Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the message
RENEWING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ISLAM IN TODAY’S WORLD Islam, in many of its current guises, no longer resembles its original Message. In a world of intractable conflicts plagued by political Islam and Islamophobia—and where other forms of fundamentalism within the major religious creeds are on the rise, as well—this book serves as a reminder. It aims to recover and reaffirm Islam’s underlying and guiding principles. Setting out to distinguish the divine from the human in order to elucidate the pristine nature of the divine Message, Mahmassani reasserts Islam’s universal, secular, and progressive character. In Part One of this comprehensive and meticulously researched volume, the author places the Message of Islam within its historic, geographic, and cultural contexts. Focusing on the primacy of the Holy Qur'an among the sources of Islam, he examines the controversies which have surrounded the Prophetic Tradition—Sunna and Hadith—as a source of Islam, demonstrating the full scope of Islam’s universality. In Part Two he goes on to clarify Islam’s secular nature by reconsidering inherited beliefs about the relationship between Islam and the state, and Islam and Sharia’a law, revealing Islam’s inherent humanism. This leads, in Part Three, to reflections on the progressive nature of Islam, and on the importance of the role of the mind in understanding and taking full benefit of religion as an engine of progress. In particular, the author focuses on human rights, including issues of human dignity, freedom of faith, and gender equality. Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the Message is a rich contribution to continuing efforts to reform perceptions of Islam. Scholars and students in the fields of Islamic studies, religion, and the humanities, teachers, policy makers, and general readers will find this carefully constructed sourcebook invaluable for its fresh outlook and approach to understanding Islam and Muslim Scriptures in the light of today’s world. As Mahmassani affirms, “Islam, as a divine message, has been—and continuously remains—perfect.”
1140118884
Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the message
RENEWING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ISLAM IN TODAY’S WORLD Islam, in many of its current guises, no longer resembles its original Message. In a world of intractable conflicts plagued by political Islam and Islamophobia—and where other forms of fundamentalism within the major religious creeds are on the rise, as well—this book serves as a reminder. It aims to recover and reaffirm Islam’s underlying and guiding principles. Setting out to distinguish the divine from the human in order to elucidate the pristine nature of the divine Message, Mahmassani reasserts Islam’s universal, secular, and progressive character. In Part One of this comprehensive and meticulously researched volume, the author places the Message of Islam within its historic, geographic, and cultural contexts. Focusing on the primacy of the Holy Qur'an among the sources of Islam, he examines the controversies which have surrounded the Prophetic Tradition—Sunna and Hadith—as a source of Islam, demonstrating the full scope of Islam’s universality. In Part Two he goes on to clarify Islam’s secular nature by reconsidering inherited beliefs about the relationship between Islam and the state, and Islam and Sharia’a law, revealing Islam’s inherent humanism. This leads, in Part Three, to reflections on the progressive nature of Islam, and on the importance of the role of the mind in understanding and taking full benefit of religion as an engine of progress. In particular, the author focuses on human rights, including issues of human dignity, freedom of faith, and gender equality. Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the Message is a rich contribution to continuing efforts to reform perceptions of Islam. Scholars and students in the fields of Islamic studies, religion, and the humanities, teachers, policy makers, and general readers will find this carefully constructed sourcebook invaluable for its fresh outlook and approach to understanding Islam and Muslim Scriptures in the light of today’s world. As Mahmassani affirms, “Islam, as a divine message, has been—and continuously remains—perfect.”
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Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the message

Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the message

by Maher S. Mahmassani
Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the message

Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the message

by Maher S. Mahmassani

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Overview

RENEWING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ISLAM IN TODAY’S WORLD Islam, in many of its current guises, no longer resembles its original Message. In a world of intractable conflicts plagued by political Islam and Islamophobia—and where other forms of fundamentalism within the major religious creeds are on the rise, as well—this book serves as a reminder. It aims to recover and reaffirm Islam’s underlying and guiding principles. Setting out to distinguish the divine from the human in order to elucidate the pristine nature of the divine Message, Mahmassani reasserts Islam’s universal, secular, and progressive character. In Part One of this comprehensive and meticulously researched volume, the author places the Message of Islam within its historic, geographic, and cultural contexts. Focusing on the primacy of the Holy Qur'an among the sources of Islam, he examines the controversies which have surrounded the Prophetic Tradition—Sunna and Hadith—as a source of Islam, demonstrating the full scope of Islam’s universality. In Part Two he goes on to clarify Islam’s secular nature by reconsidering inherited beliefs about the relationship between Islam and the state, and Islam and Sharia’a law, revealing Islam’s inherent humanism. This leads, in Part Three, to reflections on the progressive nature of Islam, and on the importance of the role of the mind in understanding and taking full benefit of religion as an engine of progress. In particular, the author focuses on human rights, including issues of human dignity, freedom of faith, and gender equality. Islam in Retrospect: Recovering the Message is a rich contribution to continuing efforts to reform perceptions of Islam. Scholars and students in the fields of Islamic studies, religion, and the humanities, teachers, policy makers, and general readers will find this carefully constructed sourcebook invaluable for its fresh outlook and approach to understanding Islam and Muslim Scriptures in the light of today’s world. As Mahmassani affirms, “Islam, as a divine message, has been—and continuously remains—perfect.”

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781623710552
Publisher: Interlink Publishing Group, Incorporated
Publication date: 07/27/2014
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 672
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Maher S. Mahmassani has written two books and numerous articles in anthologies and law journals, in Arabic, English and French. He earned his doctorate in 1972 and taught law in Beirut at the Lebanese University Law School and the Arab University Law School.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 7

Preface 1

Introduction: Myths and Changing Realities 15

Part 1 The Universal Nature of Islam 33

Chapter 1 Islam Did Not Appear in a Vacuum 35

Chapter 2 The Holy Qur'an as the Essential Source of Islam 43

Chapter 3 The Nature and Role of Prophetic Tradition 69

Chapter 4 The Scope of the Universal Nature of Islam: Issues of Interpretation 133

Part 2 The Secular Nature of Islam 173

Chapter 5 Defining Secularism 177

Chapter 6 Divine Governance and Human Government 187

Chapter 7 The Evolution of the Islamic State 215

Chapter 8 Islam and the Myth of a Divine Theory of State 233

Chapter 9 Islam and Shari'a 273

Chapter 10 Humanism and Individualism in Islam 321

Part 3 The Progressive Nature of Islam 372

Chapter 11 The Concept and Scope of Progressivism in Islam 376

Chapter 12 Islam and the Mind 388

Chapter 13 Islam and "Others" 453

Chapter 14 The Right to Equality 491

Chapter 15 The Right to Freedom 541

Chapter 16 Reflections on Human Rights in Islam 575

Conclusion: Recovering the Message: Reforming Our Perception of God 593

Notes 611

Glossary 750

Bibliography 769

Index 789

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