Title: Islam and the uncertainty principle
Description: "In his inauguration lecture as professor of Islam in the Contemporary West, prof. dr. Maurits S. Berger, LLM of Leiden University highlights some of the complications of studying this particular subject. Until recently the study of Islam meant a trip to the library or some faraway exotic land. But now Islam is here, in the West. Berger takes the audience along the many recent Islamic 'incidents' that have taken place in Western countries, ranging from the shariah courts in England and Canada and Islamic schools in the Netherlands to the refusal to shake hands and the deep-rooted mutual fears and prejudices. He analyzes the mechanics of action and reaction and demonstrates how they often needlessly perpetuate in negative cycles. Nonetheless, in the long term his predictions for the future are not very somber, but he voices two personal concerns: the growing custom to name one another 'Muslim' and 'non-Muslim' and the increasing tendency to take judicial positions in differences that are essentially social and political."--Back cover.
Subjects: Muslims, Ethnic relations