This book examines the development of medieval Islamic civilization which at its peak between the 8th and 16th centuries made enormous and innumerable contributions in the fields of science, philosophy and the arts. This is then contrasted with the post-Islamic civilization extant today, which is driven by conflicts and confusion in its search for a true vision of Islam. Throughout the course of the book, Hussain critically examines Islam as a faith, civilization and history. He considers the vitally important questions of how Islam the faith created its own civilization, and why it has fallen from that pinnacle of enlightenment into fundamentalism and terrorism in the contemporary world.The study addresses these questions by identifying the keys concepts from the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad which opened the doors to Islamic civilization. Over the centuries successive generations of Muslim rulers and some theologians have distorted these concepts for their own aims, and the region has subsequently become dominated by fundamentalism and sectarianism.
Hussain concludes that since Islam still exists as a major faith, to recreate Islam as a civilization Muslims need to re-examine Western and fundamentalist models influencing their world, and rediscover the original Islamic concepts which led to such achievement in earlier centuries. Only in this way can a new kind of Islamic civilization be developed for the 21st century.
- ISBN10 0863723357
- ISBN13 9780863723353
- Publish Date 1 June 2010
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Garnet Publishing
- Format Paperback
- Pages 240
- Language English