Ebooks for the Classroom+Faculty

Islam and the Challenge of Civilization
ISBN: 9780823251889
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Fordham University Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Islam -- 21st century; Islamic civilization; Muslims -- Non-Muslim countries; Islamic renewal;

Meddeb (The Malady of Islam), who teaches comparative literature at Paris West University Nanterre and is also a novelist and poet, takes a high-level look at the need for changes to Islamic interpretation. Meddeb's thesis-that Muslims need to turn towards Sufism more-is not new; many of his founda-tional arguments, however, are bold and fresh. He argues that much of the material most Muslims rely on as default interpretive tools are actually fundamentalist, simplistic, and Wahhabi. Furthermore, vio-lence is inherent to the monotheistic religions; after all, most violence that appears in the Qur'an ap-peared in the Bible first. The term dhimmi-used to describe minority communities in Islamic states-was a concept that actually worked but has since been unfairly denigrated. Meddeb also argues that Sufism is an optimal next step for Islam because it is built on previous spiritual traditions. Much of this commentary-delivered in fragments-may surprise many Muslims and even some Islamic schol-ars. Those well-versed in Islamic Studies will enjoy the erudite read, masterfully rendered into English by Kuntz, a seasoned translator. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Abdelwahab Meddeb (1946-2014) was novelist and poet who taught comparative literature at the Université Paris X (Nanterre). Meddeb published more than twenty books in French. His La maladie de l'islam, winner of the Prix François Mauriac, has been translated into English as The Malady of Islam.Kuntz Jane :

Jane Kuntz has a doctorate in French from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and has translated eight works of contemporary French fiction for Dalkey Archive Press.