Islamic Culure and Society

Explore the rich heritage of Islamic culture and society with our curated list of books. Discover insightful works on traditions, history, and societal influences in the Muslim world.

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ID: 1851684638
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Hezbollah Cover
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Hezbollah

by Augustus R. Norton

Most policymakers in the United States and Israel have it wrong. Hezbollah isn't a simple terrorist organization--nor is it likely to disappear soon. Following Israel's war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, the Shi'i group--which combines the functions of a militia, a social service and public works provider, and a political party--is more popular than ever in the Middle East while retaining its strong base of support in Lebanon. And Hezbollah didn't merely confront Israel and withstand its military onslaught. Hezbollah's postwar reconstruction efforts were judged better than the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina--not by al-Jazeera, but by an American TV journalist. In Hezbollah, one of the world's leading experts on Hezbollah has written the essential guide to understanding the complexities and paradoxes of a group that remains entrenched at the heart of Middle East politics. With unmatched clarity and authority, Augustus Richard Norton tells how Hezbollah developed, how it has evolved, and what direction it might take in the future. Far from being a one-dimensional terrorist group, Norton explains, Hezbollah is a "janus-faced" organization in the middle of an incomplete metamorphosis from extremism to mundane politics, an evolution whose outcome is far from certain. Beginning as a terrorist cat's-paw of Iran, Hezbollah has since transformed itself into an impressive political party with an admiring Lebanese constituency, but it has also insisted on maintaining the potent militia that forced Israel to withdraw from Lebanon in 2000 after almost two decades of occupation. The most accessible, informed, and balanced analysis of the group yet written, Hezbollah is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Middle East.
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ID: 0300122632
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ID: B000WCTQHE
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ID: 0195311914
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ID: 0933782004
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No God But God

by Reza Aslan

In this compelling--and profoundly hopeful--book, Aslan demonstrates that Islam has much in common with Christianity and Judaism, and bears seeds of egalitarianism and social reform at its core.
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ID: 0393329682
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ID: 0807855774
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ID: 185168316X
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ID: 1591024536
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ID: B0009PUATC
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Infidel

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her life story. An advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
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ID: 0306815850
(Type: books)
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Islam

by Karen Armstrong

No religion in the modern world is as feared and misunderstood as Islam. It haunts the popular imagination as an extreme faith that promotes terrorism, authoritarian government, female oppression, and civil war. In a vital revision of this narrow view of Islam and a distillation of years of thinking and writing about the subject, Karen Armstrong’s short history demonstrates that the world’s fastest-growing faith is a much more complex phenomenon than its modern fundamentalist strain might suggest.
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ID: 1426200927
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ID: 0060507144
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ID: 1842778757
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ID: 1856495140
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Splendors of Islam

by Dominique Clevenot

Since human representation is forbidden in Islamic religious monuments, design & ornamentation reach unparalleled heights in Islamic tiles, mosaics, stucco, brickwork, & ceramics, enhanced by brilliant color. The author is a distinguished scholar of Islamic art & a professor at the University of Toulouse.
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ID: 1889999113
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ID: 0500283451
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