Malise Ruthven

Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction contains essential insights into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, and the central importance of the Shar'ia (Islamic law) in Islamic life. It also offers fresh perspectives on contemporary questions: Why is the greatest 'Jihad' (holy war) now against the enemies of Islam, rather than the struggle against evil? Can women find fulfilment in Islamic societies? How must Islam adapt as it confronts the modern world?

A Very Short Introduction

Islam

Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant forms, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand its nature. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction, offers essential insights into the big issues, provides fresh perspectives on contemporary questions, and guides us through the complex debates.

Islam: A Very Short Introduction

Cairo (Great Cities)

Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction contains essential insights into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, and the central importance of the Shar'ia (Islamic law) in Islamic life. It also offers fresh perspectives on contemporary questions: Why is the greatest 'Jihad' (holy war) now against the enemies of Islam, rather than the struggle against evil? Can women find fulfilment in Islamic societies? How must Islam adapt as it confronts the modern world? In this new edition, Ruthven brings the text up-to-date by reflecting upon some of the most significant changes in the Muslim world in recent years; from the emergence of al-Qaeda and the attacks on New York and Washington on 9/11 and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. Ruthven includes new material surrounding the concept of a globalized Islam, bringing into question the effects of economic globalization, the effect of international events in Middle Eastern countries, the issues surrounding Islam and democracy, and the reception and perception of Islam in the West. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The grand conspiracy

Torture

A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Fundamentalism

Freya Stark

St. Antony's College (University of Oxford). Middle East Archives

Unlike Syria and Iraq, where Europeans were well protected, Persia in 1930 was an independent country only recently recovering from years of lawlessness. Despite its apparent dangers, Freya Stark's romantic soul found an affinity with people who seemed to prefer poverty with freedom to sub-colonial affluence. Before venturing into Mazanderan Dame Freya spent a month in Hamadan. She set out for Alamut in the middle of May heading for the castle of Hassan-i Sabbah. She returned to the valleys the following year, in August 1931, to explore the castle of Lamasur, one of the last of the Ismaili strongholds. She sojourned briefly in Tehran in September 1931, before the prospect of buried treasure took her to Luristan. In March 1943, while employed by the Ministry of Information, she was invited to spend her leave with Lord Wavell in Tehran. She received permission to use an official car to make the journey from Dehli and set off from Quetta. She travelled for several days across Baluchistan to Meshed, from there a detour of some 1200 miles took her to Tehran by way of Kerman and at last allowed her to visit Isfahan.

Freya Stark in Persia

Islam in the World

Islam, Muslims and Islamism - The Quran or Koran and the prophet - The Shari'a and its consequences - Women and family - The two jihads - Sufis.

This work is an introduction to the Islamic world - past and present -and to the challenges it presents to western society. Fully revised for this second edition, it includes chapters on the spiritual richness of the religion, the law and how it reflects attitudes to society and to women in particular, as well as an incisive analysis of various Muslim sects, their links and conflicts. A new chapter discusses such issues as the Rushdie affair, the reinterpretation of the doctrine of Jihad to encompass terrorism, and the internal strife that countries such as Algeria, Iran, Israel and Egypt are experiencing, bringing this stimulating analysis up to the present day.

In the early 1930s, Freya Stark held her only journalist's job, as a sub-editor on the Baghdad Times, where she published her first book, Baghdad Sketches. Her photographs of the Yazidis are unique, and her travels in Kurdistan now seem particularly poignant. In Kuwait she photographed pearl fishers, the Marsh Arabs and various residents of the capital city.

