Islam Between East and West by 'Alija 'Ali Izetbegovic

In-store location: Shelf 4.18

By Alija Ali Izetbegovic, American Trust Publications, paperback

According to this volume, for centuries, Europe has often benefited from Islam without acknowledging its contributions or giving anything in return. This book presents a comprehensive study of leading world views and establishes the place of Islam as a dominant ideological force. This powerful sweep of its logic gives the reader a sense of the beauty and universality of Islam. The author wrote this analysis of the human condition while struggling against Communist/Serbian control during the 1980s. This work is his attempt to elaborate the ideological underpinnings of the central political argument of the "Islamic Declaration." It is thus part of the intellectual preparation which he considered necessary before proceeding to the next step of establishing Islamic government. The author's thinking seems to center on a single simple formula -- Islam is the only synthesis capable of unifying mankind's essentially dualistic existence. His approach is to attempt to fit everything -- notably all philosophy and science -- into his three preconceived categories (his "religious, " "materialistic, " and the "Islamic" views of the world). These categories are summarized in the book's appendix as the "table of the opposites." The "Islamic" is the synthesis of the other two, which unites them, as it unites the dual aspects of man's nature. "Man" as a whole thus belongs in the "Islamic" category. The author devotes many pages to expressing his regard for science and attempting to recount what he takes for those of its findings that seem to support his thesis. A golden age of scientific knowledge is one of the benefits he foresees from Islamic renewal.