material and spiritual worlds. Many of these beliefs have remained much misunderstood even within the wider Muslim world. Furthermore, Western scholarship has tended to follow the lead of the earlier orientalists and critics, viewing Shi'i teachings as marginal. In this study the author shows, by contrast, how central and creative the very nature of spirituality was to the development of Shi'i Islam, as well as to classical Muslim civilisation as a whole. In this comprehensive treatment, the esoteric nature of Shi'i spirituality emerges as an essential phenomenon for understanding Shi'i Islam.

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Book SynopsisInterest in Shi'i Islam is running at unprecedented levels. International tensions over Iran, where the largest number of Shi'i Muslims live, as well as the political resurgence of the Shi'i in Iraq and Lebanon, have created an urgent need to understand the background, beliefs and motivations of this dynamic vision of Islam. Abbas Amanat is one of the leading scholars of Shi'ism. And in this powerful book, a showcase for some of his most influential writing in the field, he addresses the colourful and diverse history of Shi' Islam in both premodern and contemporary times.Focusing specifically on the importance of apocalypticism in the development of modern Shi'i theology, he shows how an immersion in messianic ideas has shaped the conservative character of much Shi'i thinking, and has prevented it from taking a more progressive course. Tracing the continuity of apocalyptic trends from the Middle Ages to the present, Amanat addresses such topics as the early influence on Shi'ism of Zoroastrianism; manifestations of apocalyptic ideology during the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the rise of the Shi'i clerical establishment during the 19th and 20th centuries. His book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of both religious studies and Middle Eastern history.Trade Review'Abbas Amanat is among the brightest stars in the firmament of historians who have treated Shiite millenarian movements in depth. He always avoids the easy temptation to dismiss them as outbursts of irrational fanaticism, instead patiently tracing their roots in social discontent and teasing out the significance of their often recondite writings. Any historian can mine the British archives for imperial reactions to such popular manifestations. But Amanat is among the few with the linguistic and historiographic skills to be able to offer us the inside story, full of drama, texture and immense local significance. Those who wish to understand the Iranian Shiite tradition must come to terms with this essential aspect of it. No better guide than the magisterial Amanat could be found.' - Juan R I Cole, Richard P Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan.Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements and Citations Note on Transliteration Introduction Part One: Apocalypticism in the Islamic Middle East Apocalyptic Anxieties and Millennial Hopes in the Salvation Religions of the Middle East The Resurgence of the Apocalyptic in Modern Islam Part Two: Millennial Cycles and Commemorating Martyrs The Nuqtavi Movement of Mahmud Pasikhani and His Persian Cycle of Mystical-Materialism Nuqtavi Agnostics and Shaping of the Doctrine of ‘Universal Peace’ (sulh-i kull) in Mughal India Meadow of the Martyrs: Kashifi’s Persianisation of the Shi’i Martyrdom Part Three: The Babi Movement and the Baha’i Faith The Persian Bayan and the Shaping of the Babi Renewal in Iran The Historical Roots of the Babi and the Baha’i Persecution in Iran Part Four: Clerical Encounters with Modernity Mujtahids and Missionaries: Shi’i Responses to Christian Polemics in the Early Qajar Period In Between the Madrassa and the Marketplace: the Designation of Clerical Leadership in Modern Shi’ism From ijtihad to wilayat-i faqih: The Evolving of the Shi’i Legal Authority to Political Power Part Five: Satan and Salvation in the Islamic Revolution Khomeini’s Great Satan: Demonizing the American Other in the Islamic Revolution of Iran Messianic Aspirations in Contemporary Iran

