false 7 100 67 true 5887596 read 16 true 721000 currently-reading 17 true 720999 to-read 0 false 1242712 must-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21407846 to: The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State (Hardcover) by Noah Feldman
This one is an absolute must. It simply warms my heart to know that there exists a professor in America, at one of the highest institutions of learning (Harvard) who is sympathetic to the plight of the scholars of Islam ('ulama). He does a fantastic job of introducing the genius of the scholars, their role in balancing the executive Caliphate power, and their high status in the way of Islam (both as men of religion, and men of the world).

Furthermore, his analysis of how the Caliphate fell once the scholars were removed from their prestigious and important role of balancing the executive power post World War I is simply astonishing. With the onslaught of imperial/colonial law implemented in Muslim lands away from the tradition of the scholars as interpreters of the divine law (Shar'ia) led to the eventual downfall of the Caliphate, and more importantly for the first time in 1300 years, the fall of the Islamic State.

However, as the title so eloquently demonstrates, this fall in the state is in fact appearing as an anomaly. The people want Shari'a law back since autocratic rule has simply not worked for both the countries in the middle east, and their western allies. Hence, the rise of the Islamic state is imminent, and has incredible consequences for the world.

Hence, to be a Muslim in this age is extremely interesting. Because if the Islamic state were to come back, then this age we are living in without an Islamic state (about 100 years out of 1430) will simply be an "accidental mistake" in the history of the Muslims.

Whatever happens, was supposed to happen.
Wa'alhumdulillahi' rubil'alameen ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21414444 Islam At The Crossroads (Paperback) by Muhammed Asad
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awesome, simply awesome ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18730616 One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School (Paperback) by Scott Turow
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18730554 Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and No One (Paperback) by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18730512 Emile: Or Treatise on Education (Great Books in Philosophy) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18650245 The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption (Hardcover) by John Perkins
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