A revelatory and game-changing narrative that rewrites everything we thought we knew about the modern history of the Islamic world.With majestic prose; Christopher de Bellaigue presents an absorbing account of the political and social reformations that transformed the lands of Islam in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Flying in the face of everything we thought we knew; The Islamic Enlightenment becomes an astonishing and revelatory history that offers a game-changing assessment of the Middle East since the Napoleonic Wars.Beginning his account in 1798; de Bellaigue demonstrates how Middle Eastern heartlands have long welcomed modern ideals and practices; including the adoption of modern medicine; the emergence of women from seclusion; and the development of democracy. With trenchant political and historical insight; de Bellaigue further shows how the violence of an infinitesimally small minority is in fact the tragic blowback from these modernizing processes.Structuring his groundbreaking history around Istanbul; Cairo; and Tehran; the three main loci of Islamic culture; de Bellaigue directly challenges ossified perceptions of a supposedly benighted Muslim world through the forgotten; and inspiring; stories of philosophers; anti-clerics; journalists; and feminists who opened up their societies to political and intellectual emancipation. His sweeping and vivid account includes remarkable men and women from across the Muslim world; including Ibrahim Sinasi; who brought newspapers to Istanbul; Mirza Saleh Shirzi; whose Persian memoirs describe how the Turkish harems were finally shuttered; and Qurrat al-Ayn; an Iranian noble woman; who defied her husband to become a charismatic prophet.What makes The Islamic Enlightenment particularly germane is that non-Muslim pundits in the post-9/11 era have repeatedly called for Islam to subject itself to the transformations that the West has already achieved since the Enlightenment―the absurd implication being that if Muslims do not stop reading or following the tenets of the Qur’an and other holy books; they will never emerge from a benighted state of backwardness. The Islamic Enlightenment; with its revolutionary argument; completely refutes this view and; in the process; reveals the folly of Westerners demanding modernity from those whose lives are already drenched in it. 8 pages of color and 8 pages of black-and-white illustrations
#1170889 in Books University of Massachusetts Press 1995-03-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.28 x .87 x 6.03l; 1.12 #File Name: 0870239597320 pagesISBN13: 9780870239595Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent; readable; well-sourced!By ukloverI am an avid reader of American History and a Maine resident. I have had the pleasure of hearing this author speak. He is an excellent writer of Maine history. This is a very readable book but still loses nothing in its accuracy. Mr. Leamon uses ample primary source documents. His quotes allow those that lived through this troubled time to be heard. His contribution to the history of the American Revolution in Maine is immense as he opens up a very underwritten topic. Most books approach this from the Massachusetts shared history point of view. Leamon does not! Loved the book!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Revolution DowneastBy Thomas AllanThis book was factual and well researched. It helped me to do a good job on a presentation to a local historical society. This book has an a lot of information and will be used for research again and again.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Revolution comes to Maine...By HMS WarspiteIn the Revolutionary War era; the District of Maine was part of Massachusetts; three thinly populated counties with a marginal economy tied to trade with Boston and points overseas. Although Maine was a backwater; the Revolution had a great impact. The struggle for independence was played out through acts of resistance against British taxes to acts of rebellion against British authority; and finally in acts of violence against British military forces. Maine's thin and scattered population was often at the mercy of events; in Maine and elsewhere.James Leamon's "Revolution Downeast"; first published in 1993; remains a highly readable account. The narrative draws capably from a variety of sources to tell an exciting story; often on a town by town basis. The names of some of the towns have changed since Revolutionary War days; but it is easy to follow events (although this reader pulled out his Maine atlas). The war accentuated the pre-war divisions in Maine; between Tories and Whigs; rich and poor; inland farmers and wealthier coastal towns; English settlers and Indian tribes. The counties and towns struggled to provide for the common defense; even as the British Navy and British privateers smothered pre-war trade.The author does an excellent job of capturing the struggle for power within the state; and of explaining why the Revolution was ultimately a conservative one. The narrative highlights the role of the town of Machias as a patriot redoubt in the eastern part of the district. It also highlights the consequences of the disastrous Massachusetts expedition to Penobscot Bay in 1779; ostensibly to displace the British garrison at Fort George in what is now the town of Castine. There are a small number of maps and illustrations to support the text. Highly recommended as a good read on a topic still not fully explored all these years later.
