The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam

Download The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857735276
Total Pages : 199 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (577 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam by : Reza Shah-Kazemi

Download or read book The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam written by Reza Shah-Kazemi and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-27 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1932, the eminent British scholar of Islam, Sir Hamilton Gibb, wrote: "The nobility and broad tolerance of this religion [Islam], which accepted all the real religions of the world as God-inspired, will always be a glorious heritage for mankind. No other society has such a record of success in uniting, in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavor, so many and so various races of humanity." (Whither Islam?) Such scholarly objectivity towards the tolerance which has historically characterized the Islamic tradition as a whole is in short supply these days. Through an insidious symbiosis of fanatical Muslims and prejudiced Islamophobes, the very opposite image of Islam has emerged as one of the most dangerous stereotypes of our times. The most cursory glance at history will not only reveal the falsity of this stereotype of an intolerant Islam, it will also reveal the little known fact that, not so long ago, it was the Islamic world that provided models of tolerant conduct for a fanatically intolerant Christian world tearing itself apart over dogmatic differences. The first part of this monograph examines the historical record of tolerance in the Islamic tradition, illustrating the expression of the principle of tolerance through the rule of such dynasties as the Ottomans, Mughals, Fatimids, and the Umayyads of Spain. In the second, the principle of tolerance is shown to be rooted in the spirit of the Qur'anic revelation and embodied in the exemplary conduct of the Prophet.

The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam

Download The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857721461
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (577 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam by : Reza Shah-Kazemi

Download or read book The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam written by Reza Shah-Kazemi and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-27 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1932, the eminent British scholar of Islam, Sir Hamilton Gibb, wrote: "The nobility and broad tolerance of this religion [Islam], which accepted all the real religions of the world as God-inspired, will always be a glorious heritage for mankind. No other society has such a record of success in uniting, in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavor, so many and so various races of humanity." (Whither Islam?) Such scholarly objectivity towards the tolerance which has historically characterized the Islamic tradition as a whole is in short supply these days. Through an insidious symbiosis of fanatical Muslims and prejudiced Islamophobes, the very opposite image of Islam has emerged as one of the most dangerous stereotypes of our times. The most cursory glance at history will not only reveal the falsity of this stereotype of an intolerant Islam, it will also reveal the little known fact that, not so long ago, it was the Islamic world that provided models of tolerant conduct for a fanatically intolerant Christian world tearing itself apart over dogmatic differences. The first part of this monograph examines the historical record of tolerance in the Islamic tradition, illustrating the expression of the principle of tolerance through the rule of such dynasties as the Ottomans, Mughals, Fatimids, and the Umayyads of Spain. In the second, the principle of tolerance is shown to be rooted in the spirit of the Qur'anic revelation and embodied in the exemplary conduct of the Prophet.

A Spirit of Tolerance

Download A Spirit of Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : World Wisdom, Inc
ISBN 13 : 1933316470
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (333 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Spirit of Tolerance by : Amadou Hampaté Bâ

Download or read book A Spirit of Tolerance written by Amadou Hampaté Bâ and published by World Wisdom, Inc. This book was released on 2008 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biography of Tierno Bokar (1875-1939), an early twentieth-century African mystic and Muslim spiritural teacher, written by one of his students.

The Wisdom of Tolerance

Download The Wisdom of Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857726358
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (577 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Wisdom of Tolerance by : Daisaku Ikeda

