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9781784533373

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`This is an immensely timely anthology. Its carefully selected texts constitute a valuable contribution to our understanding of the rich varieties of modern Arab culture. Muslim and Christian authors alike are granted the opportunity to state their secular and humanistic points of view within an informative framework provided by the editor, Ralph M Coury. The book can be highly recommended to students of politics, Middle East studies and comparative literature.' - Youssef Chouieri, Professor of History, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar and Reader in Islamic Studies, University of Manchester, `Originally spread by racist orientalism and recently fuelled by Islamophobia, the common Western view of the modern Arab world is that it has been immune to radical critiques of religion. This splendid anthology gives unambiguously the lie to this view as it illustrates, through judiciously selected original passages and in eminently readable translations, that Arab critical thinkers - whether believing radical revisionists (Muslim and Christian alike), agnostics or atheists - have followed similar paths to those of their counterparts outside the Arab world, responding to many of the same socio-economic, political and especially cultural forces in their aspiration for freedom, social justice and human rights.' - Dimitri Gutas, Professor of Arabic and Graeco-Arabic, Yale University

`This is an immensely timely anthology. Its carefully selected texts constitute a valuable contribution to our understanding of the rich varieties of modern Arab culture. Muslim and Christian authors alike are granted the opportunity to state their secular and humanistic points of view within an informative framework provided by the editor, Ralph M Coury. The book can be highly recommended to students of politics, Middle East studies and comparative literature.' - Youssef Chouieri, Professor of History, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar and Reader in Islamic Studies, University of Manchester, `Originally spread by racist orientalism and recently fuelled by Islamophobia, the common Western view of the modern Arab world is that it has been immune to radical critiques of religion. This splendid anthology gives unambiguously the lie to this view as it illustrates, through judiciously selected original passages and in eminently readable translations, that Arab critical thinkers - whether believing radical revisionists (Muslim and Christian alike), agnostics or atheists - have followed similar paths to those of their counterparts outside the Arab world, responding to many of the same socio-economic, political and especially cultural forces in their aspiration for freedom, social justice and human rights.' - Dimitri Gutas, Professor of Arabic and Graeco-Arabic, Yale University, `A spirit of critical, reasoned uncertainty informs this excellent anthology of Arab writers which reflects their chiefly twentieth-century views of religion, culture and society. Each contribution, ably introduced by the editor, is complemented by an overview which makes the volume accessible to the informed general reader as well as helpful to the Middle East specialist.'- David Waines, Emeritus Professor of Islamic Studies, Lancaster University

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Ralph M Coury is Emeritus Professor of History at Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut.

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