Islam: A View from the Edge
With this work Bulliet ( The Gulf Scenario , LJ 2/1/84) proposes a new approach for studying the evolution of Islam. Believing that too much attention has been paid to studying developments at the political center, i.e., the doings of caliphs and sultans, he looks instead toward what he calls the "edge" of Islam, which exists wherever an individual decides to become a Muslim. Now, in the midst of what Bulliet believes is, for Muslims, the most intellectually and spiritually vigorous period of the last 1000 years, Muslims are seeking answers to the question of how they should live their lives within their faith in the modern world. For answers, they are turning to people whose piety, religious knowledge, and character qualify them for religious leadership. Bulliet believes that the future of the Muslim world lies with the Islamic revivalists and not with nationalist leaders like Saddam Hussein. This work takes an original approach to tracing the roots of the current Islamic revival. Highly recommended.- Robert Andrews, Duluth P.L., Minn.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.