The award-winning author of The Malady of Islam makes an urgent case for an Islamic reformation in this âbold and freshâ study (Publishers Weekly). Western Europe is now home to millions of Muslims, where Christianity and Judaism have come to coexist with secular humanism and positivist law. In Islam and the Challenge of Civilization, Meddeb advocates a new approach to Islam in tune with todayâs diverse society. Rather than calling for âmoderateâ Islamâwhich Meddeb views as thinly disguised Whabismâhe calls for an Islam inspired by the great Sufi thinkers, whose practice of religion was not bound by doctrine. With a return to long-standing doctrinal questions, Meddeb calls upon Muslims to distinguish between Islamâs spiritual message and the temporal, material, and historic
ally grounded origins of its founding scriptures. He contrasts periods of Islamic historyâwhen Muslim philosophers engaged in lively dialogue with other faiths and civilizationsâwith modern Islamâs collective amnesia of this past. In this erudite and impassioned study, Meddeb demonstrates that Muslims cannot join the concert of nations unless they set aside outmoded notions such as jihad. Ultimately, he argues, feuding among the monotheisms must give way to the more important issue of citizenship in todayâs global setting.
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