The articles selected for this volume explore emergent issues in the contemporary relationship between Islam and science and present studies of eight major voices in the discourse. Also included is a section on the operationalization of Islamic science in the modern world and a section on studies in traditional Islamic cosmology.

This book deals with certain "e;hot-button"e; contemporary issues in Islam, including the Shari'a, jihad, the caliphate, women's status, and interfaith relations. Notably, it places the discussion of these topics within a longer historical framework in order

This book presents an intellectual history of today’s Muslim world, surveying contemporary Muslim thinking in its various manifestations, addressing a variety of themes that impact on the lives of present-day Muslims. Focusing on the period from roughly the late 1960s to the first decade of the twenty-first century, the book is global in its approach and offers an overview of different strands of thought and trends in the development of new ideas, distinguishing between traditional, reactionary, and progressive approaches. It presents a variety of themes and issues including: The continuing relevance of the legacy of traditional Islamic learning as well as the use of reason; the centrality of the Qur’an; the spiritual concerns of contemporary Muslims; political thought regarding secularity, statehood, and governance; legal and ethical debates; related current issues like human rights, gender equality, and religious plurality; as well as globalization, ecology and the environment, bioethics, and life sciences. An alternative account of Islam and the Muslim world today, counterbalancing narratives that emphasise politics and confrontations with the West, this book is an essential resource for students and scholars of Islam.

The articles selected for this volume explore emergent issues in the contemporary relationship between Islam and science and present studies of eight major voices in the discourse. Also included is a section on the operationalization of Islamic science in the modern world and a section on studies in traditional Islamic cosmology.

"In this wide-ranging and masterly work, Ahmad Dallal examines the significance of scientific knowledge and situates the culture of science in relation to other cultural forces in Muslim societies. He traces the ways the realms of scientific knowledge and religious authority were delineated historically. For example, the emergence of new mathematical methods revealed that many mosques built in the early period of Islamic expansion were misaligned relative to the Ka'ba in Mecca; this misalignment was critical because Muslims must face Mecca during their five daily prayers. The realization of a discrepancy between tradition and science often led to demolition and rebuilding and, most important, to questioning whether scientific knowledge should take precedence over religious authority in a matter where their realms clearly overlapped"--Page 2 of cover.

This book reviews global issues, challenges and perspectives of the 21st century. Chapter One focuses on recent history and contemporary political issues to explain the ongoing conflicts in Iraq. Chapter Two aims to find out the answers on how Islamic economics system will shape the future global economy. Chapter Three discusses Islam and essentialism. Chapter Four focuses on challenges and perspectives of teaching Muslim religious education in the 21st century. Chapter Five explores how Muslims have themselves become a burden to the religion of Islam in the 21st century as a result of their intransigent on issues and the belief that the only way to be a Muslim is to live in the 7th century of the earlier period of Islam.

This collection of papers presents a reformist project calling upon Muslim intellectuals and scholars everywhere to comprehend the vast breadth and depth of the crisis engulfing Muslim thought today and the necessity of solving this crisis to enable the Ummah to experience a revival and fulfill its role among the nations of the world. The reader will find a variety of articles dealing with this intellectual crises, these include a chapter on ijtihad's role and history, important since our intellectual problems cannot be solved without the scholars' use of independent reasoning and creativity. Another discusses imitation (taqlid) calling upon Muslim scholars and intellectuals to abandon imitation and to stop favoring the past over the present when trying to solve modern problems. Another looks at human rights.

This title was first published in 2002. This text seeks to provide the necessary background for understanding the contemporary relationship between Islam and modern science. Presenting an authentic discourse on the Islamic understanding of the physical cosmos, Muzaffar Iqbal explores God's relationship to the created world and the historical and cultural forces that have shaped and defined Muslim attitudes towards science. What was Islamic in the Islamic scientific tradition? How was it rooted in the Qur'anic worldview and whatever happened to it? These are some of the facets of this account of a tradition that spans eight centuries and covers a vast geographical region. Written from within, this ground-breaking exploration of some of the most fundamental questions in the Islam and science discourse, explores the process of appropriation and transformation of the Islamic scientific tradition in Europe during the three centuries leading up to the Scientific revolution.

How might understandings of environmentalism and the environmental humanities shift by incorporating Islamic perspectives? In this book, Anna M. Gade explores the religious and cultural foundations of Islamic environmentalisms. She blends textual and ethnographic study to offer a comprehensive and interdisciplinary account of the legal, ethical, social, and empirical principles underlying Muslim commitments to the earth. Muslim Environmentalisms shows how diverse Muslim communities and schools of thought have addressed ecological questions for the sake of this world and the world to come. Gade draws on a rich spectrum of materials―scripture, jurisprudence, science, art, and social and political engagement―as well as fieldwork in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The book brings together case studies in disaster management, educational programs, international development, conservation projects, religious ritual and performance, and Islamic law to rethink key theories. Gade shows that the Islamic tradition leads us to see the environment as an ethical idea, moving beyond the established frameworks of both nature and crisis. Muslim Environmentalisms models novel approaches to the study of religion and environment from a humanistic perspective, reinterpreting issues at the intersection of numerous academic disciplines to propose a postcolonial and global understanding of environment in terms of consequential relations.