Tag: review
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri: The Elements of Sufism
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri grew up in a family of wellknown Shaykhs in Kerbala in Iraq. He studied natural sciences and technology in Europe and USA and was long employed as an industrial consultant. Having found his way back to the roots of Islam, he is now actively involved in philosophy and writing. At the same time, he travels and teaches exten-sively.
Thomas Eich: Bio-ethics in Islam
Anyone labouring under the illusion that the bio-ethical debate on questions such as artificial insemination, cloning, surrogate motherhood, abortion after prenatal screening or sex preference for implanted foetuses is limited to the West should be set right by this slim volume.
Monika Gronke: History of Iran. From Islamisation to the present day
Already in its introduction, the “History of Iran” presents the reader with a concise description of the geography and the multinational problems of Iran.
Henner Fürtig. Concise History of Iraq
Henner Fürtig addresses his book to the great number of interested people who may be worried and concerned at the same time. Consequently it is a book on the current situation. Pre-Christian, pre- and early Islamic Mesopotamia as well as the Osmanic, British and German influence in Iraq until the time of the two World Wars are only touched upon briefly.
Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Ed.): The Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an
After approximately four decades the “battleship” of modern Islam studies, the Encyclopaedia of Islam (“EI”), was completed and published by the renowned publisher E.J. Brill in eleven large volumes and on CD-ROM. At the same time this publisher issued another encyclopedia: the Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an (“EQ”). One might wonder about the publication of an encyclopedia in addition to the EI. There seem to be two main reasons for this.
Gritt Klinkhammer: Modern Forms of Islamic Life
In her doctoral thesis in sociology, Gritt Klinkhammer examines the manner in which young Muslim-Turkish women of the second and third generation live out their Islamic religious affiliation in Germany. Their parents generally belong to the religiously conservative first “guest worker” generation, from whose life and religious practises the young, educated women clearly want to make a break. The parents encouraged their daughters’ Koran school lessons, for example, or observance of Islamic social rules; however, they were often able to give their “enlightened” daughters little justification and explanation for celebrations, manners and religious obligations – justification demanded by the children in the secular environment. Although these parents have now lived in Germany for up to 35 years, they do not see themselves as “Germans”, nor do their children.
Joseph Croitoru: The Martyr as Weapon
The topic of the German-born Israeli Joseph Croitoru is the historical development of suicide attacks and the ideological background of the movements that train them. His study centres on Muslim terrorists and countries such as Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Chechenya and Kurdistan – the majority of attacks are after all perpetrated by Muslims – but also looks at the Third Reich and Asia (Korea, Japan and Kashmir).
Chase F. Robinson. ‘Abd al-Malik
Makers of the Muslim World is a major new collection to be published between May 2005 and May 2009 featuring over 50 volumes. Each volume will consider the life, work and legacy of a man or woman who has shaped the course of Muslim history by his or her contribution to the political, social, cultural, religious or intellectual Muslim landscape. Series editor Patricia Crone is Mellon Professor of Islamic History at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. She is one of the leading authorities on Islamic history and has previously held positions at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
William C. Chittick: Ibn ’Arabi: Heir to the prophets
William C. Chittick’s book Ibn ’Arabi: Heir to the prophets is part of the series Makers of the Muslim World to be published between May 2005 and May 2009 featuring over 50 volumes. Each volume will consider the life, work and legacy of a man or woman who has shaped the course of Muslim history by his or her contribution to the political, social, cultural, religious or intellectual Muslim landscape.
Tobias Mörschel (Ed.): Does Faith make Politics?
Does faith pursue a policy? Whoever follows the last years of US-american policy or reflect upon Islam and its future role in Europe can hardly avoid this question. This book addresses the question in light of sociological models in the context of a transatlantic comparison.
Ralph Ghadban: Tariq Ramadan and the Islamisation of Europe
Ralph Ghadban. Tariq Ramadan and the Islamisation of Europe [in German only: Tariq Ramadan und die Islamisierung Europas]. Verlag Hans Schi- ler: Berlin, 2006. 170 pp., 17 €. In this book the Lebanese-born political writer and Islam expert Ralph Ghadban takes a critical look at Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of the founder of the Muslim…
Beltheshazzar & Abednego: The Mosque and its Role in Society
The building of new mosques in traditional European cities does not only change and affect the landscape but also sets a signal for a lasting presence of a religion which will not be satisfied to publicly only address issues relating to religion affairs, but rather wants to be a religion which will increasingly be an impressive and decisive voice in societal and political matters. The authors of this small booklet entitled “The Mosque and its Role in Society” are concerned to present a concise treaty to inform about the self-understanding of Islam.
