Download or read book Islam And Democracy written by Fatima Mernissi and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2009-03-05 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is Islam compatible with democracy? Must fundamentalism win out in the Middle East, or will democracy ever be possible? In this now-classic book, Islamic sociologist Fatima Mernissi explores the ways in which progressive Muslims--defenders of democracy, feminists, and others trying to resist fundamentalism--must use the same sacred texts as Muslims who use them for violent ends, to prove different views. Updated with a new introduction by the author written in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Islam and Democracy serves as a guide to the players moving the pieces on the rather grim Muslim chessboard. It shines new light on the people behind today's terrorist acts and raises provocative questions about the possibilities for democracy and human rights in the Islamic world. Essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of the Middle East today, Islam and Democracy is as timely now as it was upon its initial, celebrated publication.

Download or read book Islam Without Fear written by Raymond William Baker and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the last several decades an influential group of Egyptian scholars and public intellectuals has been having a profound effect in the Islamic world. Raymond Baker offers a compelling portrait of these New Islamists--Islamic scholars, lawyers, judges, and journalists who provide the moral and intellectual foundations for a more fully realized Islamic community, open to the world and with full rights of active citizenship for women and non-Muslims. The New Islamists have a record of constructive engagement in Egyptian public life, balanced by an unequivocal critique of the excesses of Islamist extremists. Baker shows how the New Islamists are translating their thinking into action in education and the arts, economics and social life, and politics and foreign relations despite an authoritarian political environment. For the first time, Baker allows us to hear in context the most important New Islamist voices, including Muhammad al Ghazzaly, Kamal Abul Magd, Muhammad Selim al Awa, Fahmy Huwaidy, Tareq al Bishry, and Yusuf al Qaradawy--regarded by some as the most influential Islamic scholar in the world today. A potentially transformative force in global Islam, the New Islamists define Islam as a civilization that engages others and searches for common ground through shared values such as justice, peace, human rights, and democracy. Islam without Fear is an impressive achievement that contributes to the understanding of Islam in general and the possibilities of a centrist Islamist politics in particular.

Download or read book The Fear of Islam Second Edition written by Todd H. Green and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Fear of Islam investigates the context of Western views of Islam and offers an introduction to the historical roots and contemporary anxiety regarding Islam within the Western world. Tracing the medieval legacy of religious polemics and violence, Green orients readers to the complex history and issues of Western relations to Islam, from early and late modern colonial enterprises and theories of "Orientalism," to the production of religious discourses of otherness and the clash of civilizations that proliferated in the era of 9/11 and the war on terror. In this second edition, Green brings the reader up to date, examining the Islamophobic rhetoric of the 2016 US presidential election and the ongoing success of populist and far right parties in Europe. Green provides updated data on the rise of anti-Muslim legislation--for example, the Muslim ban in the United States and a wave of full-face veil bans in Europe--as well as the rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes on both sides of the Atlantic since 2015. This important book is essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand current views of Islam and to work toward meaningful peace and understanding between religious communities.

Download or read book Islam without Extremes A Muslim Case for Liberty written by Mustafa Akyol and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2011-07-18 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A delightfully original take on…the prospects for liberal democracy in the broader Islamic Middle East.”—Matthew Kaminski, Wall Street Journal As the Arab Spring threatens to give way to authoritarianism in Egypt and reports from Afghanistan detail widespread violence against U.S. troops and women, news from the Muslim world raises the question: Is Islam incompatible with freedom? In Islam without Extremes, Turkish columnist Mustafa Akyol answers this question by revealing the little-understood roots of political Islam, which originally included both rationalist, flexible strains and more dogmatic, rigid ones. Though the rigid traditionalists won out, Akyol points to a flourishing of liberalism in the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire and the unique “Islamo-liberal synthesis” in present-day Turkey. As he powerfully asserts, only by accepting a secular state can Islamic societies thrive. Islam without Extremes offers a desperately needed intellectual basis for the reconcilability of Islam and liberty.

Download or read book A Fundamental Fear written by S. Sayyid and published by Zed Books. This book was released on 2003-10 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Breaking with the Arab-centrism of Islamic studies, Sayyid shows how the rise of Islamism, or Islamic fundamentalism, can only be understood in the context of Eurocentrism. The book will be stimulating reading for courses in cultural studies, Islamic studies and international relations.

