Islam in Retrospect

Islam, as presently perceived and practiced, no longer resembles the original Message. In a world plagued with Islamophobia and political Islam - and where other forms of fundamentalism within the major religious creeds are on the rise - this book acts as a wake-up call. It aims at establishing the grounds for a better understanding of Islam and its message of love and compassion and that of humanism, equality, nondiscrimination, peace, and respect for human rights. In the first part of this meticulously-researched volume, the author starts by placing the Message of Islam in its historic, geographic and cultural context. He focuses on the primacy of the Holy Qur'an among the sources of Islam, discusses the controversies which surrounded the Prophetic Tradition - Sunna and Hadith - as a source of Islam, and defines the scope of the universal nature of Islam. He then moves, in the second part, to address issues relating to the secular nature of Islam, Islam and the state, Islam and Sharia'a law, and humanism and individualism in Islam. In the third part, he concludes with chapters on the progressive nature of Islam, the important role of the mind in understanding and taking full benefit of religion as an engine of progress, with a particular focus on human rights, including the important issues of human dignity, freedom of faith, and gender equality.