Voice of an Exile: Reflections on Islam - Couverture rigide

Zaid, Nasr Abu; Nelson, Esther Ruth

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0275982505 ISBN 13 : 9780275982508

Editeur : Praeger Publishers Inc, 2004

Synopsis

In 1995 Ayman al-Zawahiri, a prominent terrorist figure recently associated with Al Queda and al-Jihad, issued a bounty against Dr. Nasr Abu Zaid, a respected Islamic scholar at Cairo University. What was Zaid's offense? Arguing that Islam's holy texts should be interpreted in the historical and linguistic context of their time, and that new interpretations should account for social change. His controversial claim that the Qur'an be interpreted metaphorically rather than literally further enraged fundamentalists. Labeled an apostate by the Cairo court of appeals, his life was threatened and he was forced to flee to the Netherlands with his wife. A professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at Leiden University in his adopted country, this progressive Islamic scholar insists that change is still possible and that new understandings of Islam can be accepted and advanced. Forgoing claims that Islam is a violent religion, Zaid shows us that, above all, justice and obedience lies at the heart of the Qur'an.

At the outset of this book, we find Zaid growing up in Quhafa, a village in northern Egypt. Islam gives meaning and definition to his life. As he matures, we see him sorting through Egypt's various political developments and upheavals. Zaid carefully weaves such developments into the events of his own life—his father's death, raising his younger siblings, attending Cairo University, his study abroad, his marriages, the events leading to his exile, and his visit to Egypt after a seven-year absence. Through it all, we see him advancing in his academic career and applying new skills to his study and interpretation of the Qur'an. He wrestles with subjects such as polygamy, wife beating, inheritance, and the practice of usury in Islamic cultures. He asserts and illustrates that Islam must be separate from the State in order to protect the religion from political manipulation. Zaid's personal story and academic pursuits, reflecting the social reality of the broader culture, offer new perspectives on Islam and provide hope to Muslims who feel their religion has been misrepresented and misunderstood.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

NASR ABU ZAID is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He has published several book in Arabic and many articles in English. In 2002 he was awarded the Freedom of Worship Medal by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.

ESTHER R. NELSON is Professor of Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a freelance writer and has published her work in a variety of mainstream publications.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Praeger Publishers Inc
• Date d'édition: 2004
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0275982505
• ISBN 13: 9780275982508
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 232
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Allemagne