Tag Archives: review

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.