Philosophy & Religion

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Monday, February 15, 2010

Reformist voices of Islam : mediating Islam and modernity

edited by Shireen T. Hunter. The premise underlying this edited volume is that the loud roar of Islamic radicals has drowned out moderate and reformist voices in Islam. The collection of articles by nine leading experts on contemporary Islam goes a long way toward restoring that balance, and students will find here a useful starting point for broaching the question, "Where are the alternative voices within Islam?" At the same time, though the comprehensive scope of the various nationally and regionally focused chapters is impressive, the volume suffers from unevenness throughout; some single countries receive nearly twice the space devoted to entire regions, and some chapters offer schematic overviews of a variety of thinkers while others focus on only a few trends or individuals with greater depth. The unevenness is compensated, to some extent, by the editor's effort to draw the reader's attention to important issues addressed across chapters (e.g., democracy, human rights, and women's and minority rights) and the relationship of these issues to central and overarching conceptual questions. The reader is likely to walk away from this volume more convinced of the breadth and diversity of Islamic reformist thinking and movements, but still lacking a comprehensive grasp of the strengths and prospects of modern reform along Islamic lines. --Choice. (Check Catalog)

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