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The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism tackles the most significant issues facing Muslims today. Sachedina argues that we must reopen the doors of religious interpretation - to correct false interpretations, replace outdated laws, and formulate new doctrines. His book critically analyzes Muslim teachings on such issues as pluralism, civil society, war and peace, and violence and self-sacrifice.

This book examines the philosophy of al-Ghazali, analysing his conception of God within Islamic theology. Seeking to contribute to the greater understanding of Muslim thought, it analyses his 'orthodox' theory, based on the notion that the spiritual struggle (jihad) and philosophical enquiry are informed by the possession of firm science ('ilm). Exploring a wide range of Arab texts and Arab primary literature, this book therefore examines a crucial period of Medieval Islamic history, whilst em...

In 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 Musl...

In this comprehensive open access book, written for readers from any or no religious background, Leena El-Ali does something remarkable. Never before has anyone taken on every last claim relating to Islam and women and countered it not just with Qur’anic evidence to the contrary, but with easy-to-use tools available to all. How can a woman’s testimony be worth half of a man’s? How can men divorce their wives unilaterally by uttering three words? And what’s with the obsession with virgins in Para...

Explores theological debates between Muslims and Christians in Iran in the 17th and early 18th centuries Provides case studies on Muslim-Christian polemics in early modern IranContributes to our understanding of interreligious relations in the Islamic worldAdvances our understanding of cross-cultural interactions in the early modern periodAnalyses the evolution of literary and rhetorical strategies in interreligious debates Contributes to debates on confessionalisation in the Middle East, with a...

Discovering Shi'i Islam is a brief introduction to main issues related to Islam in general and Shi'i Islam in particular. Though simply and clearly written, it is an outcome of more than twenty years of involvement in Islamic studies. The text studies the origins of Shi'i Islam and its sources, i.e. the Qur.an, the Sunnah, the reason and consensus. It also studies fundamental doctrines and main practices of Islam. It ends with a brief account of the latest statistics about the present Muslim pop...

Najm al-Din al-Tufi's (d. 716/1316) extraordinary commentary on the Christian scriptures has not received the scholarly attention it deserves. Illustrating the way in which the Bible was read, interpreted and used as a proof-text in the construction of early 14th century Muslim views of Christianity, his al-Ta'liq 'ala al-Anajil al-arba'a wa-al-ta'liq 'ala al-Tawrah wa-'ala ghayriha min kutub al-anbiya' (Critical Commentary on the Four Gospels, the Torah and other Books of the Prophets) is an i...

Arabs in Antiquity, Christianity, Islamic Origins, Judaism, Qur'an

This book offers empirical insight into the way Muslims reacted online towards various controversial issues related to Islam. The book examines four cases studies: The Muhammed's cartoons, the burning of the Quran controversies, Fitna and the Innocence of Muslims' films. The issues of online religion, social movements and extremism are discussed, as many of the cases in question created both uproar and unity among many YouTubers. These case studies - in some instances - led to the expression of...

The idea that God reveals himself to human beings is central in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but differs in regard of content and conceptualization. The first volume of the new series Key Concepts in Interreligious Discourses points out similarities and differences of “revelation”. KCID aims to establish an archeology of religious knowledge in order to create a new conceptual platform of mutual understanding among religious communities. Erratum: Wenzel Maximilian Widenka is co-author of t...

This book discusses inner peace from an Islamic theological and spiritual perspective, the writings of Said Nursi, a twentieth century Muslim scholar. Inner peace is a topic of great interest in the world at present. While happiness and mental health have been extensively discussed from a psychological and sociological perspective, and while inner peace has been written about from various religious viewpoints, there is very little scholarly work on inner peace from an Islamic theological and spi...