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 E ditorial Reviews

From Book News, Inc.
Writing from within the Islamic tradition, Nasr (Islamic studies, George Washington U.) examines classical Islamic cosmology, essentially unchanged from when it was formulated in the 10th and 11th centuries. He shows how Ikhwan al-Safa, al Biruni, and Ibn Sina combined the teaching of the Qur'an and the Prophet with elements of ancient philosophies and sciences to construct a view of creation. Paper edition (unseen), $14.95. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc.Portland, Or.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Description:

Times Literary Supplement:
His knowledge of western scientific writing is profound, his criticisms well documented.

Michael Loewe:
His compelling appeal for a more spiritual approach to nature has a specially important bearing on the modern world.

Editorial Reviews

Times Literary Supplement
His knowledge of western scientific writing is profound, his criticisms well documented.

Michael Loewe
His compelling appeal for a more spiritual approach to nature has a specially important bearing on the modern world.

Carmen Blacker
This book should be prescribed reading for anyone concerned with the present crisis in our civilization. Professor Nasr's wisdom covers an immensely wide range of philosophical and religious knowledge, enabling him not only to elucidate the causes of our present dilemma, but also to guide us in the task of rediscovering a world view in which Man, Nature and God are seen in their proper harmony.

Book Description
This work from one of the world's leading Islamic thinkers is a spiritual tour de force which explores the relationship between the human being and nature as found in many religious traditions, particularly its Sufi dimension. The author stresses the importance of a greater awareness of the origins of both the human being and nature as a means of righting the imbalance that exists in our deepest selves and in our environment.

3-The Mosque:

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Serving as a place of communal worship and a focus for cultural identity, the mosque is the outward and most visible symbol of Islam. Within the context of an architectural exploration of the mosque, the 16 authors of this text have done an exemplary job of presenting and illuminating the belief system of Islam. One quarter of the book is devoted to explaining how the mosque has become the physical expression of belief in Allah and a signal of submission to Allah's will. The remainder examines the mosque region by region around the world, with particularly interesting chapters on the lesser-known mosques ofChina, Southeast Asia, andAfrica. Copious photographs and plans are well integrated with the text. Highly recommended.
David McClelland, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
As the outward and visible symbol of Islam, mosques can be found in all parts of the modern world. The mosque remains central to Islam, serving as the focal point for Muslim communities around the globe. This book, with contributions by sixteen eminent scholars, traces the history and development of the mosque since its origins inMedina andMecca in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, explaining its traditional religious and teaching role in Muslim society as well as its architectural and decorative features. In the course of its spread from its origins inArabia, Islam often took over and adapted existing places of worship and styles of building as it gained a foothold fromSpain and sub-SaharanAfrica toChina andIndonesia. The development of the mosque and its architecture is presented region by region, taking into account local building material, climatic factors, and craft skills, as well as major historical events such as the rise of the Ottoman and Mughal Empires.The physical form of the mosque is analyzed and illustrated with plans, elevations, and photographs, and its modern role as a religious and social institution is reviewed in the light of political developments. Contemporary mosques worldwide are discussed in a separate chapter, encompassing both those built by leading Muslim architects such as Abdel Wahid el-Wakil and Hassan Fathy and those built by Western architects.Richly illustrated with material drawn from a wide range of sources, this book provides comprehensive coverage of the architecture of the mosque, and it serves as an invaluable guide to an understanding of the mosque's role in Muslim society and culture throughout the world. With texts by Mohammed Arkoun, Mohammad Al-Asad, Antonio Fernلndez-Puertas, Martin Frishman, Oleg Grabar, Perween Hasan, Mark Horton, Hasan-Uddin Khan, Doکgan Kuban, Luo Xiaowei, Gülru Neçipoglu, Bernard O'Kane, Hugh O'Neill, Labelle Prussin, Ismail Serageldin, and Wheeler M. Thackston. 378 illustrations and photographs, 170 in color.

4- The Place of Tolerance in Islam:

Editors:Joshua Cohen;Ian Lague

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This brief book is elegant and surprising. It opens with an essay by the incomparable El Fadl, an Islamic law professor at UCLA, about tolerance in Islamic theology and among Muslims. He effectively disposes of the terrorists' intolerant interpretations of Qur'anic passages by arguing that a more accurate interpretation would acknowledge the verses' historical contexts and note that they contradict other passages in the Qur'an that are both more tolerant and more central to Islamic practice. The book's second section consists of 11 responses to El Fadl's essay by such notable figures as professors Amina Wadud and John Esposito. The book closes with a follow-up response by El Fadl, reflecting on the opinions of his co-authors. The overall effect of the three sections is quite unexpected; the reader becomes engaged in a dialogue with each writer, realizing with each essay the complexity of the problems facing modern Muslims. The major point that emerges is that while Islam is theologically tolerant of non-Muslims, individual Muslims themselves may harbor intolerant views that they unjustifiably read into the Qur'an, which El Fadl condemns as eisegesis. In two astonishing essays, respondents Tariq Ali and Abid Ullah Jan persuasively argue that the West is actually sometimes intolerant and has taken "advantage of Islamic tolerance to force Muslims into greater subservience." Most of the responses are very innovative and represent a step forward in Islamic theological analysis. This lively debate makes for a quick and informative read.
FromBooklist
To Islamic legal expert Abou El Fadl's argument that the Qur'an favors a conception of Islam as pacific and tolerant, especially when viewed with contemporary eyes rather than a gaze frozen in earlier times and circumstances, 11 well-qualified respondents reply with varying degrees of skepticism. One, a resident American academic like Abou El Fadl, says such liberal interpretation may be attractive in the West, but it doesn't fly in Islam'sMiddle East heartland. The harshest two suggest, one more strongly than the other, that Western intolerance of Islam is a much greater problem than Islamic intolerance. A warmer critic insists that stable democracy in Islamic nations must precede Islamic tolerance. Tariq Ali cogently argues that secular political change, not liberal theology, is what the Islamic world needs. Altogether the book is an excellent place to start grappling with the problems of contemporary Islam vis-a-vis the West, though its leftist orientation begs for good right-wing complementation: try Serge Trifkovic'sSword ofIslam [BKL O 1 02].Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"This brief book is elegant and surprising. . . .The overall effect of the three sections is quite unexpected; the reader becomes engages in a dialogue with each writer, realizing with each essay the complexity of the problems facing modern Muslims. . . .Most of the responses are very innovative and represent a step forward in Islamic theological analysis. This lively debate makes for a quick and informative read."

Book Description
We suddenly find ourselves with very little knowledge of a religion and culture that continues to have an enormous impact on our world. Through a close reading of the Qur'an, Khaled Abou El Fadl shows that injunctions to violence against nonbelievers stem from misreadings. Even jihad, or so-called holy war, has no basis in Qur'anic text or Muslim theology, but instead was an outgrowth of social and political conflict.
Reading the holy text in the appropriate moral and historical contexts shows that Islamic civilization has long been pluralistic, and even usually tolerant of other religions. Leading scholars of Islam offer nuanced commentary