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Book Review
What's Right with Islam:
A New Vision for Muslims and the West
By Feisal Abul Rauf
One of the most pressing questions of our time is what went wrong in the relationship between Muslims and the West. Continuing global violence in the name of Islam reflects the deepest fears by certain Muslim factions of Western political, cultural, and economic encroachment. The solution requires finding common ground upon which to build mutual respect and understanding. Who better to offer such an analysis than an American Imam, someone with a foot in each world and the tools to examine the common roots of both Western and Muslim cultures; someone to explain to the non-Islamic West not just what went wrong with Islam, but What's Right with Islam.
American Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's mosque was only twelve blocks from the World Trade Center when it was attacked on September 11. In the aftermath, finding a common ground between his country and his religion became a personal quest. He began by looking back to a time before such divisions, back to our common ancestor, Abraham. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all claim Abraham as their patriarch, and the ethic this forebear imparted is an ethic still shared by all three traditions. Imam Rauf skillfully traces the evolution of these foundational beliefs through the golden age of Islam in medieval Cordoba and Baghdad, as well as the development of democratic and capitalist principles in the West.
In stark contrast to thinkers such as Samuel P. Huntington and Bernard Lewis, who suggest the crisis is in Islam itself, Imam Rauf argues that what went wrong is the relationship between the Muslim world and the West. He offers a basis for rebuilding that relationship by arguing that Islamic principles actually support the fundamental values of a pluralistic, free society, uncovering the promise of a Muslim form of democratic capitalism within the Qur'an, the stories and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, and Islamic Law. Focused on finding solutions, not on determining fault, this is ultimately a hopeful and inspiring book.
Born to a long line of religious luminaries, Imam Rauf brings his extensive study of the sacred scriptures of Islam, along with his talent for storytelling and analysis, to bear on one of the most complex and critically important topics facing our world today. By tracing common philosophical roots and religious values, acknowledging the contributions of American democracy and Western capitalism, and by showing what Islamic culture can bring to a new reunion with the West, WHAT'S RIGHT WITH ISLAM systematically lays out the reasons for the current dissonance between these cultures and offers a foundation and plan for improved relations. Wide-ranging in scope, WHAT'S RIGHT WITH ISLAM elaborates in satisfying detail a vision for a Muslim world that can eventually embrace its own distinctive forms of democracy and capitalism, aspiring to a New Cordoba -- a time when Jews, Christians, Muslims, and all other faith traditions will live together in peace and prosperity.
Critical Praise
"This book shows that the only possible way forward is by the assiduous cultivation of mutual respect."
----Karen Armstrong, author of The Battle for God, from the foreword
"An excellent work of bridge building!"
----Professor Dr. Hans Kung, President, Global Ethic Foundation, author of On Being a Christian --Professor Dr. Hans Kung, President, Global Ethic Foundation, author of On Being a Christian --Professor Dr. Hans Kung, President, Global Ethic Foundation, author of On Being a Christian
"Wise and well-written, this important book is a ‘MUST’ for any thinking person who cares about our world."
----Lord Carey of Clifton, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Chair of World Economic Forum's Council of 100 Leaders on West-Islamic World Dialogue Lord Carey of Clifton, Chair of World Economic Forum's Council of 100 Leaders on West-Islamic World Dialogue
"At long last, a book that helps "us Westerners" to see Muslims as they wish to see themselves."
----Gunnar Stålsett - Bishop of Oslo, Lutheran Church of Norway, member of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee
"A searching, thoughtful and reasoned alternative to the shrill doomsayers who proclaim a ‘clash of civilizations.’"
----Shashi Tharoor, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information
"The publication of this book is a timely event, providing objective, serious responses to challenges that Islam faces today."
--Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, author of The Heart of Islam
Rauf, a Manhattan imam whose mosque is only 12 blocks from the World Trade Center site, argues that what keeps the Islamic world and America apart, and what fuels Islamic terrorism, is economics, politics, Muslim defensiveness — everything but religion.
--Publishers Weekly
"An invigorating glimpse into the heart and mind of a wise Muslim seeking the higher ground."
--Christian Science Monitor
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