Islam and the Challenge of Civilization

Download or read book Islam and the Challenge of Civilization written by Abdelwahab Meddeb and published by Fordham Univ Press. This book was released on 2013-06-03 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is the perfect handbook for deepening our understanding of both the incredible richness through time and the paradoxical present obtuseness of Islamic culture. Meddeb achieves this feat--how clear knowledge can disarm belligerent interpretations of a paradoxical faith--through his elegant and polyphonic use of Qu'ranic exegesis, advanced literary poetics, and a strong sense of democratic citizen politics, all of which are informed by a profound cosmopolitanism able to simultaneously draw on Ibn Arabi's eclectic sufism and Voltaire's secular intellect, among many other sources. A necessary exploration, a must read."--Pierre Joris, author of The University of California Book of North African Literature "It is more urgent than ever to allow a voice such as Meddeb's to be heard, the voice of an Arab intellectual familiar with both Muslim civilization and Western culture. In this--and thanks to his immense knowledge and open-mindedness--he is a precious translator capable of seeing both sides at the same time."--Marcel Henaff ". . . an important contribution to knowledge because it gives eloquent voice to a modern Muslim thinker who rejects the narrow legalism of the Wahhabi tradition of Saudi Arabia or the Puritanism of the Egyptian Muslim Brethren."--Patrick J. Ryan S.J., Fordham University.