Download or read book The New Religious Intolerance written by Martha C. Nussbaum and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What impulse prompted some newspapers to attribute the murder of 77 Norwegians to Islamic extremists, until it became evident that a right-wing Norwegian terrorist was the perpetrator? Why did Switzerland, a country of four minarets, vote to ban those structures? How did a proposed Muslim cultural center in lower Manhattan ignite a fevered political debate across the United States? In The New Religious Intolerance, Martha C. Nussbaum surveys such developments and identifies the fear behind these reactions. Drawing inspiration from philosophy, history, and literature, she suggests a route past this limiting response and toward a more equitable, imaginative, and free society. Fear, Nussbaum writes, is "more narcissistic than other emotions." Legitimate anxieties become distorted and displaced, driving laws and policies biased against those different from us. Overcoming intolerance requires consistent application of universal principles of respect for conscience. Just as important, it requires greater understanding. Nussbaum challenges us to embrace freedom of religious observance for all, extending to others what we demand for ourselves. She encourages us to expand our capacity for empathetic imagination by cultivating our curiosity, seeking friendship across religious lines, and establishing a consistent ethic of decency and civility. With this greater understanding and respect, Nussbaum argues, we can rise above the politics of fear and toward a more open and inclusive future.

Download or read book Truth over Fear written by Charles Kimball and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2019-08-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Questions and fears about Islam have proliferated American life for decades, from the Iranian Revolution in 1979 to the September 11, 2001, attacks. Yet more recent history has seen a new development in the tangle of Christian-Muslim relations: the mainstreaming of Islamophobia as a path to political and societal power at the highest level. Politicians and religious leaders now routinely spread fear and confusion about Muslim beliefs and practice in order to bolster their own positions. Many recognize what is wrong with this situation but are frustrated with what seem to be limited options for response. Truth over Fear provides resources to address the manipulation of religious misunderstanding and intolerance. From renowned Christian scholar of Islam and longtime participant in Christian-Muslim engagement, Charles Kimball demystifies Islam, the worlds second-largest religion, and provides practical guidance on how to share simple facts about Muslim beliefs and practices with family and others, how to take the first steps in dialogue with Muslim neighbors, and how to move beyond dialogue to shared ministry and community building.

Download or read book The Islamophobia Industry written by Nathan Chapman Lean and published by Pluto Press (UK). This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is undeniable that there is a rising tide of Islamaphobia sweeping across the United States and Europe. With The Islamophobia Industry, Nathan Lean takes us through the disturbing worlds of conservative bloggers, right wing talk show hosts, evangelical religious leaders, and politicians--all united in a quest to revive post-9/11 xenophobia and convince their compatriots that Islam is the enemy. Lean uncovers modern scare tactics, reveals each groups' true motives, and exposes the ideologies that drive their propaganda machine. Situating Islamaphobia within a long history of national and international fears, The Islamophobia Industry challenges the illogical narrative of hate that dominated discussions about Muslims and Islam for too long. With this new, updated edition, Lean includes material on the 2016 election and the rhetoric of fear that contributed to Trump's win, the effects of Brexit and Europe's refugee crisis, and the bleak realities about how the new government shaping the United States will increase racism and hate crime, as we are already beginning to see. He discusses the Islamaphobia industry's most extreme figures: Breitbart writers, Bill Maher, Steve Bannon, Newt Gingrich, and more. Sharp, intelligent, and shocking, this updated edition offers a timely and in-depth look into the creation and continuation of Islamophobia in the United States and United Kingdom.

Download or read book Islamophobia written by Peter Gottschalk and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2008 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spirit of Edward Said's Orientalism, this book graphically shows how political cartoons-the print medium with the most immediate impact-dramatically reveal Americans demonizing and demeaning Muslims and Islam. It also reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the Muslim world in general and issues a wake-up call to the American people.

