A book on Islam

[kraepelin]

I was wondering if someone could suggest a book on the development of Islam from a secular perspective.

 

[butchersapron]

Maxime Rodison Islam and Capitalism - should be able to pick it up cheaply.

 

[barney_pig]

In the shadow of the sword by tom holland is recent and a decent read

 

[kraepelin]

Thanks for suggestion. The whole time period seems really interesting. Anymore suggestion would be great

 

[ManchesterBeth]

Nasr Abu-Zayd and Mohammed Arkoun (not to mention Mahmoud Mohammed Taha) tried to develop a humanistic hermeneutics of the qu'ran and then applied this to islamic history. I (obviously) reject this approach as it remains attached to neoplatonism (without accounting for Ghazali's dissolution of the causal paradigm) which is the only real way to conceptualise a post-islamic worldview or apply rigorous dialectical analysis.

Ibn-Khaldun, as well.

 

[CNT36]

Ace.