| Ghazali and the Poetics of Imagination Contributor(s): Moosa, Ebrahim (Author) |
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ISBN: 0807856126 ISBN-13: 9780807856123 Publisher: University of North Carolina Press OUR PRICE: $35.63 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2005 Annotation: In this examination of the work of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali--a prominent Muslim theologian known for his writing in philosophy, ethics, law, and mysticism--Moosa argues that Ghazali's work has lasting relevance as an model for cosmopolitan intellectual renewal among Muslims. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Medieval - Philosophy | Religious - Religion | Islam - Theology |
| Dewey: 181.5 |
| LCCN: 2005043094 |
| Series: Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks |
| Physical Information: 0.88" H x 6.3" W x 9.24" (1.19 lbs) 368 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) - Religious Orientation - Islamic |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Abu Hamid al-Ghaz&257;l&299;, a Muslim jurist-theologian and polymath who lived from the mid-eleventh to the early twelfth century in present-day Iran, is a figure equivalent in stature to Maimonides in Judaism and Thomas Aquinas in Christianity. He is best known for his work in philosophy, ethics, law, and mysticism. In an engaged re-reading of the ideas of this preeminent Muslim thinker, Ebrahim Moosa argues that Ghaz&257;l&299;'s work has lasting relevance today as a model for a critical encounter with the Muslim intellectual tradition in a modern and postmodern context. Moosa employs the theme of the threshold, or dihliz, the space from which Ghaz&257;l&299; himself engaged the different currents of thought in his day, and proposes that contemporary Muslims who wish to place their own traditions in conversation with modern traditions consider the same vantage point. Moosa argues that by incorporating elements of Islamic theology, neoplatonic mysticism, and Aristotelian philosophy, Ghaz&257;l&299;'s work epitomizes the idea that the answers to life's complex realities do not reside in a single culture or intellectual tradition. Ghaz&257;l&299;'s emphasis on poiesis--creativity, imagination, and freedom of thought--provides a sorely needed model for a cosmopolitan intellectual renewal among Muslims, Moosa argues. Such a creative and critical inheritance, he concludes, ought to be heeded by those who seek to cultivate Muslim intellectual traditions in today's tumultuous world. |
Contributor Bio(s): Moosa, Ebrahim: - Ebrahim Moosa is professor of Islamic studies at the University of Notre Dame, with appointments in the department of history and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the Keough School for Global Affairs. |