Irshad Manji: The trouble with Islam: A wake-up call for honesty and change
An amazing book! It starts with an open letter to Muslims and Irshad Manji’s honest confession about her struggles with Islam. In spite of calling herself a Muslim refusenik (www.mus lim-refusenik.com) she does not desire to leave Islam; but neither is she prepared to close her eyes to the problems and troubles with Islam.
David Cook: Understanding Jihad
“Islam is peace”. This sentence could be heard especially frequently after September 11 th , 2001, from groups within organized Islam in Germany. It was said that there was no “holy war” in Islam, that “jihad” was to be understood as a moral-spiritual “effort” to walk “on the path of God” (“Great Jihad”). It was proclaimed that Islam abhors every kind of violence against human beings, apart from the right to self-defense (“Small Jihad”). The word “Islam”, of course, has the same linguistic root (s-l-m) as the word “salam” (peace), but is really a different word, and means “submission, devotion”.
Book review: Dark Beginnings
For several decades now few radically new insights into the period of Islam’s origins have emerged in Oriental studies, and this despite the fact that many fundamental questions remain unanswered. One awaits, for instance, a critical investigation filling in crucial gaps in our knowledge of the background to the 1924 standard edition of the Qur’an, which is still currently in universal use. On the present state of research it is possible to affirm there have been several redactions, textual variants or even, as some suppose, various authors of the text of the Qur’an, as yet however there is no comprehensive research into such eminently vital questions.
(Deutsch) Rezension: Missionarischer Islam und gesellschaftlicher Dialog
(Deutsch) Henning Wrogemann hat sich in seiner Heidelberger Habilitationsschrift einem Thema von großer gesellschaftlicher Tragweite gewidmet, dessen Bedeutung im 21. Jahrhundert noch zunehmen wird. Erst in den Anfängen steckt nämlich in Europa die Erkenntnis, dass nicht nur das Christentum, sondern ebenso der Islam von Anfang an auf Verkündigung und Ausbreitung angelegt war.
(Deutsch) Rezension: Helga Baumgarten. Hamas: Der politische Islam in Palästina
Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
(Deutsch) Rezension: Hülya Rinscheid. Lebe – Yascha!
(Deutsch) Die Türkei, zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts. Ein Land, tief geprägt von religiösen Riten und Traditionen, das mit dem langsamen Vordringen des säkularen Gedankenguts des Mustafa Kemal zum Sprung in die Moderne ansetzt. Doch während in der Stadt die Reformen bereits deutlich sichtbar sind, verläuft das Leben auf dem Land noch in ganz anderen Bahnen. Wie das konkret aussieht, zu welchen Spannungen der Kampf Tradition gegen Moderne führt und welche Auswirkungen das für das Leben eines einzelnen Mädchens haben kann, beschriebt Hülya Rinscheid eindrücklich in ihrem Buch „Lebe – Yascha!“.
(Deutsch) Rezension: Nahed Selim. Nehmt den Männern den Koran: Für eine weibliche Interpretation des Islam
(Deutsch) Für viele muslimischen Männer haben Frauen zu schweigen, wenn es um den Islam, den Koran und seine Auslegung geht. Damit will sich die ägyptische Journalistin Nahed Selim nicht abfinden und setzt sich als kritische, aber gläubige Muslimin in ihrem Buch „Nehmt den Männern den Koran“ mit ihrem Glauben und der „männlichen“ Interpretation des Korans auseinander.
(Deutsch) Rezension: „Die verlorenen Söhne“ – Ein türkisches Männerbuch
(Deutsch) Nach ihrem Aufsehen erregenden, zuerst von der türkischen Presse und danach von deutschen Migrationsforschern heftig angegriffenen Buch über die so genannten türkischen Importbräute „Die fremde Braut. Ein Bericht aus dem Inneren des türkischen Lebens in Deutschland“ (Köln: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, inzwischen in 7. Aufl.) legt die türkischstämmige Hamburger Soziologin Necla Kelek nun das Pendant zu ihrem Frauenbuch vor – ein Männerbuch.
