The Search for Beauty in Islam
A Conference of the Books
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield
Published:22nd Dec '05
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£46.00(9780742550940)
This enlightening book explores the intersection of Islam and contemporary challenges, advocating for the revival of beauty as a core value within the faith. The Search for Beauty in Islam offers critical insights.
In the updated and expanded edition of The Search for Beauty in Islam, Khaled Abou El Fadl, a prominent Islamic jurist and law professor, delves into the intricate relationship between Islam and contemporary society. He offers profound insights into the challenges faced by Muslims today, addressing the misconceptions that have emerged in the wake of global events. Through a unique format of a 'conference of the books,' he imagines a dialogue among revered Muslim scholars from history, exploring the moral decay that has afflicted the perception of Islam in modern times.
Abou El Fadl confronts pressing issues such as the portrayal of violence in Islamic law, the struggles of women, and the impact of extremism on the faith's core values. Each chapter is meticulously crafted to address various aspects of life, including marriage, divorce, and morality, all viewed through the lens of post-9/11 realities. The author questions whether Islam has been stripped of its essence—beauty, compassion, and love—and argues for the necessity of reclaiming these fundamental values.
Ultimately, The Search for Beauty in Islam serves as a call to action for Muslims to rediscover and embrace the beauty inherent in their faith. Abou El Fadl's work is both a critique of the current state of affairs and a hopeful vision for the future, emphasizing that beauty is not merely aesthetic but a vital component of a just and moral society.
El Fadl attempts to offer interpretations that are humanistic and accommodating to modern values, yet simultaneously challenging for traditionalist scholars and preachers. -- An-Chi Hoh Dianu * The Library Quarterly *
This highly original book is in part a dialogue with Muslim scholars in the past, and, in part, a hymn to an enthralling vision that 'beauty' is to bring life to the truth of the Prophet. The dialogue shows the enormous breadth of [the author's] reading in classic works of learning by Muslims, and his vision suggests a new spiritual esthetic, which is both inspiring and challenging. -- Roy Parviz Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of History, Harvard University
Khaled Abou El Fadl is emerging as a major Muslim voice for the twenty-first century. Conference of the Books is an excellent introduction to the ideas, insights, and reflections of this important scholar of Islam and Islamic law, author, and poet. -- John L. Esposito, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, the most important scholar writing on Islamic jurisprudence and its development in the American context today, sets a high standard here for legal discourse and practice among North American Muslims. -- Karen Leonard, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
Each independent essay may be read in any order, but collectively they illustrate richness and diversity. -- Charles C. Kolb, National Endowment for the Humanities, Religious Studies Review
ISBN: 9780742550933
Dimensions: 261mm x 185mm x 31mm
Weight: 916g
432 pages