Download or read book The Wisdom of Tolerance written by Daisaku Ikeda and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-04-15 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do Buddhism and Islam have in common? And what positive characteristics might Buddhist Japan and Muslim Indonesia be able to offer one another? In this thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion which draws on creative artists and thinkers as diverse as Beethoven, Goethe, Tolstoy, Thomas Jefferson and Akira Kurosawa distinguished representatives from each country demonstrate that meaningful dialogue between religions and cultures begins with a one-to-one conversation between individuals. Addressing the similarities of their nations as island peoples, with a shared history of trade and cultural exchange, Abdurrahman Wahid and Daisaku Ikeda agree that the aim of dialogue, like that of Buddhism and Islam alike, is fundamentally the goal of peace. A pivotal moment in the conversation comes when reference is made to the Indonesian story of the Bamboo Princess, from the Chronicle of the Kings of Pasai; this is seen to bear close resemblance to the Japanese Taketori Monogatari, or 'Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'. Such narrative interrelationship which can be discerned even in the midst of religious and cultural distinctiveness emerges as a powerful symbol of the common humanity not just of Indonesia and Japan but of all cultures. Both thinkers continue to draw on their respective traditions, on their personal experiences of war and adversity, and especially on the lives of the Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed, to show that harmony springs from an attitude of tolerance and nonviolence which is where true courage resides. Whether masterfully expounding the teachings of Nichiren, or indicating that a proper understanding of jihad is not about religious conflict but about communicating the truth of Allah, the discussants mutually transform our understandings of value, pluralism, and amity.

Tolerance

Download Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Open Book Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1783742038
Total Pages : 146 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (837 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Tolerance by : Caroline Warman

Download or read book Tolerance written by Caroline Warman and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2016-01-04 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by Voltaire’s advice that a text needs to be concise to have real influence, this anthology contains fiery extracts by forty eighteenth-century authors, from the most famous philosophers of the age to those whose brilliant writings are less well-known. These passages are immensely diverse in style and topic, but all have in common a passionate commitment to equality, freedom, and tolerance. Each text resonates powerfully with the issues our world faces today. Tolerance was first published by the Société française d’étude du dix-huitième siècle (the French Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies) in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo assassinations in January 2015 as an act of solidarity and as a response to the surge of interest in Enlightenment values. With the support of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, it has now been translated by over 100 students and tutors of French at Oxford University.

Tolerance Among the Virtues

Download Tolerance Among the Virtues PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691191697
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Tolerance Among the Virtues by : John R. Bowlin

Download or read book Tolerance Among the Virtues written by John R. Bowlin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-07-16 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a pluralistic society such as ours, tolerance is a virtue—but it doesn't always seem so. Some suspect that it entangles us in unacceptable moral compromises and inequalities of power, while others dismiss it as mere political correctness or doubt that it can safeguard the moral and political relationships we value. Tolerance among the Virtues provides a vigorous defense of tolerance against its many critics and shows why the virtue of tolerance involves exercising judgment across a variety of different circumstances and relationships—not simply applying a prescribed set of rules. Drawing inspiration from St. Paul, Aquinas, and Wittgenstein, John Bowlin offers a nuanced inquiry into tolerance as a virtue. He explains why the advocates and debunkers of toleration have reached an impasse, and he suggests a new way forward by distinguishing the virtue of tolerance from its false look-alikes, and from its sibling, forbearance. Some acts of toleration are right and good, while others amount to indifference, complicity, or condescension. Some persons are able to draw these distinctions well and to act in accord with their better judgment. When we praise them as tolerant, we are commending them as virtuous. Bowlin explores what that commendation means. Tolerance among the Virtues offers invaluable insights into how to live amid differences we cannot endorse—beliefs we consider false, actions we think are unjust, institutional arrangements we consider cruel or corrupt, and persons who embody what we oppose.

The Intolerance of Tolerance

Download The Intolerance of Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0802831702
Total Pages : 197 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (28 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Intolerance of Tolerance by : D. A. Carson

Download or read book The Intolerance of Tolerance written by D. A. Carson and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-31 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Carson traces the subtle but enormous shift in the way we have come to understand tolerance over recent years--from defending the rights of those who hold different beliefs to affirming all beliefs as equally valid and correct. He looks back at the history of this shift and discusses its implications for culture today, especially its bearing on democracy, discussions about good and evil, and Christian truth claims. --from publisher description

True Tolerance

Download True Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351294784
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (512 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis True Tolerance by : Jay Budziszewski

Download or read book True Tolerance written by Jay Budziszewski and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-24 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In contemporary liberal thought, "tolerance" has come to be redefined as a synonym for ethical neutrality: refusal to judge among competing views of goods and evils. The result of this extreme relativism has been a foundations crisis in law, politics, education, and other areas of social life. In this lucidly written and brilliantly argued volume, J. Budziszewski attempts to reserve the self-destruction of modern liberalism by showing that true tolerance is not only consistent with taking stands about objective goods and evils, but actually requires doing so.Tolerance, falsely understood as ethical neutrality, has the paradoxical effect of crippling policy choice by divesting it of the moral and practical framework on which it depends. By painstakingly and exhaustively dissecting each of the many neutralist arguments, Budziszewski demonstrates that real neutrality is logically impossible. Confronted by alternative views, the neutralist at best obscures his own underlying judgments, and at worst abandons all possible defense against fanatics who oppose both true equality and true tolerance.True Tolerance is both a rigorous critique, and a polemic undertaken in the name of a positive, twenty-first century vision of liberalism. Budziszewsky outlines a view of true tolerance that assumes a relationship with an older liberal tradition and a codependence with other virtues, including humility, mercy, charity, respect, and courtesy. This vision is rooted in historical experience and rational conviction about what is good. In the spirit of liberal and classical theorists of virtue from Aristotle to John Locke to Alasdair MacIntyre, the virtue of true tolerance is much more than a readiness to follow known rules; it includes a developed ability to distinguish good rules from bad, and to choose rightly even where there are no rules or where rules seem to contradict each other. Accessibly written and intended for a wide readership, True Tolerance will be of special interest to political theorists and activists, and to sociologists and philosophers.

Spaces of Tolerance

Download Spaces of Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000712915
Total Pages : 373 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (7 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Spaces of Tolerance by : Luiza Bialasiewicz

Download or read book Spaces of Tolerance written by Luiza Bialasiewicz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-10-16 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers interdisciplinary and cross-national perspectives on the challenges of negotiating the contours of religious tolerance in Europe. In today’s Europe, religions and religious individuals are increasingly framed as both an internal and external security threat. This is evident in controls over the activities of foreign preachers but also, more broadly, in EU states’ management of migration flows, marked by questions regarding the religious background of migrating non-European Others. This book addresses such shifts directly by examining how understandings of religious freedom touch down in actual contexts, places, and practices across Europe, offering multidisciplinary insights from leading thinkers from political theory, political philosophy, anthropology, and geography. The volume thus aims to ground ideal liberal democratic theory and, at the same time, to bring normative reflection to grounded, ethnographic analyses of religious practices. Such ‘grounded’ understandings matter, for they speak to how religions and religious difference are encountered in specific places. They especially matter in a European context where religion and religious difference are increasingly not just securitised but made the object of violent attacks. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, philosophy, geography, religious studies, and the sociology and anthropology of religion.

Islam and the Future of Tolerance

Download Islam and the Future of Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674737067
Total Pages : 145 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (747 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Islam and the Future of Tolerance by : Sam Harris

Download or read book Islam and the Future of Tolerance written by Sam Harris and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A civil but honest dialogue...As illuminating as it is fascinating.” —Ayaan Hirsi Ali Is Islam a religion of peace or war? Is it amenable to reform? Why do so many Muslims seem to be drawn to extremism? And what do words like jihadism and fundamentalism really mean? In a world riven by misunderstanding and violence, Sam Harris—a famous atheist—and Maajid Nawaz—a former radical—demonstrate how two people with very different religious views can find common ground and invite you to join in an urgently needed conversation. “How refreshing to read an honest yet affectionate exchange between the Islamist-turned-liberal-Muslim Maajid Nawaz and the neuroscientist who advocates mindful atheism, Sam Harris...Their back-and-forth clarifies multiple confusions that plague the public conversation about Islam.” —Irshad Manji, New York Times Book Review “It is sadly uncommon, in any era, to find dialogue based on facts and reason—but even more rarely are Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals able to maintain critical distance on broad questions about Islam. Which makes Islam and the Future of Tolerance something of a unicorn...Most conversations about religion are marked by the inability of either side to listen, but here, at last, is a proper debate.” —New Statesman

The Spirit of Cities

Download The Spirit of Cities PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691159696
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Spirit of Cities by : Daniel A. Bell

Download or read book The Spirit of Cities written by Daniel A. Bell and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-27 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lively and personal book that returns the city to political thought Cities shape the lives and outlooks of billions of people, yet they have been overshadowed in contemporary political thought by nation-states, identity groups, and concepts like justice and freedom. The Spirit of Cities revives the classical idea that a city expresses its own distinctive ethos or values. In the ancient world, Athens was synonymous with democracy and Sparta represented military discipline. In this original and engaging book, Daniel Bell and Avner de-Shalit explore how this classical idea can be applied to today's cities, and they explain why philosophy and the social sciences need to rediscover the spirit of cities. Bell and de-Shalit look at nine modern cities and the prevailing ethos that distinguishes each one. The cities are Jerusalem (religion), Montreal (language), Singapore (nation building), Hong Kong (materialism), Beijing (political power), Oxford (learning), Berlin (tolerance and intolerance), Paris (romance), and New York (ambition). Bell and de-Shalit draw upon the richly varied histories of each city, as well as novels, poems, biographies, tourist guides, architectural landmarks, and the authors' own personal reflections and insights. They show how the ethos of each city is expressed in political, cultural, and economic life, and also how pride in a city's ethos can oppose the homogenizing tendencies of globalization and curb the excesses of nationalism. The Spirit of Cities is unreservedly impressionistic. Combining strolling and storytelling with cutting-edge theory, the book encourages debate and opens up new avenues of inquiry in philosophy and the social sciences. It is a must-read for lovers of cities everywhere. In a new preface, Bell and de-Shalit further develop their idea of "civicism," the pride city dwellers feel for their city and its ethos over that of others.

Toward Global Civilization Love Tolerance

Download Toward Global Civilization Love Tolerance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Tughra Books
ISBN 13 : 1597846384
Total Pages : 286 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (978 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Toward Global Civilization Love Tolerance by : M. Fethullah Gülen

Download or read book Toward Global Civilization Love Tolerance written by M. Fethullah Gülen and published by Tughra Books. This book was released on 2010-03-16 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book touches on certain dynamics regarding the theoretical and cultural basis of the model Fethullah Gulen has developed based on dialogue, tolerance, concurrence among different groups that come from different religions, cultures, and civilizations. Gulen's model focuses on human beings, those who surround all their world with thought and action, and who are directed toward love for God and for creation.

Jihad of the Pen

Download Jihad of the Pen PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : American University in Cairo Press
ISBN 13 : 1617978728
Total Pages : 395 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (179 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Jihad of the Pen by : Rudolph Ware

Download or read book Jihad of the Pen written by Rudolph Ware and published by American University in Cairo Press. This book was released on 2018-12-11 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outsiders have long observed the contours of the flourishing scholarly traditions of African Muslim societies, but the most renowned voices of West African Sufism have rarely been heard outside of their respective constituencies. This volume brings together writings by Uthman b. Fudi (d. 1817, Nigeria), Umar Tal (d. 1864, Mali), Ahmad Bamba (d. 1927, Senegal), and Ibrahim Niasse (d. 1975, Senegal), who, between them, founded the largest Muslim communities in African history. Jihad of the Pen offers translations of Arabic source material that proved formative to the constitution of a veritable Islamic revival sweeping West Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Recurring themes shared by these scholars—etiquette on the spiritual path, love for the Prophet Muhammad, and divine knowledge—demonstrate a shared, vibrant scholarly heritage in West Africa that drew on the classics of global Islamic learning, but also made its own contributions to Islamic intellectual history. The authors have selected enduringly relevant primary sources and richly contextualized them within broader currents of Islamic scholarship on the African continent. Students of Islam or Africa, especially those interesting in learning more of the profound contributions of African Muslim scholars, will find this work an essential reference for the university classroom or personal library.

