The Heart of Islam : Enduring Values for Humanity (Seyyed Hossein Nasr)

ISBN: 0060099240
Author: Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco; 1st edition (September 3, 2002)
Pages: 352 Binding: Hardcover

Description from the publisher:

As the specter of religious extremism has become a fact of life today, the temptation is great to allow the evil actions and perspectives of a minority to represent an entire tradition. In the case of Islam, there has been much recent confusion in the Western world centered on distorted portrayals of its core values. Born of ignorance, such confusion feeds the very problem at hand.

In The Heart of Islam one of the great intellectual figures in Islamic history offers a timely presentation of the core spiritual and social values of Islam: peace, compassion, social justice, and respect for the other. Seizing this unique moment in history to reflect on the essence of his tradition, Seyyed Hossein Nasr seeks to "open a spiritual and intellectual space for mutual understanding." Exploring Islamic values in scripture, traditional sources, and history, he also shows their clear counterparts in the Jewish and Christian traditions, revealing the common ground of the Abrahamic faiths.

Nasr challenges members of the world's civilizations to stop demonizing others while identifying themselves with pure goodness and to turn instead to a deeper understanding of those shared values that can solve the acute problems facing humanity today. "Muslims must ask themselves what went wrong within their own societies," he writes, "but the West must also pose the same question about itself . . . whether we are Muslims, Jews, Christians, or even secularists, whether we live in the Islamic world or in the West, we are in need of meaning in our lives, of ethical norms to guide our actions, of a vision that would allow us to live at peace with each other and with the rest of God's creation." Such help, he believes, lies at the heart of every religion and can lead the followers of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) as well as other religious and spiritual traditions to a new future of mutual respect and common global purpose.

The Heart of Islam is a landmark presentation of enduring value that offers hope to humanity, and a compelling portrait of the beauty and appeal of the faith of 1.2 billion people.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr was born in Tehran, Iran. He received his advanced education at M.I.T. and Harvard University, and returned to teach at Tehran University from 1958 to 1979, where be also served as dean of the Faculty of Letters and vice chancellor. He founded the Iranian Academy of Philosophy and served as its first president, and was also president of Aryamehr University for several years. Since 1984, he has been university professor of Islamic studies at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and president of the Foundation for Traditional Studies.