Since September 11 2001 not a day passes without stories about ' Islam'
- the religion of about one-fifth of humanity
- appearing

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The recent prominence of Islamic politics in the Middle East, notably the Iranian revolution & its ramifications, has raised important questions about society, politics & culture. It has posed a challenge to the main theoretical approaches in the social sciences from Marxism to modernization theory & it has given some credence to the idea that the world of Islam is essentially distinct from Europe, & follows a course of development dictated by its own history & culture. In this book, Sami Zubaida challenges these diverse opinions in favour of a general political sociology capable of dealing with the historical & cultural personalities of societies & situations in the region. He argues that rather than being revivals of historical ideas & institutions, current political & social developments in the Islamic World are, in fact, uniquely modern phenomena. ...

Carole Hillenbrand`s book offers a profound understanding of the history of Muslims & their faith, from the life of Muhammad to the religion practised by 1.6 billion people around the world today. Each of the eleven chapters explains a core aspect of the faith in historical perspective, allowing readers to gain a sensitive understanding of the essential tenets of the religion & of the many ways in which the present is shaped by the past. It is an ideal introductory text for courses in Middle Eastern studies, in religious studies, or on Islam & its history. ...

Islamabad with Rawalpindi at 1:30, 000 from the Pakistani national survey organization, providing an overview map of the two cities. Principal traffic arteries are highlighted & selected streets & neighbourhoods are named. Within Islamabad sector numbers are also shown. Buildings are annotated with names of various organizations, educational establishments, embassies, services, etc. The map has no index. ...

This history of Islamic art surveys the magnificent achievement of Muslim arists & craftsmen over 1200 years, from the 7th to the 19th centuries AD. Architecture, manuscripts, ceramics & glass, metalwork, textiles & carpets, with their distinctive subtlety of outline & sumptuous decoration, formed the basis of a cultural heritage of extraordinary richness. & yet under different local conditions
- in Arabia or Turkey, central Asia or Spain, North Africa, India or Iran
- & in the hands of Arabs, Seljuks, Mamluks, Mongols, Timurid & Ottoman Turks, Safavids or Mughals, this shared heritage produced a great diversity of styles, which the author examines region by region. Also considered is the specific character of Islamic art & its influence in the West, as well as modern developments. The book contains a useful glossary of Arabic, Turkish & Persian terms.

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The religious thinkers, political leaders, law-makers, writers & philosophers of the early Muslim world helped to shape the 1, 400-year-long development of today`s second-largest world religion. But who were these people? What do we know of their lives, & the ways in which they influenced their societies? Chase F. Robinson draws on the long tradition in Muslim scholarship of commemorating in writing the biographies of notable figures, but weaves these ambitious lives together to create a rich narrative of early Islamic civilization, from the Prophet Muhammad to fearsome Tamerlane. Beginning in Islam`s heartl&, Mecca, we move across Arabia to follow Islam`s journey across North Africa, as far as Spain in the West, & eastwards through Central & East Asia; we see the rise & fall of Islamic states through the political & military leaders working to secure peace or expand their power, &, within this political climate, the development of Islamic law, scientific thought & literature through the words of the scholars who devoted themselves to these pursuits. Alongside the famous characters who coloured this landscape, including Muhammad`s controversial cousin, ` Ali; the first Sultan of Egypt, Saladin; & the poet Rumi, the reader will also meet less well-known figures, such as Shajar al-Durr, slave-turned-Sultana of Egypt, & Ibn Fadlan, whose travels in Eurasia brought first-hand accounts of the Volka Vikings to the Abbasid Caliph. ...

The religious thinkers, political leaders, law-makers, writers & philosophers of the early Muslim world helped to shape the 1, 400-year-long development of today`s secondlargest world religion. But who were these people? What do we know of their lives, & the ways in which they influenced their societies? Chase F. Robinson draws on the long tradition in Muslim scholarship of commemorating in writing the biographies of notable figures, but weaves these ambitious lives together to create a rich narrative of early Islamic civilization, from the Prophet Muhammad to fearsome Tamerlane. Beginning in Islam`s heartl&, Mecca, we move across Arabia to follow Islam`s journey across North Africa, as far as Spain in the West, & eastwards through Central & East Asia; we see the rise & fall of Islamic states through the political & military leaders working to secure peace or expand their power, &, within this political climate, the development of Islamic law, scientific thought & literature through the words of the scholars who devoted themselves to these pursuits. Alongside the famous characters who coloured this landscape, including Muhammad`s controversial cousin, ` Ali; the first Sultan of Egypt, Saladin; & the poet Rumi, the reader will also meet less wellknown figures, such as Shajar al-Durr, slave-turned-Sultana of Egypt, & Ibn Fadlan, whose travels in Eurasia brought first-hand accounts of the Volka Vikings to the Abbasid Caliph. ...

Islamic geometric designs are admired worldwide for their beauty & marvellous intricacy, yet in truth they are seldom understood. Indeed, their complexity & artistry can seem almost beyond the powers of human ingenuity. In this handsomely illustrated volume, artist & teacher Eric Broug analyses & explains these complex designs in their historical & physical context. His own original drawings accompany magnificent photographs of mosques, madrasas, palaces & tombs from the Islamic world, ranging from North Africa to Iran & Uzbekistan, & from the 8th to the 19th centuries. Chapters are devoted to each of the main families of geometric design fourfold, fivefold & sixfold & to the complex combined patterns. Every design is carefully explained, & illustrated with a wealth of stunning photographs & clear, meticulously detailed drawings. Readers can follow the design processes by which these patterns were created & even learn to reproduce & invent geometric patterns for themselves, using exactly the same tools as the Islamic craftsmen of old: a ruler & a pair of compasses. ...

From the first Arab-Islamic Empire of the mid-seventh century to the Ottomans, the last great Muslim empire, the story of the Middle East has been the story of the rise & fall of universal empires &, no less important, of imperialist dreams. So argues Efraim Karsh in this highly provocative book. Rejecting the conventional Western interpretation of Middle Eastern history as an offshoot of global power politics, Karsh contends that the region's experience is the culmination of long-existing indigenous trends, passions, & patterns of behaviour, & that foremost among these is Islam's millenarian imperial tradition. The author explores the history of Islam's imperialism & the persistence of the Ottoman imperialist dream that outlasted World War I to haunt Islamic & Middle Eastern politics to the present day. September 11 can be seen as simply the latest expression of this dream, & such attacks have little to do with U.S. international behaviour or policy in the Middle East, says Karsh. The House of Islam's war for world mastery is traditional, indeed venerable, & it is a quest that is far from over. ...

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY DAVID BRADSHAW For over a hundred years the Pacific island of Pala has been the scene of a unique experiment in civilisation. Its inhabitants live in a society where western science has been brought together with eastern philosophy & humanism to create a paradise on earth. When cynical journalist, Will Farnaby, arrives to search for information about potential oil reserves on Pala, he quickly falls in love with the way of life on the isl&. Soon the need to complete his mission becomes an intolerable burden. In counterpoint to Brave New World & Ape & Essence, in Island Huxley gives us his vision of utopia. ...