Overview
This work explores the role of the intellect in the legal, theological, philosophical and mystical traditions of Islam, and of its continuing relevance in the efforts of the contemporary Muslim world to address the challenges of modernity. Leading scholars who have included chapters - all originally written for this book - include Mohammad Arkoun, Norman Calder, John Cooper, Muhsin Mahdi, Abdulaziz Sachedina, Annemarie Schimmel and others.Author Biography: Farhad Daftary is the Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
Synopsis
International scholars of Islam contribute to 11 essays on achievements in, and challenges to, the tradition: e.g. scientific and philosophical enquiry; the limits of orthodoxy; reason and mystical experience in Sufism; the religious intellectual milieu of Safawid dynasty Iran; and crises concerning globalization, and gender issues in Islamic jurisprudence. Includes a glossary. Based largely on a 1994 namesake seminar at Cambridge U. Published in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, with which Daftary is affiliated. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's Press. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR