A panoramic yet nuanced investigation into the lives and dreams of Muslims living in Europe and the US. LeBor, a correspondent for the Times of London, first became interested in Europe's Muslims during his stint in the war zones of Bosnia. This volume brims with both the curiosity and the openness that the Jewish LeBor brings to his investigative journey and to the possibilities of Muslim contributions to the West. LeBor travels to a diverse group of communities that share similar questions about Muslim participation in the larger culture and polity. This book is divided into separate chapters on wartime Sarajevo, the rebirth of Islam in Bosnia, Muslims in London and in the heart of Yorkshire, the predominantly Algerian Muslim community of France, Germany's second generation of Turks (``Euro-Turks''), new possibilities for modern Islam in Turkey, and Muslim political activism in the US. In each, the narrative is dominated by lengthy citations from extensive interviews conducted with a broad spectrum of Muslims from each country. LeBor, with a conversational tone and a deft touch, succinctly explains the different aspirations within each community and the tensions between Muslim modernists and radical Islamists that he encounters everywhere. Interviewees are often poignant and eloquent, and LeBor succeeds in giving voice to their dreams and frustrations. He reveals more of his own visions of Western Islam, both past and present, when discussing Europe's ``forgotten Islamic heritage'' and Western Muslims' future. Here LeBor points to the achievements of Islamic Spain and its commingling of cultures and religions as a model of multicultural coexistence. With the millions of Muslims now permanently living in the West, he argues, Muslims and non-Muslims alike must learn to coexist. A timely and accessible look into how both Western Muslims and their neighbors are dealing with the political, social, and spiritual issues raised by an increasing Muslim presence in the West.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-312-18109-4
Page Count: 322
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1997
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