Download or read book American Islamophobia written by Khaled A. Beydoun and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Forbes list of "10 Books To Help You Foster A More Diverse And Inclusive Workplace" How law, policy, and official state rhetoric have fueled the resurgence of Islamophobia—with a call to action on how to combat it. “I remember the four words that repeatedly scrolled across my mind after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. ‘Please don’t be Muslims, please don’t be Muslims.’ The four words I whispered to myself on 9/11 reverberated through the mind of every Muslim American that day and every day after.… Our fear, and the collective breath or brace for the hateful backlash that ensued, symbolize the existential tightrope that defines Muslim American identity today.” The term “Islamophobia” may be fairly new, but irrational fear and hatred of Islam and Muslims is anything but. Though many speak of Islamophobia’s roots in racism, have we considered how anti-Muslim rhetoric is rooted in our legal system? Using his unique lens as a critical race theorist and law professor, Khaled A. Beydoun captures the many ways in which law, policy, and official state rhetoric have fueled the frightening resurgence of Islamophobia in the United States. Beydoun charts its long and terrible history, from the plight of enslaved African Muslims in the antebellum South and the laws prohibiting Muslim immigrants from becoming citizens to the ways the war on terror assigns blame for any terrorist act to Islam and the myriad trials Muslim Americans face in the Trump era. He passionately argues that by failing to frame Islamophobia as a system of bigotry endorsed and emboldened by law and carried out by government actors, U.S. society ignores the injury it inflicts on both Muslims and non-Muslims. Through the stories of Muslim Americans who have experienced Islamophobia across various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines, Beydoun shares how U.S. laws shatter lives, whether directly or inadvertently. And with an eye toward benefiting society as a whole, he recommends ways for Muslim Americans and their allies to build coalitions with other groups. Like no book before it, American Islamophobia offers a robust and genuine portrait of Muslim America then and now.

Download or read book The Trouble with Islam written by Irshad Manji and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2004-01-16 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I have to be honest with you. Islam is on very thin ice with me....Through our screaming self-pity and our conspicuous silences, we Muslims are conspiring against ourselves. We're in crisis and we're dragging the rest of the world with us. If ever there was a moment for an Islamic reformation, it's now. For the love of God, what are we doing about it?" In blunt, provocative, and deeply personal terms, Irshad Manji unearths the troubling cornerstones of mainstream Islam today: tribal insularity, deep-seated anti-Semitism, and an uncritical acceptance of the Koran as the final, and therefore superior, manifesto of God. In this open letter to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Manji asks arresting questions. "Who is the real colonizer of Muslims - America or Arabia? Why are we all being held hostage by what's happening between the Palestinians and the Israelis? Why are we squandering the talents of women, fully half of God's creation? What's our excuse for reading the Koran literally when it's so contradictory and ambiguous? Is that a heart attack you're having? Make it fast. Because if more of us don't speak out against the imperialists within Islam, these guys will walk away with the show." Manji offers a practical vision of how the United States and its allies can help Muslims undertake a reformation that empowers women, promotes respect for religious minorities, and fosters a competition of ideas. Her vision revives Islam's lost tradition of independent thinking. This book will inspire struggling Muslims worldwide to revisit the foundations of their faith. It will also compel non-Muslims to start posing the important questions without fear of being deemed "racists." In more ways than one, The Trouble with Islam is a clarion call for a fatwa-free future.

Download or read book Minds Without Fear written by Nalini Bhushan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-26 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Minds Without Fear is an intellectual and cultural history of India during the period of British occupation. It demonstrates that this was a period of renaissance in India in which philosophy--both in the public sphere and in the Indian universities--played a central role in the emergence of a distinctively Indian modernity. This is also a history of Indian philosophy. It demonstrates how the development of a secular philosophical voice facilitated the construction of modern Indian society and the consolidation of the nationalist movement. Authors Nalini Bhushan and Jay Garfield explore the complex role of the English language in philosophical and nationalist discourse, demonstrating both the anxieties that surrounded English, and the processes that normalized it as an Indian vernacular and academic language. Garfield and Bhushan attend to both Hindu and Muslim philosophers, to public and academic intellectuals, to artists and art critics, and to national identity and nation-building. Also explored is the complex interactions between Indian and European thought during this period, including the role of missionary teachers and the influence of foreign universities in the evolution of Indian philosophy. This pattern of interaction, although often disparaged as "inauthentic" is continuous with the cosmopolitanism that has always characterized the intellectual life of India, and that the philosophy articulated during this period is a worthy continuation of the Indian philosophical tradition.