Uncomfortable

Download Uncomfortable PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Crossway
ISBN 13 : 1433554283
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (335 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Uncomfortable by : Brett McCracken

Download or read book Uncomfortable written by Brett McCracken and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does your church make you uncomfortable? It’s easy to dream about the “perfect” church—a church that sings just the right songs set to just the right music before the pastor preaches just the right sermon to a room filled with just the right mix of people who happen to agree with you on just about everything. Chances are your church doesn’t quite look like that. But what if instead of searching for a church that makes us comfortable, we learned to love our church, even when it’s challenging? What if some of the discomfort that we often experience is actually good for us? This book is a call to embrace the uncomfortable aspects of Christian community, whether that means believing difficult truths, pursuing difficult holiness, or loving difficult people—all for the sake of the gospel, God’s glory, and our joy.

A Message for Our Time

Download A Message for Our Time PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Islam International Publications Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1848803257
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (488 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Message for Our Time by : Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad

Download or read book A Message for Our Time written by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad and published by Islam International Publications Ltd. This book was released on 2019-03-01 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The western world is seeing a rise in intolerance, hate, and violence. The media exacerbates this by painting inaccurate pictures of immigrants, minorities, and of Islam and Muslims in particular. Consequently, there is a pressing need for clarifying what Islam is and is not, so as to foster mutual brotherhood amongst people of all beliefs. In four speeches delivered during a tour of the United States and Guatemala, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, offers a formula for achieving peace in our communities, nations, and indeed throughout the world. His Holiness explains that the true purpose of mosques is to be a center of peace where Muslims join together in order to worship God Almighty and to serve humanity, irrespective of belief or background. Furthermore, the building of hospitals enables the service of mankind which itself becomes a form of worship. This cumulative spirit is the way to protect our future and enable us to leave behind a better world for our children.

Divided by Faith

Download Divided by Faith PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674264940
Total Pages : 430 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (742 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Divided by Faith by : Benjamin J. Kaplan

Download or read book Divided by Faith written by Benjamin J. Kaplan and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-30 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As religious violence flares around the world, we are confronted with an acute dilemma: Can people coexist in peace when their basic beliefs are irreconcilable? Benjamin Kaplan responds by taking us back to early modern Europe, when the issue of religious toleration was no less pressing than it is today. Divided by Faith begins in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, when the unity of western Christendom was shattered, and takes us on a panoramic tour of Europe's religious landscape--and its deep fault lines--over the next three centuries. Kaplan's grand canvas reveals the patterns of conflict and toleration among Christians, Jews, and Muslims across the continent, from the British Isles to Poland. It lays bare the complex realities of day-to-day interactions and calls into question the received wisdom that toleration underwent an evolutionary rise as Europe grew more "enlightened." We are given vivid examples of the improvised arrangements that made peaceful coexistence possible, and shown how common folk contributed to toleration as significantly as did intellectuals and rulers. Bloodshed was prevented not by the high ideals of tolerance and individual rights upheld today, but by the pragmatism, charity, and social ties that continued to bind people divided by faith. Divided by Faith is both history from the bottom up and a much-needed challenge to our belief in the triumph of reason over faith. This compelling story reveals that toleration has taken many guises in the past and suggests that it may well do the same in the future.

The Ornament of the World

Download The Ornament of the World PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Back Bay Books
ISBN 13 : 0316092797
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (16 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Ornament of the World by : Maria Rosa Menocal

Download or read book The Ornament of the World written by Maria Rosa Menocal and published by Back Bay Books. This book was released on 2009-11-29 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classic bestseller — the inspiration for the PBS series — is an "illuminating and even inspiring" portrait of medieval Spain that explores the golden age when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance (Los Angeles Times). This enthralling history, widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain, where for more than seven centuries Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and where literature, science, and the arts flourished. "It is no exaggeration to say that what we presumptuously call 'Western' culture is owed in large measure to the Andalusian enlightenment...This book partly restores a world we have lost." —Christopher Hitchens, The Nation