Read more
In this magisterial cultural and intellectual history, Thomas Bauer reconsiders classical and modern Islam by tracing differing attitudes toward ambiguity. Over a span of many centuries, he explores the tension between one strand that aspires to annihilate all uncertainties and a competing tendency that looks for ways to live with complexity.
List of contents
Foreword
Introduction
1. Cultural Ambiguity
2. Does God Speak in Textual Variants?
3. Does God Speak Ambiguously?
4. The Blessing of Dissent
5. The Islamization of Islam
6. Language: A Serious Business and a Game
7. The Ambiguity of Sexual Desire
8. The Serene Look at the World
9. In Quest of Certainty
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Thomas Bauer. Translated by Hinrich Biesterfeldt and Tricia Tunstall
Summary
In this magisterial cultural and intellectual history, Thomas Bauer reconsiders classical and modern Islam by tracing differing attitudes toward ambiguity. Over a span of many centuries, he explores the tension between one strand that aspires to annihilate all uncertainties and a competing tendency that looks for ways to live with complexity.
Additional text
In this wonderful book, Thomas Bauer offers a truly fresh history of how Islam was lived and interpreted before the nineteenth century. With a focus on 'ambiguity,' he tells a fascinating story well beyond hackneyed clichés of 'medieval' bigots and zealots. Elegantly written, often witty, and always erudite, this is an outstandingly enjoyable must-read for anyone interested in Islam.