Freya Stark in Iraq and Kuwait

In 1934 Freya Stark, encouraged by her recent awards from the Royal Geographical and Royal Central Asian Societies, set out to explore the Incense Road in Arabia. The magnificent canyons of Wadi Hadhramaut, stretching for 350 miles inland from the coast, inspired Dame Freya to produce some of her best photographs. The fortified cities with their mud-brick skyscrapers and luscious palm groves perched along the valley beneath towering cliffs are amongst the most visually stunning sights in the world. This once-rich region, home to the Queen of Sheba and made prosperous as a trading route between India and Europe, was by then part of the Aden Protectorate under British rule, but very little of the country had been explored by Westerners. Dame Freya's particular empathy with local people, speaking their own language, resulted in charming pictures of people she worked or travelled with, and the homes and costumes of the period. She travelled in the country twice during the 1930s, and both times was forced to leave due to illness. However, her pictures of Aden, Mukalla and Shibam are exceptional in evoking traditional life in this fertile region of Arabia. During the second world war she returned to Aden and was sent by the Ministry of Information to counter Italian influence in the neighbouring Kingdom of Yemen. Armed only with her charm and a primitive cinema projector, she helped persuade the legendary Imam Yahya to keep his country out of war. Forty years later, at the age of 83, she returned to North Yemen, revisiting some of the places she remembered most fondly.

Freya Stark in Southern Arabia

A powerful and provocative examination of the world of Islam.

The Islamist Attack on America

A Fury for God

Ian Barnes

From the Bronze Age to the twenty-first century, vying armies have clashed over the territory stretching from the Upper Nile to modern-day Iraq and Iran. Crossroads of War captures five millennia of conflict and conquest in detailed full-color maps, accompanied by incisive, accessible commentary. The lands of the Middle East were home to a succession of empiresâe"Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Persianâe"that rose and declined with the fortunes of battle. Kings and generals renowned in history bestrode the region: Nebuchadnezzar, David, Alexander the Great, Saladin, Napoleon. The religions of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were born here and from the beginning became embroiled in conflicts ranging from the Maccabean Revolt to Muhammadâe(tm)s Arabian conquests to the Christian Crusades. In the twentieth century, the Middle East witnessed the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and played a role in the grim dramas of two world wars, as T. E. Lawrence helped spark the Arab Revolt and General Bernard Montgomery defeated Hitlerâe(tm)s Desert Fox, General Erwin Rommel, at El Alamein. From the Yom Kippur War and Operation Desert Storm to a Global War on Terror that still looms over the twenty-first century, the Middle East continues to be shaped by the vagaries and vicissitudes of military conflict. Crossroads of War offers valuable insights into the part of the world that first cradled civilization and then imagined its demise in a final clash of armies at Armageddon.

A Historical Atlas of the Middle East

Crossroads of War

Since the end of the Cold War fundamentalism has been seen as the major threat to world peace and prosperity, a concern that was exacerbated by the events of 9/11, and the 'War against Terrorism'. But what does 'fundamentalism' really mean? Since it was coined by American Protestant evangelicals in the 1920s, the word has expanded its meaning to include radical conservatives or ideological purists in many spheres of activity, not all of them religious. Modern applications of fundamentalism include Islamist radicals in the Muslim world, the militant Israeli settlers who oppose them as well as Sikh, Hindu and even Buddhist nationalists who seek to justify their political agendas by reference to divine edicts or religious tradition. This exciting new book tackles the polemic and stereotypes surrounding this fascinating subject.

The Search For Meaning

Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction offers an essential insight into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, why the Shar'ia (Islamic law) is such an important aspect of Islamic life, and why the greatest `Jihad' (holy war) is now against the enemies of Islam, rather than the struggle against evil. In addition he prompts further questioning into the ideas of `Islamic resurgence' as both an old and new concept, whether or not women can find fulfilment and equality within an Islamic framework, and the sort of problems facing Islam and its confrontation with the modern world. - ;Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam, both as ideology and religion. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction therefore offers an essential insight into issues such as the why the greatest `Jihad' (holy war) is now against the enemies of Islam, rather than the struggle against evil, why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, and how the Shar'ia (Islamic law) has become such an important aspect of Islamic life. In addition he prompts further questioning into the ideas of `Islamic resurgence' as both an old and new concept, whether or not women can find fulfilment and equality within an Islamic framework, and the sort of problems facing Islam and its confrontations with the modern world. -

Malise Ruthven

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