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Article: Islam: Past, Present and Future.(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- August 12, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Islam: Past, Present and Future.
By Hans Kung; translated by John Bowden.
Oneworld, 800 pp., $39.95.
Shortly after the attacks of September 11, President Bush declared that the perpetrators had "violated the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith" and that "Islam is peace." On what basis did Bush make this declaration? The terrorists certainly thought they were being obedient to the tenets of the Islamic faith. Does George Bush, who isn't a Muslim, know something about Islam those Muslims didn't?
For centuries the West has encountered Islam either through uninformed invective or equally ignorant glorification. It behooves us to know ...