Product Description
As the specter of religious extremism has become a fact of life today, the temptation is great to allow the evil actions and perspectives of a minority to represent an entire tradition. In the case of Islam, there has been much recent confusion in the Western world centered on distorted portrayals of its core values. Born of ignorance, such confusion feeds the very problem at hand.
In The Heart of Islam one of the great intellectual figures in Islamic history offers a timely presentation of the core spiritual and social values of Islam: peace, compassion, social justice, and respect for the other. Seizing this unique moment in history to reflect on the essence of his tradition, Seyyed Hossein Nasr seeks to “open a spiritual and intellectual space for mutual understanding.” Exploring Islamic values in scripture, traditional sources, and history, he also shows their clear counterparts in the Jewish and Christian traditions, revealing the common ground of the Abrahamic faiths.
Nasr challenges members of the world’s civilizations to stop demonizing others while identifying themselves with pure goodness and to turn instead to a deeper understanding of those shared values that can solve the acute problems facing humanity today. “Muslims must ask themselves what went wrong within their own societies,” he writes, “but the West must also pose the same question about itself . . . whether we are Muslims, Jews, Christians, or even secularists, whether we live in the Islamic world or in the West, we are in need of meaning in our lives, of ethical norms to guide our actions, of a vision that would allow us to live at peace with each other and with the rest of God’s creation.” Such help, he believes, lies at the heart of every religion and can lead the followers of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) as well as other religious and spiritual traditions to a new future of mutual respect and common global purpose.
The Heart of Islam is a landmark presentation of enduring value that offers hope to humanity, and a compelling portrait of the beauty and appeal of the faith of 1.2 billion people.
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on Mar 12th, 2010 at 9:15 am
All the important details are left out!
“islam Exposed” by Solomon Tulbure would be a better choice if you are looking for an Objective view.
Rating: 1 / 5
on Mar 12th, 2010 at 11:54 am
This book leaves out much to be desired.
You are better off reading “Islam Exposed” by Solomon Tulbure ISBN: 1932303456
Rating: 1 / 5
on Mar 12th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
This book leaves out much to be desired.
You are better off reading “Islam Exposed” by Solomon Tulbure ISBN: 1932303456
Rating: 1 / 5
on Mar 12th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
While Nasr does point to good values found in the common faiths of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, his views are quite one-sided. He calls himself a person who sees the “transcendental reality in all religions.” This is clearly not coming from an orthodox Moslem. I tend to get the impression that Nasr is a liberal, reformist who tries to modernize his faith, which HAS historically been engaged in conquest and forced conversion (such as through economic discrimination by forced higher taxes for non-Muslims.) Mr. Nasr fails to interpret the Quran literally, the way any true believer of a faith would. Numerous times in the Quran women are degraded, Muslims are encouraged to kill and retaliate towards non-Muslims, and Muhammed is allowed to do as he pleases in the “name of Allah.”
Mr. Nasr should not try to justify his religion as one of peace, but should look to the reality of the threat of Islam to the western world and the dangers to Christians of this militaristic faith. Just look at Christians in the Sudan, Indonesia, Iran, and the Malaysian states. This book tends to leave one with a very one-sided viewpoint, written about a faith that has historically, culturally, and presently posed a danger to those that do not belong to it. Maybe Nasr should not try to be a voice for the entire religion, but rather, his watered-down version of a real threat to the modern world.
Rating: 2 / 5
on Mar 12th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
I have only started to read this book and I am already learning a great deal, but I am telling you – Watch out for this author, he is NOT giving an unbiased view of Islam.
When he is talking technical and giving real “facts” about Islam, the book is great – he is a good writer and I find him readable at these times. However, he is usually in full-blown defensive mode – perhaps the book was written too closely on the heals of 9/11. The author seems to be overly aware of that tragedy, and instead of telling us what Islam really is he is trying to prove all the bad-talkers wrong. As a result, he comes across as very defensive.
There is an example early in the book (it almost made me put it down) where he directly compares the response of Muslims in Iraq during the first Gulf War with the response of Christians in the rest of the world to the 9/11 attack. He says that Christians were NOT attacked on the street by Muslims in Iraq but innocent Muslims were attacked (worldwide) by Christians as retaliation for 9/11.
Whether you agreed with the first Gulf War or not, to compare these two events is completely illogical. One was an internationally sanctioned (with none of the worldwide debate the second war had) response to unprovoked agression and the other was a criminal act of terrorism. I do not sanction attacks on Muslims because of 9/11, I am appalled by them, but to compare these two events to make the point that Muslims are more tolerant is close to insane. What about the Muslims flying the planes? Where was their tolerance?
If you like a challenging read (and I do), then read this book. But stay on your toes and REALLY read this book. Don’t just swallow it whole. This guy is on a mission, and it is not to teach you the whole and honest truth about Islam.
PS – An earlier reviewer asked if this guy was such a great Muslim, why had he lived in the secular West for so long. Read the jacket, he was a professor in Tehran, Iran but left suddenly in 1979. Hmm, what happened in Iran in 1979?
Rating: 2 / 5