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Islamic Reform in South Asia
By Filippo Osella, Caroline Osella. 2013
The articles in this volume build up ethnographic analysis complementary to the historiography of South Asian Islam, which has explored…
the emergence of reformism in the context of specific political and religious circumstances of nineteenth-century British India. Taking up diverse popular and scholarly debates as well as everyday religious practices, this volume also breaks away from the dominant trend of mainstream ethnographic work, which celebrates Sufi-inspired forms of Islam as tolerant, plural, authentic and so on, pitted against a 'reformist' Islam. Urging a more nuanced examination of all forms of reformism and their reception in practice, the contributions here powerfully demonstrate the historical and geographical specificities of reform projects. In doing so, they challenge prevailing perspectives in which substantially different traditions of reform are lumped together into one reified category (often carelessly shorthanded as 'wah'habism') and branded as extremist – if not altogether demonised as terrorist.Abu Nuwas
By Philip Kennedy. 2005
Abu Nuwas (c. 756-813) was one of the greatest Arab poets of the classical period. In literary history, he is…
remembered chiefly as the hard-drinking and eloquent composer of dissolute wine poems, from which he emerges as one of the most charismatic figures in world literature. Yet, he was in fact an all-round poet and exerted a profound influence on Abbasid poetry more generally; he is one of a handful of individuals who can be deemed to stand at the very heart of Arabic literary culture. Abu Nuwas presents the entertaining life story of this legendary figure alongside accessible translations of some of his most important poems. With commentaries, a glossary and a guide to further reading, this book is the ideal introduction to a true genius of Arabic literature.Islam in Victorian Britain
By Ron Geaves. 2010
This is the first full biography of Abdullah Quilliam (1856-1932), the most significant Muslim personality in nineteenth century Britain. Uniquely…
ennobled as the Sheikh of Islam of the British Isles by the Ottoman caliph Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1893, Quilliam created a remarkable Muslim community in Victorian Liverpool, which included a substantial number of converts. Ron Geaves examines Quilliam's teachings and considers his legacy for Muslims today.Ron Geaves is professor of the comparative study of religion at Liverpool Hope University and has contributed substantially to the study of British Islam, religion in South Asia, and fieldwork in religious studies.Muhammad Abduh (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Mark Sedgwick. 2010
Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) is widely regarded as the founder of Islamic modernism. Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and political activist, he…
sought to synthesise Western and Islamic cultural values. Arguing that Islam is essentially rational and fluid, Abduh maintained that it had been stifled by the rigid structures implemented in the generations since Muhammad and his immediate followers. In this absorbing biography, Mark Sedgwick examines whether Abduh revived true Islam or instigated its corruption. Mark Sedgwick is Associate Professor of Arab History, Culture and Society at Aarhus University in Denmark.Ghazali: The Revival of Islam (Makers of the Muslim World #759)
By Eric Ormsby. 2008
This fascinating work profiles Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), the foremost Islamic scholar and mystic of the medieval period. Attracting the…
patronage of the vizier Nizam al-Mulk early in his career, he was appointed head of the Nizamiyyah College at Baghdad, and attracted audiences from across the Islamic world, who sought his teachings on Islamic philosophy and jurisprudence. Eventually renouncing his position due to a spiritual crisis, he went into self-imposed exile, during which he wrote the Sufi masterpiece, Revival of the Sciences of Religion. Concise and lucid, this is a perfect introduction to the great man's life and work.Ahmad al-Mansur: The Beginnings of Modern Morocco (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Mercedes García-Arenal. 2009
Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603) was one of the most significant rulers in the history of Morocco, which to this day…
bears the mark of his twenty-five year rule in the sixteenth century. A brilliant political and military tactician, cunning diplomat and descendent of the Prophet Muhammad himself, al-Mansur was a charismatic religious authority with ambitions to become Caliph and ruler of all Islam. Spanning four continents, this lucid introduction assesses this fascinating figure and his legacy amidst the political intrigue, colonial discovery, and military conquest that dominated the age. Mercedes García-Arenal is Professor of Arabic Studies at the Higher Council of Scientific Research in Madrid.Husain Ahmad Madani: The Jihad for Islam and India's Freedom (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Barbara Metcalf. 2009
Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani (1879 - 1957) was a political activist, Islamic scholar, and supporter of Gandhi during the struggle…
for India's independence. Humane and fiercely dedicated whether campaigning against the separation of Pakistan, or in favour of democracy and inter-religious peace, he brooked no nonsense and fought relentlessly for what he believed in. Spanning a lifetime of campaigning and controversy, Barbara Metcalf's compelling biography draws from Madani's letters and autobiographies, as well as detailed knowledge of the prevailing political climate, to create an intimate and revealing account of one of the most important men in the recent history of Islam.Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Christopher Melchert. 2006
Christopher Melchert examines the forefather of the fourth of the four principal Sunni schools of jurisprudence, the Hanbali. Upholding the…
view that the Qur'an was uncreated and the direct word of God, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780-855) thought that the holy text should be read literally, rejecting any possibility for metaphorical or revisionist interpretation. Melchert assesses the importance of ibn Hanbal's teachings and analyses their relevance in modern Sunni Islam.Al Ma'mun
By Michael Cooperson. 2005
Bringing Bubbe Home
By Debra Gordon Zaslow. 2014
Debra Zaslow was humming along on baby-boomer autopilot, immersed in her life as a professional storyteller, wife of a Rabbi,…
