This is a rare study of a late premodern Islamic thinker, Ibrahim al- Bājūrī, a nineteenth-century scholar and rector of Cairo's al-Azhar University. Aaron Spevack explores al- Bājūrī's legal, theological, and mystical thought, highlighting its originality and vibrancy in relation to the millennium of scholarship that preceded and informed it, and also detailing its continuing legacy. The book makes a case for the normativity of the Gabrielian Paradigm, the study of law, rational theology, and Sufism, in the person of al- Bājūrī. Soon after his death in 1860, this typical pattern of scholarship would face significant challenges from modernists, reformers, and fundamentalists. Spevack challenges beliefs that rational theology, syllogistic logic, and Sufism were not part of the predominant conception of orthodox scholarship and shows this scholarly archetype has not disappeared as an ideal. In addition, the book contests prevailing beliefs in academic and Muslim circles about intellectual decline from the thirteenth through nineteenth centuries.
Ahmad is a kid from Massachusetts. One day he crawls into the minbar of the Sulaymaniyyah Mosque, where he meets Toby, a talking ant in a blue hat, green trousers, and a bright yellow cardigan. Toby leads him through a twisting maze of crystal-lined floors that send Ahmad slipping and sliding into Nimrullah's garden. There he meets a host of other talking animals, including the majestic tiger named Nimrullah who sends him on an inner and outer journey full of spies, sword fights, dragons, and swindlers. Outwardly Ahmad must reach the Green Dagger, while evading the Chain Rattlers and the evil Kadhibun, in order to save the talking animals, their way of life, and their environment. Inwardly, Ahmad travels a simultaneous path of self discovery and spiritual growth in hopes of becoming a great master like Nimrullah.
Considers the work of nineteenth-century theologian Ibrahim al- B?j?r? and contests the notion of intellectual decline in Islamic thought from the thirteenth through nineteenth centuries. This is a rare study of a late premodern Islamic thinker, Ibrahim al- B?j?r?, a nineteenth-century scholar and rector of Cairos al-Azhar University. Aaron Spevack explores al- B?j?r?s legal, theological, and mystical thought, highlighting its originality and vibrancy in relation to the millennium of scholarship that preceded and informed it, and also detailing its continuing legacy. The book makes a case for the normativity of the Gabrielian Paradigm, the study of law, rational theology, and Sufism, in the person of al- B?j?r?. Soon after his death in 1860, this typical pattern of scholarship would face significant challenges from modernists, reformers, and fundamentalists. Spevack challenges beliefs that rational theology, syllogistic logic, and Sufism were not part of the predominant conception of orthodox scholarship and shows this scholarly archetype has not disappeared as an ideal. In addition, the book contests prevailing beliefs in academic and Muslim circles about intellectual decline from the thirteenth through nineteenth centuries. Spevacks trailblazing book is a lucid survey and deep analysis of the works and ideas of al-B?j?r?. Spevack shows precisely how al-B?j?r? served as an archetypal Sunn? scholar. In the process, he succeeds in evoking the subtlety, sophistication, and dynamism of the postclassical Islamic traditions of theology, mysticism, and jurisprudence. Robert Wisnovsky, McGill University Here is a readable and comprehensive introduction to the intellectual production of one of the last giants of the Sunn? legal tradition in the nineteenth century. Sensitive to the scholars strong affiliation with a millennium-long tradition, this introduction will be appreciated by seasoned scholars and newcomers alike. Ahmad Atif Ahmad, University of California, Santa Barbara Spevacks book is an important corrective to Eurocentric narratives of the nineteenth century that focus solely on Islamic thinkers whose main concern is with European modernity and its challenges while breezily ignoring the continuing tradition of madrasah scholarship in the modern period. Khaled El-Rouayheb, Harvard University
The West's strategy of engagement with China has failed. More than three decades of trade and investment with the advanced democracies have left that country far richer and stronger than it would otherwise have been. But growth and development have not caused China's rulers to relax their grip on political power, abandon their mercantilist economic policies, or accept the rules and norms of the existing international system. To the contrary: China today is more repressive at home, more aggressive abroad, and more obviously intent on establishing itself as the world’s preponderant power than at any time since the death of Chairman Mao. What went wrong? Put simply, the democracies underestimated the resilience, resourcefulness, and ruthlessness of the Chinese Communist Party. For far too long, the United States and its allies failed to take seriously the Party's unwavering determination to crush opposition, build national power, and fulfill its ideological and geopolitical ambitions. In this timely and powerfully argued study, Aaron Friedberg identifies the assumptions underpinning engagement, describes the counterstrategy that China's Communist Party rulers devised in order to exploit the West's openness while defeating its plans, and explains what the democracies must do now if they wish to preserve their prosperity, protect their security, and defend their common values.
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