The Islamic Enlightenment: The Modern Struggle Between Faith and Reason

'Brilliant' Orhan Pamuk 'The best sort of book for our disordered days- timely, urgent and illuminating' Pankaj Mishra 'It strikes a blow a for common humanity.' Sunday Times The Islamic Enlightenment- a contradiction in terms? The Muslim world has often been accused of a failure to modernise, reform and adapt. But, from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day, Islamic society in its Middle Eastern heartlands has in fact been transformed by modern ideals and practices, including the adoption of modern medicine, the emergence of women from purdah and the development of democracy. Who were the scholars and scientists, writers and politicians that brought about these remarkable changes? And why is their legacy now under threat? Beginning with the dramatic collision of East and West following Napoleon's arrival in Egypt, and taking us through 200 tumultuous years of Middle Eastern history, Christopher de Bellaigue introduces us to key figures and reformers; from Egypt's visionary ruler Muhammad Ali to brave radicals like Iran's first feminist Qurrat al-Ayn and the writer Ibrahim Sinasi, who transformed Ottoman Turkey's language and literature. This book tells the forgotten story of the Islamic Enlightenment. It shows us how to look beyond sensationalist headlines to foster a genuine understanding of modern Islam and Muslim culture, and is essential reading for anyone engaged with the state of the world today.

About the Author :
Christopher de Bellaigue was born in London in 1971, and was educated at Cambridge University, where he read Iranian and Indian Studies. Between 1995 and 2007, he lived and worked as a journalist in south Asia and the Middle East, writing for The Economist, Guardian and the New York Review of Books. He is the award-winning author of four books and has made several BBC television and radio programmes. He lives in London.

Review :
"This book is an enlightenment in itself, and a salient one in this age when everyone seems to feel entitled to a firm opinion about Islam and Muslims." -- David Aaronovitch The Times "A highly original and informative survey of the clashes between Islam and modernity in Istanbul, Cairo and Tehran in the last two hundred years. Brilliant." -- Orhan Pamuk "Christopher de Bellaigue has long been one of our most resourceful and stimulating interpreters of realities veiled by fear and prejudice. In The Islamic Enlightenment, he cuts through the complacent opposition of Islam-versus-modernity to reveal a fascinating world: one in which complex human beings constantly change, improvise and adjust under the pressures of history. It is the best sort of book for our disordered days: timely, urgent and illuminating." -- Pankaj Mishra "This is a nuanced and empathetic view of the Islamic world at one of its most challenging and enthralling moments: its history-changing encounter with western modernity... At a time of profound suspicion and mistrust between the West and the Muslim world, this is an important, beautifully written book that offers a powerful corrective to the notion that Islam contains an inbuilt prejudice against modernity. It strikes a blow, as the most readable writers do, for common humanity." -- Justin Marozzi Sunday Times "It would be hard to imagine a more timely book than The Islamic Enlightenment." -- Jerry Brotton BBC History Magazine "A vigorous and thoughtful book ... De Bellaigue has written a (beautifully illustrated) book that prompts an important conversation, and is extremely useful for our times. As well as introducing neglected histories and characters about which and whom we need to care, the work itself incarnates the essence of enlightenment." -- Bettany Hughes Guardian "A tale of reform and reaction, innovation and betrayal ... His cast of characters - "the Muslim pioneers we never thought existed" - is presented with flair and an acute eye... This is a civilised and beautifully written story of the advances and reverses of a great civilisation that lost its own way, was shunted into cul-de-sacs by predatory European imperialists - and yet was and is constantly searching out ways to bounce back." -- David Gardner Financial Times "Timely, thoughtful and provocative." -- Peter Frankopan "A radical rethinking of the way in which Islam is perceived in the west." Guardian, 2017 Books of the Year "A radical rethinking of the way in which Islam is perceived in the west." Guardian, 2017 Books of the Year "A brilliantly learned and entertaining study of a topic that is of far more than merely antiquarian interest: the encounter between the Islamic world and the post-Enlightenment West." -- Tom Holland "De Bellaigue has reported as a journalist from Iran and Turkey, and his telling of his renaissance as it manifested itself in Tehran, Istanbul and Cairo is as thorough in research as it is rich in detail." -- Anthony Sattin Observer "[De Bellaigue] possesses a sure sense of place and of social and historical context... This is a rich and surprising history that fully justifies its provocative title" -- Eric Ormsby Literary Review "A sweeping and hugely engaging book that throws much-needed light on modern Islam." -- Andrew Lycett Spectator "A refreshingly optimistic counterpoint to the idea that Muslim and Western world-views are doomed to clash." The Economist "This fascinating book prompts us to question how we think about the world, and challenges those in West and East who peddle the dangerous myth of civilisational conflict" -- Christopher Kissane The Irish Times "This is an interesting, well-written and thoughtful book... He deserves credit for engaging with a highly complex and equally pertinent subject at a time when Islam is always in the news especially in the Western world" -- Muhammad Khan Muslim News "Highly readable... The Islamic Enlightenment has a bone to pick with those who argue that Islam needs to become more civilised." -- Nabeelah Jaffer Daily Telegraph "A tremendous combination of deep learning, forceful argument and arresting prose, The Islamic Enlightenment is bold, bracing and important" -- Jessie Childs, author of GOD'S TRAITORS "That there has been an Islamic Enlightenment at all will come as news to many. De Bellaigue's account of the "very broad church" of Islam in the modern world is splendid and timely." -- Anthony Gottlieb, author of THE DREAM OF ENLIGHTENMENT