and mother of two teenagers when she felt compelled to bring her 103-year-old grandmother, Bubbe, who was dying alone in a nursing facility, home to live and die with her family. Zaslow had no idea if she would have the emotional stamina to midwife Bubbe to the other side. Bringing Bubbe Home is the story of their time together in Bubbe’s last months, mingled with scenes from the past that reveal how her grandmother’s stories of abuse, tenacity, and survival have played out through the generations of women in the family. Debra watches her expectations of a perfect death dissolve in the midst of queen-size diapers, hormonal teenagers and volatile caregivers, while the two women sit soul-to-soul in the place between life and death. As she holds her grandmother’s gnarled hand and traces the lines of her face, Debra sees her own search for mothering reflected in her grandmother’s eyes. When Bubbe finally dies, something in Debra is born: the possibility to move into the future without the chains of the past.Hasan al-Banna (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Gudrun Kraemer. 2010
Hasan al-Banna (1906 - 1949) was an Egyptian political reformer, best known for establishing the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organisation…
which today has millions of members and spans the Arab world. Through his ardent struggle to revitalise Islamic values amid increasing Westernisation, al-Banna promoted Islamic charity and personal piety throughout Egypt, becoming a powerful political force. In this well written and impartial biography, Kraemer gives a detailed account of al-Banna's life and work. Gudran Kraemer is Professor and Chair of Islamic Studies, Free University, Berlin.Usama Ibn Munqidh: Warrior Poet of the Age of Crusades (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Paul M. Cobb. 2005
Usama Ibn Munqidh (1095-1188) was a Syrian poet and warrior whose life coincided with some of the most dramatic moments…
in Islamic history: the invasion of the Turks into the Middle East, the collapse of the Shi'ite political power, and above all, the coming of the Crusades. Often at the frontline of such events whilst on military service representing one of his many Lords, including on occasion the legendary Saladin, Usama was nonethless best-known to his contemporaries as a poet. Covering his exquisite anthologies of Arabic poetry, his witty and well- loved memoirs, and his political adventures, this comprehensive biography examines both the literary works of the famous "Arab- Syrian Gentleman" and the tumultuous life which inspired them. With a guide to further reading, a dynastic family tree and a glossary of the principal characters encountered in the book, it offers an indispensable window into Usmama's life, times and world of thought.Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi
By Usha Sanyal. 2005
What Is Islam?
By Shahab Ahmed. 2016
What is Islam How do we grasp a human and historical phenomenon characterized by such variety and contradiction …
What is Islamic about Islamic philosophy or Islamic art Should we speak of Islam or of islams Should we distinguish the Islamic the religious from the Islamicate the cultural Or should we abandon Islamic altogether as an analytical term In What Is Islam Shahab Ahmed presents a bold new conceptualization of Islam that challenges dominant understandings grounded in the categories of religion and culture or those that privilege law and scripture He argues that these modes of thinking obstruct us from understanding Islam distorting it diminishing it and rendering it incoherent What Is Islam formulates a new conceptual language for analyzing Islam It presents a new paradigm of how Muslims have historically understood divine revelation--one that enables us to understand how and why Muslims through history have embraced values such as exploration ambiguity aestheticization polyvalence and relativism as well as practices such as figural art music and even wine drinking as Islamic It also puts forward a new understanding of the historical constitution of Islamic law and its relationship to philosophical ethics and political theory A book that is certain to provoke debate and significantly alter our understanding of Islam What Is Islam reveals how Muslims have historically conceived of and lived with Islam as norms and truths that are at once contradictory yet coherentAbd Al-Rahman III: The First Cordoban Caliph (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Maribel Fierro. 2005
'Abd al-Rahman III (891-961) was the greatest of the Umayyad rulers of al-Andalus (Islamic Spain and Portugal) and the first…
of them to take the title of Caliph. A strong leader and an astute politician, he conducted campaigns against Muslim rebels within his own realm, fought the Christian Kings in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, confronted the Fatimids in North Africa and founded the palatine town of Madinat al-Zahra. By the time of his death in 961, 'Abd al-Rahman III had pacified the whole of al-Andalus and made Cordoba a capital city to rival the greatest of the age. This book is the first biography of this fascinating and hugely influential figure to be published in English. Accessible yet authoritative, it also feature a comprehensive guide to further reading, and will prove an indispensable resource for readers of all backgrounds.Ashraf `Ali Thanawi: Islam in Modern South Asia (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Muhammad Qasim Zaman. 2008
Ashraf Ali Thanawi (1863-1943) was one of the most prominent religious scholars in Islamic history. Author of over a thousand…
books on different aspects of Islam, his work sought to defend the Islamic scholarly tradition and to articulate its authority in an age of momentous religious and political change. In this authoritative biography, Muhammad Qasim Zaman offers a comprehensive and highly accessible account of Thanawi's multifaceted career and thought, whilst also providing a valuable introduction to Islam in modern South Asia.Amir Khusraw
By Sunil Sharma. 2005
Shaykh Mufid (Makers of the Muslim World)
By Tamima Bayhom-Daou. 2005
Muhammad: Man and Prophet
By Adil Salahi. 2002
The Prophet Muhammad initiated one of the most significant religious and cultural developments in human history, bringing the religion of…
Islam to the world. Adil Salahi's compelling biography traces the life of the Prophet Muhammad from his birth and childhood to the triumph of Islam and its hold on Arabia. The author sets this against a fascinating historical backdrop. His careful analysis of the Prophet's life is written with today's Muslim and non-Muslim readers in mind: Muslims will further their comprehension of their faith, and non-Muslims will come to understand the love Muslims have for their Prophet.Key to al-Fatiha
By Abdur Rashid Siddiqui. 2001
Based on valuable material from authentic tafasir in Arabic and Urdu, the book provides a thematic study of Surah al-Fatihah.…
A commendable work, meeting the mindset and intellectual needs of the English-speaking young generation of Muslims in the West.