Quran and the Secular Mind A Philosophy of Islam

In this engaging and innovative study Shabbir Akhtar argues that Islam is unique in its decision and capacity to confront, rather than accommodate, the challenges of secular belief. The author contends that Islam should not be classed with the modern Judaeo-Christian tradition since that tradition has effectively capitulated to secularism and is now a disguised form of liberal humanism. He insists that the Quran, the founding document and scripture of Islam, must be viewed in its own uniqueness and integrity rather than mined for alleged parallels and equivalents with biblical Semitic faiths. The author encourages his Muslim co-religionists to assess central Quranic doctrine at the bar of contemporary secular reason. in doing so, he seeks to revive the tradition of Islamic philosophy, moribund since the work of the twelfth century Muslim thinker and commentator on Aristotle, Ibn Rushd (Averroes). Shabbir Akhtar's book argues that reason, in the aftermath of revelation, must be exercised critically rather than merely to extract and explicate Quranic dogma. in doing so, the author creates a revolutionary form of Quranic exegesis with vitally significant implications for the moral, intellectual, cultural and political future of this consciously universal faith called Islam, and indeed of other faiths and ideologies that must encounter it in the modern secular world. Accessible in style and topical and provocative in content, this book is a major philosophical contribution to the study of the Quran. These features make it ideal reading for students and general readers of Islam and philosophy.Akhtar, Shabbir is the author of 'Quran and the Secular Mind A Philosophy of Islam', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415437820 and ISBN 0415437822.