Ziba Mir-Hosseini

Christian Moe

Kari Vogt

Lena Larsen

Dante is one of the towering figures of medieval European literature. Yet many riddles and questions about him persist. By re-reading Dante with an open mind, Barbara Reynolds made remarkable discoveries and unlocked previously hidden secrets about this greatest of Florentine poets. A fundamental enigma has tantalised readers of the 'Commedia' for seven centuries. Who was the leader prophesied by Virgil and Beatrice to bring peace to the world? Many attempts have been made to identify him, but none has seemed conclusive - until now. As well as proposing a solution to the famous prophecies, this lively, engaging and elegantly-written biography contains a provocative new idea in virtually every chapter. Dr Reynolds' research indicates that Dante smoked cannabis to reach new heights of creativity. That Beatrice, Dante's great love, was not who most scholars think she was. That Dante was a talented public speaker, who created a quite new form of poetic art, holding audiences spellbound. Above all, Reynolds views Dante as one of the greatest spin-doctors of Western civilization. His aim was not to preach an interesting parable about punishments for sin and rewards for virtue. It was to use poetry to change the politics of the age, and unite Europe around the secular authority of an Emperor. To promote this idea, which dominated his writings from his exile onwards, Dante combined it with a dramatic presentation of the Christian belief in Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Vividly told in the first person, with a colour and immediacy derived from the pop art of street narrators - now made to seem respectable by its use of classical predecessors like Virgil - this extraordinary journey through the three realms was always profoundly political in intent. Dante here comes alive as never before: irate, opinionated, settling scores - a man of mutifaceted gifts and extraordinary genius, whose role as an interpreter of world history makes him more than ever relevant to the new millennium.

Justice and Ethics in the Islamic Legal Tradition

Gender and Equality in Muslim Family Law

Muhammad Khalid Masud

In Muslim countries, apostasy and blasphemy laws are defended on the grounds that they are based on Islamic Shari'a and intended to protect religion. But blasphemy and apostasy laws can be used both to suppress thought and debate and to harass religious minorities, both inside and outside Islam. This book – comprising contributions from Muslim scholars, experts and activists - critically and constructively engages with the theological, historical and legal reasoning behind the most restrictive state laws around the world to open up new ways of thinking. The book focuses on the struggle within Muslim societies in Iran, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia where blasphemy and apostasy laws serve powerful groups to silence dissent and stifle critical thought. The first part of the book covers the development of the law in shifting historical circumstances and surveys the interpretations of Qur'anic verses that seem to affirm freedom of religion. The second part examines the present politics and practices of prosecuting alleged blasphemers and/or apostates in Muslim countries. The third part looks to the future and where reforms of the law could be possible. Debates on Islam and freedom of expression are often cast in polarizing terms of rights versus religion, East versus West. This volume avoids such approaches by bringing together a diverse group of Muslim scholars and activists with the knowledge, commitment and courage to contest repressive interpretations of religion and provide a resource for reclaiming the human rights to freedom of expression and belief.

Challenging Apostasy and Blasphemy Laws

Freedom of Expression in Islam

Nelly van Doorn-Harder

Explores the history, theology, and culture of the Coptic Orthodoxy, discussing key figures in the renewal of the church, and examining the role of women within church and society.

The Coptic Orthodox Church Today

Between Desert and City: The Coptic Orthodox Church Today

Kari Elisabeth Børresen

In this collection of articles, Kari Elisabeth Borresen and Kari Vogt point out the convergence of androcentric gender models in the Christian and Islamic traditions. They provide extensive surveys of recent research in women's studies, with bio-socio-cultural genderedness as their main analytical category. Matristic writers from late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are analyzed in terms of a female God language, reshaping traditional theology. The persisting androcentrism of 20th-century Christianity and Islam, as displayed in institutional documents promoting women's specific functions, is critically exposed.

Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Foremothers

Women’s Studies of the Christian and Islamic Traditions

ISBN 8202141346 Boken har undertittel "Islam i Vest-Europa i dag". Forfatteren tar utgangs- punkt i at det i dagens Vest-Europa lever og arbeider omkring 15 millioner muslimer og at det er antatt at denne gruppen i år 2000 vil omfatte 20 - 25 millioner mennesker. Med omfattende kunnskaper og stor respekt skisserer Kari Vogt i denne boken svar på spørsmål som: Hva vet vi om det islamske fellesskapet slik det utvikler seg i vår del av verden? Hvilke religiøse og politisk-religiøse grupper og bevegelser er representert, og hva er forbind-elsen til hjemlandet? Hvem er mest aktive? Og hvem støtter dem? Her legges det vekt på å få frem muslimenes egne oppfatninger, fra shayken til ekstre- emistlederens. Hva sier muslimske ledere selv om sine aktiviteter?

Kari Vogt

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