The Future of Islam by Wilfred Scawen Blunt (9780700714605)

Description - The Future of Islam by Wilfred Scawen Blunt

When it first appeared in 1882, this book was a pioneering work in every respect. It was the first coherent study of modern' Islam, explaining in a simple and functional manner its tenets and roots, the diversity of its cultural and political experience, and its dynamism and potential for good in the modern world. This was at a time when the Muslim world was perceived by most people in the west as inert and spent, caught in an irredeemable malaise of its own making. Blunt's attitude, shaped by several factors and sharpened by personal knowledge of important parts of the Muslim world and close association with many leading reformers in it, was unprecedented and startling at the time. And though later British policies in the Arab Islamic world did not always meet with Blunt's approval, he held late in life that his vision, as expressed in The Future of Islam , did have an impact on some British policies towards the Arab and Muslim worlds. Much has happened in the Muslim world and in the world at large since the book appeared but Blunt's insights and method remain relevant.
They certainly were not lost on Blunt's generation of politicians and intellectuals in both the east and the west, and it would be highly germane to trace some of the book's effects on policies and ideologies during Blunt's time and in later periods. The documentary value of this book is hence self-evident. An extension of that documentary purpose is to trace, somewhat briefly, the evolution of Blunt's own unique and non-conformist but shrewd political views. But there is additionally a perennial (and prophetic) quality in the book, which makes it relevant to contemporary studies of Islam at the end of the 20th century and beyond. This new edition includes an Introduction and numerous footnotes, updating statistics, explaining the background to historical events and religious and political figures, and filling in gaps.

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