Download or read book Islam Unveiled written by Robert Spencer and published by Encounter Books. This book was released on 2003-11-25 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "Islam Unveiled," Robert Spencer dares to face the hard questions about what the Islamic religion actually teaches--and the potentially ominous implications of those teachings for the future of both the Muslim world and the West. Going beyond the shallow distinction between a "true" peaceful Islam and the "hijacked" Islam of terrorist groups, Spencer probes the Koran and Islamic traditions (as well as the history and present-day situation of the Muslim world) as part of his inquiry into why the world's fastest growing faith tends to arouse fanaticism. "Islam Unveiled" evaluates the relationship between Islamic fundamentalism and "mainstream" Islam; the fixation with violence and jihad; the reasons for Muslims' disturbing treatment of women; and devastating effects of Muslim polygamy and Islamic divorce laws. Spencer explores other daunting questions--why the human rights record of Islamic countries is so unrelievedly grim and how the root causes of this record exist in basic Muslim beliefs; why science and high culture died out in the Muslim world--and why this is a root cause of modern Muslim resentment. He evaluates what Muslims learn from the life of Muhammad, the man that Islam hails as the supreme model of human behavior. Above all, this provocative work grapples with the question that most preoccupies us today: can Islam create successful secularized societies that will coexist peacefully with the West's multicultural mosaic?

Download or read book ALLAH LIBERTY AND LOVE written by Irshad Manji and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Irshad Manji's message of moral courage, with stories about contemporary reformers such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Islam's own Gandhi, inspire and show the way to practicing faith without fear. Irshad addresses all people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, in this universal message about the importance of independent thought and internal strength, of love, liberty, free speech, and the pursuit of happiness. Allah, Liberty, and Love is about creating choices beyond conforming or leaving the faith, which is what Manji hears from young Muslims who write to her in frustration, whose emails, letters, and conversations are included in this book. Manji writes, "I'll show struggling Muslims how to embrace a third option: reforming ourselves." And she recounts many affecting stories from young people who have contacted her for advice on how to step out of limiting views of Islam and the restrictions they put on life, love, family, and careers.

Download or read book Marked for Death written by Geert Wilders and published by Regnery Publishing. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The controversial Netherlands Parliament member recounts his battle against the spread of Islam in the West, addressing why liberal politicians downplay the threat and why the free speech of Islam's critics is often suppressed.

Download or read book A Fundamental Fear written by S. Sayyid and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-02-12 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fear and anxiety aroused by Islamism is not a myth, nor is it simply a consequence of terrorism or fundamentalism. Writing in 1997, before 9/11 and before the austerity that has bred a new generation of far right groups across Europe and the US, S. Sayyid warned of a spectre haunting Western civilization. This groundbreaking book, banned by the Malaysian government, is both an analysis of the conditions that have made 'Islamic fundamentalism' possible and a provocative account of the ways in which Muslim identities have come to play an increasingly political role throughout the world. This is a pioneering, provocative and intricately crafted study, which shows the challenge of Islamism is not only geopolitical or even cultural but also epistemological.

Download or read book The Atheist Muslim written by Ali A. Rizvi and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-11-22 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In much of the Muslim world, religion is the central foundation upon which family, community, morality, and identity are built. The inextricable embedment of religion in Muslim culture has forced a new generation of non-believing Muslims to face the heavy costs of abandoning their parents’ religion: disowned by their families, marginalized from their communities, imprisoned, or even sentenced to death by their governments. Struggling to reconcile the Muslim society he was living in as a scientist and physician and the religion he was being raised in, Ali A. Rizvi eventually loses his faith. Discovering that he is not alone, he moves to North America and promises to use his new freedom of speech to represent the voices that are usually quashed before reaching the mainstream media—the Atheist Muslim. In The Atheist Muslim, we follow Rizvi as he finds himself caught between two narrative voices he cannot relate to: extreme Islam and anti-Muslim bigotry in a post-9/11 world. The Atheist Muslim recounts the journey that allows Rizvi to criticize Islam—as one should be able to criticize any set of ideas—without demonizing his entire people. Emotionally and intellectually compelling, his personal story outlines the challenges of modern Islam and the factors that could help lead it toward a substantive, progressive reformation.