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Book SynopsisThe Fatimid empire was a highly sophisticated and cosmopolitan regime that flourished from the beginning of the 10th to the end of the 12th century. Under the enlightened rule of the Fatimid Caliphs, Cairo was founded as the nucleus of an imperium that extended from Arabia in the east to present-day Morocco in the west. Dynamic rulers like the the fourth caliph al-Mu'izz (who conquered Egypt and founded his new capital there) were remarkable not only for their extensive conquests but also for combining secular with religious legitimacy. As living imams of the Ismaili branch of Shi'ism, they exercised authority over both spiritual and secular domains. The sacred dimension of their mandate was manifested most powerfully twice a year, when the imam-Caliphs personally delivered sermons, or khutbas, to their subjects, to co-incide with the great feasts and festivals of fast-breaking and sacrifice.While few of these sermons have survived, those that have endured vividly evoke both of the atmosphere of the occasion and the words uttered on it. Paul E Walker here provides unique access to these orations by presenting the Arabic original and a complete English translation of all the khutbas now extant. He also offers a history of the festival sermons and explores their key themes and rhetorical strategies.Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements PART ONE A History of the Fatimid khutba Rhetoric and Themes in the Surviving khutbas PART TWO Translations The khutbas of al-Qa’im The khutbas of al-Mansur The khutbas of al-Mu’izz The khutbas of Qirwash The khutbas of al-Amir PART THREE Arabic Texts Glossary Bibliography Arabic and English indexes

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Book SynopsisWahhabism has been generating controversy since it first emerged in Arabia in the 18th century. In the wake of September 11th instant theories have emerged that try to root Osama Bin Laden's attacks on Wahhabism. Muslim critics have dismissed this conservative interpretation of Islam that is the official creed of Saudi Arabia as an unorthodox innovation that manipulated a suggestible people to gain political influence. David Commins' book questions this assumption. He examines the debate on the nature of Wahhabism, and offers original findings on its ascendance in Saudi Arabia and spread throughout other parts of the Muslim world such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also assesses the challenge that radical militants within Saudi Arabia pose to the region, and draws conclusions which will concern all those who follow events in the Kingdom. "The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia" is an essential reading for anyone interested in the Middle East and Islamic radicalism today.Table of Contents* Preface * Acknowledgements * Map of Arabia * Introduction * Islam Began as a Stranger and Will Return a Stranger * Holding Fast Against Idolatry * Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud and the Taming of Wahhabi Zeal * Wahhabism in a Modern State * The Wahhabi Mission and Islamic Revivalism * Challenges to Wahhabi Hegemony * Conclusion * Al al-Sheikh * Chronology * Glossary * Notes * Bibliography * Index *

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Book SynopsisThe Qur'an is the sacramental foundation of prayer in Islam. Its inspirational power is perpetually renewed through being recited and meditated upon by Muslims on a daily basis throughout their lives. This succinct monograph provides a unique contemporary insight into the spiritual, intellectual and moral dynamics set in motion by the short Qur'anic chapters recited in their prayers by Muslims of all traditions, but which are particularly recommended within Shi'i Islam. Dr Shah-Kazemi engages creatively with the chapters of the Qur'an, including the 'Opening' (al-Fatiha) chapter, basing his own philosophical reflections on the teachings of Imam 'Ali. He focuses in particular on the relationship between the moral and the mystical aspects of the texts. The result is a stimulating philosophical meditation probing the depths of meaning comprised within the verses of a Revelation by which the spiritual quest of Muslims has constantly been inspired, nourished and fulfilled.Table of ContentsN/A

