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Aspects of Islamic Civilization As Depicted in the Original Texts.

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"Aspects of Islamic Civilization: As Depicted in the Original Texts" by A. J. Arberry (1964, 1965, 1977, 2010), hardback & paperback, 408 pages. Chapter contents: (1) Arabia Deserta [Arabia at the time of Prophet Mohammad c. 600 A.D.]; (2) The Speech of Allah [various selections from the Koran]; (3) The Sunna and the Successors; (4) Wisdom from the East; (5) Science from the West; (6) La dolce vita [of the caliphs]; (7) Religious counsels; (8) Mystical moments; (9) Lyrical interlude ["The Arabs always looked back upon their ancient desert poetry with fierce if sometimes uncomprehending pride."]; (10) Faith and doubt; (11) Parable and anecdote; (12) The Art of Hafiz; (13) Two modern Egyptian poets [Hafiz Ibrahim & Ahmad Shauqi]; & (14) The revolt of Islam [Arab poets' poetry condeming Islamic government corruption]. The author opined: "It was the wide vogue of mysticism, far more than formal theology, that enables Islam to survive the appalling catastrophe of the Mongol invasions" (p. 16)... "Islam receded in the west already from 732, when Charles Martel hammered back the troops of 'Abd al-Rahman between Tours and Poitiers... The decline of Islamic civilization threatened utter ruin even before the advance of European imperialism added to debility humiliation.... The [Islamic] political rebirth was heralded in the nineteenth century and after by a cultural renaissance. The main stimuli which started this movement of revial were external: The French Revolution, and British liberal idealism. The literary and artistic models, the secientific, technical, even the political examples, were to a great extend furnished by Europe and the United States. The very impulse to study Muslim history, and to appraise the cultural achievements of medieval Islam -- chief sources of pride and inspiration to the new generations of fervent nationalists -- this too had its origins in western Orientalism. These facts go a long way to account for the love-hate relationship which characterizes the attitude of many Muslims today towards the West." Rather than being an analysis of the Muslim religion, Arberry's book deals more with how the Islamic religion has impacted Islamic literature, and thereby its culture. (For more of a political analysis, I suggest: "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" by Robert Spencer.)