Voice of an Exile: Reflections on Islam
by Nasr Hamid Abou Zeid, Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd, ṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Nasr Abu Zaid, Esther R. Nelson
Category: Religion

In 1995 Ayman al-Zawahiri, a prominent terrorist figure recently associated with Al Queda and al-Jihad, issued a bounty against Dr. Nasr Abu Zaid, a respected Islamic scholar at Cairo University. What was Zaid's offense? Arguing that Islam's holy texts should be interpreted in the historical and linguistic context of their time, and that new interpretations should account for social change. Zaid's personal story and academic pursuits, reflecting the social reality of the broader culture, offer new perspectives on Islam and provide hope to Muslims who feel their religion has been misrepresented and misunderstood.