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Article: Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi, and their Impact on Islamic Thought.(Review)
- Article from:
- The Journal of the American Oriental Society
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 American Oriental Society. 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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Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi, and their Impact on Islamic Thought. By SARAH STROUMSA. Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and Science, vol. 35 Leiden: BRILL, 1999. Pp. xii + 261. HFI 135, $79.50.
In this well-written book, Dr. Sarah Stroumsa draws our attention to the existence of "freethinking" in Islam and presents it as a peculiarly Islamic phenomenon. This claim may surprise if one does not take into account how she defines "freethinking." By it she means "the belief in the sufficiency of the intellect" and, therefore, "the rejection of prophecy and all religions based on revelation' but not atheism or agnosticism. Such ...