Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn Al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr Al-Razi and Their Impact on Islamic Thought (Islamic Philosophy, Theology, & Science) - Hardcover

Stroumsa, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9004113746 ISBN 13: 9789004113749

Publisher: Brill Academic Pub, 1999

Synopsis

This book endeavors to identify and define the phenomenon of freethinking in medieval Islam, in particular as exemplified in the figures of the two most notorious intellectual heretics, Ibn al-Rāwandī (9th C.) and Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (10th C.).
The development of Islamic freethinking is analyzed on the background of the paramount importance of prophetology in Islam. The book examines the image of the freethinkers in Islam and its connection to the legacy of late antiquity, and to the traditions about Indian and Sabian religions. The last chapters examine repercussions of his phenomenon in various aspects of Muslim, Jewish and Christian medieval thought.
It is argued that, despite its rare occurrence, freethinking was in fact a pivotal Islamic phenomenon, which had a major impact on the development of Islamic thought.

About this title

About the Author

Sarah Stroumsa, Ph.D. (1984), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she is currently a professor of Arabic and Jewish thought. She has published extensively on medieval intellectual history in Arabic, especially on Judeo-Arabic thought, including, most recently, The Beginnings of the Maimonidean Controversy in the East (Jerusalem, 1999).

Review

'Ces deux précieux volumes devront se trouver dans toutes les bibliothèques de recherche sur l'histoire générale de la pensée tant islamique qu'européenne.'
Mohammed Arkoun, Arabica, 2000.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 9004113746
• ISBN 13: 9789004113749
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 261