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Book SynopsisIn secular Europe the veracity of modern science is almost always taken for granted. Whether they think of the evolutionary proofs of Darwin or of spectacular investigation into the boundaries of physics conducted by CERN's Large Hadron Collider, most people assume that scientific enquiry goes to the heart of fundamental truths about the universe. Yet elsewhere, science is under siege. In the USA, Christian fundamentalists contest whether evolution should be taught in schools at all. And in Muslim countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Pakistan and Malaysia, a mere 15 per cent of those recently surveyed believed Darwin's theory to be 'true' or 'probably true'. This thoughtful and passionately argued book contends absolutely to the contrary: not only that evolutionary theory does not contradict core Muslim beliefs, but that many scholars, from Islam's golden age to the present, adopted a worldview that accepted evolution as a given. Guessoum suggests that the Islamic world, just like the Christian, needs to take scientific questions - 'quantum questions' - with the utmost seriousness if it is to recover its true heritage and integrity. In its application of a specifically Muslim perspective to important topics like cosmology, divine action and evolution, the book makes a vital contribution to debate in the disputed field of 'science and religion'.Trade Review'This book is essential reading for all those who wish to understand the relationship between Islam and science from both historical and contemporary perspectives. From Averroes to al-Ghazzali, and from Iqbal to Nasr, the author provides a well-informed survey and critique of the very different ways in which Islamic philosophers and scientists have contributed to the scientific enterprise. Muslims and non-Muslims alike will find that this fascinating overview fills a gap in the current literature on science and religion. Firmly committed to mainstream science, the author gives short shrift to those who attempt to find scientific truths hidden in different verses of the Qu'ran. Instead Prof. Guessoum sees the theistic framework as providing the basis for the intrinsic rationality and coherence of the universe, a framework within which the scientific enterprise can continue to flourish in a way that is consonant with religious belief.' - Denis Alexander, Director, The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, St. Edmund's College, University of Cambridge; 'Islam's Quantum Question is a sensitive and nuanced account of Islam and science by an author who is intimately acquainted with both. Well written and thoroughly researched, it offers a lively and comprehensive introduction to both historical and contemporary issues. For those seeking guidance in a difficult and sometimes contentious field, Guessoum's stimulating book is to be highly recommended.' - Peter Harrison, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford; 'Prophetic and brilliantly written.' - Philip Clayton, Professorof Religion and Philosophy, Claremont Graduate UniversitTable of ContentsPrologue: Averroes and I Introduction: Islam and Science Today PART I: Fundamentals (First things first): God, the Qur’an, and Science Chapter 1: Allah, the Creator and Sustainer Chapter 2: The Qur’an and its Philosophy of Knowledge/Science Chapter 3: Science and Its Critics Chapter 4: Can One Develop an “Islamic Science”? Chapter 5: I`jaz - Modern Science in the Qur’an? Summary and Conclusions of Part I PART II: Islam and Contemporary Science Issues Chapter 6: Islam and Cosmology Chapter 7: Islam and Design Chapter 8: Islam and the Anthropic Principle Chapter 9: Islam and Evolution (Human and Biological) PART III: Outlook Chapter 10: Islam and Science tomorrow Epilogue - A conversation with my students Appendix A: Towards an Open-Minded Science (Collective Article) Appendix B: The Flaws in 'A New Astronomical Quranic Method for The Determination Of The Greatest Speed C' by Dr. Mansour Hassab-Elnaby Appendix C: Survey of ‘Science and Religion’ Views at the American University of Sharjah, UAE Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFor centuries the Islamic world has, by turns, been both reviled and admired in the West. Since the time of the Crusades, Europeans have viewed Muslim culture and religion through the unique distorting lens of Orientalism, colouring all aspects of their perception and generating a curious blend of fascination and distrust. Historian, sociologist and Middle East specialist Maxime Rodinson presents an account of this relationship, in a history that is balanced and concise yet insightful.Trade Review'sure to become a favourite of American scholars of the Middle East. It is short, succinct, erudite, and greatly reassuring' -Richard W. Bulliet 'Is the history of Islam and the West... merely a record of battles and bigotry? This book makes clear that the relationship has been much subtler. By chronicling, succinctly and elegantly, the West's changing images of Islam, Rodinson - one of the leading French scholars of Islam and the Middle East - demolishes the notion of two monolithic blocs frozen in eternal hostility' -London Review of Books 'Rodinson's serious work is an analytical history of Europe's varying attitudes, positive and negative, towards Islam and the Middle East... Deserves reading.' -The EconomistTable of ContentsPart 1 Western views of the Muslim world: the Middle Ages; toward a less polemical image; coexistence and reconciliation; from coexistence to objectivity; the birth of Orientalism; the enlightenment; the 19th century; challenges to Eurocentrism. Part 2 Toward a new approach to Arab and Islamic studies: traditional Orientalism in the past; the present crisis and current problems; the present state of the craft - the continuance of the past impetus; theologocentrism in scholarship; new fields and disciplines; regional influences in Islamic studies; the modalities of future progress; proposals for future study.

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