Discover the essence of the Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit and what it has contributed to societies across the ages In Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit, author and expert, Bruce B. Lawrence, delivers a spiritual elan filtered through cultural practices and artefacts. Neither juridical nor creedal, the book expresses a desire for the just and the beautiful. The author sets out an original and fascinating theory, that Islamicate cosmopolitanism marks a new turn in global history. An unceasing, self-critical pursuit of truth, hitched to both beauty and justice, its history is marked by male elites who were scientific exemplars in the pre-modern period. In the modern period, these exemplars include women as well as men, artists as well as scientists. The Islamicate Cosmopolitans have had special impact across the Afro-Eurasian ecumene at the heart of civilized exchange between multiple groups with competing yet convergent interests. The Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit is a boundary busting challenge to those who think of the world merely in terms of an “Arab” Middle East. Readers will also benefit from: A thorough introduction to the Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit across time and space An exploration of premodern Afro-Eurasia and Persianate Culture in the Indian Ocean A practical discussion of the future of the Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit Perfect for all students of Islamicate civilization, both traditional and progressive, Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit will also earn a place in the libraries of general readers of world history and those grounded in the larger history of Islamicate Asia will find a perspective that centers their own contribution to the Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit.

The question of the People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitāb) has long been of central significance to Islam and later to the study of comparative religion. It becomes more crucial when Abū al-Fath Muhammad ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Shahrastānī (d.548/1153) develops another category known as “Man Lahu Shubhat Kitāb” (those who possess doubtful sacred scrolls) or “Ahl Shubhat Kitāb” (the People of a Dubious Book). The present book thus is of importance as it highlights the nature of the People of the Book and the People of a Dubious Book as understood in the Qur’ān and Islamic religious tradition. The discussion is carried out both by analyzing Islam as the only genuinely revealed religion as well as by addressing various Muslim scholars’ attitudes and responses to the reality and nature of the People of the Book and the People of a Dubious Book apropos the Qur’ān and the Islamic religious tradition. Evaluation of the nature of the People of a Dubious Book as exclusively developed by al-Shahrastānī is also discussed. It points out how he identifies these groups and how he treats them accordingly in his magnum opus, al-Milal wa al-Nihal. It is hoped that this book will provide a preliminary yet clear understanding of this concept, which hopefully can deepen our knowledge and enhance our perspective on the various delineations of the People of the Book and the People of a Dubious Book employed by Muslim scholars. This will eventually widen our sphere of the understanding of religious issues and any misunderstanding or narrowed perception of other religious traditions could be avoided.

This timely book explores how the Malays and Muslims in general are faced with challenges in the fields of business, economy and politics, in the modern era of globalisation. These research findings can help the Muslim community to enhance international integration, particularly in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. In this work, scholarly and expert authors explore Islamic perspectives on communication, art and culture, business, and law and policy. They respond to the need to uphold and strengthen the culture, arts and heritage of the Malays. Readers are invited to explore the challenges for the Malay and Muslim world and to evolve strategies to ensure competitiveness, dynamism and sustainability. Topics such as Islamophobia, drug trafficking, savings behaviours and the role of social media are addressed. These reviewed papers were presented at the International Conference on Islamic Business, Art, Culture & Communication 2014, held in Melaka, Malaysia. They have the potential to strengthen aspects of Islamic economy and leadership, if translated into action plans. This book represents essential reading for scholars of Islamic studies and will be of interest to those examining Southeast Asia and the Malay world.

Jacques Waardenburg writes about relations between Muslims and adherents of other religions. After illuminating various aspects of Islam from an outside point of view in his volume "Islam" (published in 2002 by de Gruyter) his second volume changes the perspective: The author shows how Muslims perceived non-Muslims - particularly Christianity and "the West", but also Judaism and Asian religions - in many centuries of religious dialogue and tensions. The main focus is on Muslim minorities in Western countries and on religious dialogues of which he provides first-hand knowledge through his participation in several important dialogue meetings. After 50 years of research and personal involvement, Waardenburg aims at a mutual understanding and reconciliation of Islam and other religions, particularly Christianity, both on an international level as well as on a more local level where "old" and "new", Christian and Muslim Europeans live together.

The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes a wide variety of scholarly research on all facets of Islam and the Muslim world: anthropology, economics, history, philosophy and metaphysics, politics, psychology, religious law, and traditional Islam. Submissions are subject to a blind peer review process.