The first volume of Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, a new series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Thupten Jinpa, is both a revelation and a precious resource on these civilizations that coinvented the scientific spirit. The editors define science as a form of knowledge of nature and its laws, based on empirical observations and striving to reach intersubjective agreement by shared rational principles.
Books
Buddhism beyond Gender
Buddhism beyond Gender articulates Gross’s objectives as a Buddhist teacher and also more sharply and directly issues a call that will be controversial, particularly among feminists coming of age in this generation, to realize that clinging to gender identity subverts enlightenment. An early pioneer of feminist scholarship, Gross navigated hostile terrain as a graduate student at the University of Chicago in the 1970s, where she was shunned by “serious scholars” for writing her dissertation on women’s studies in religion.
Islamic Civilization in Thirty Lives: The First 1,000 Years
Religious thinkers, political leaders, lawmakers, writers, and philosophers have shaped the 1,400-year-long development of the world’s second-largest religion. But who were these people? What do we know of their lives and the ways in which they influenced their societies?
In Islamic Civilization in Thirty Lives, the distinguished historian of Islam Chase F. Robinson draws on the long tradition in Muslim scholarship of commemorating in writing the biographies of notable figures, but he weaves these ambitious lives together to create a rich narrative of Islamic civilization, from the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century to the era of the world conquerer Timur and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in the fifteenth.
Hear My Voice
The amplification of women’s voices has become an idee fixe of modern social media. Rightfully so. If anything has become clear since the 2016 presidential election and the recent #metoo exposure of rampant sexual assault, it’s the necessity and relevance of feminism in our society.
But for today’s fourth-wave feminists, an awareness and appreciation of the great forward leaps made by the second-wave feminists of the 1960s is imperative to maintain historical perspective and inform future action. Marcia R. Rudin’s historical novel, Hear My Voice, does just that.
Reza Aslan’s God: A Human History
Reza Aslan’s God: A Human History is of that genre. But it is an unusual specimen. Engagingly written, likely to appeal to “seekers”, it contains an often fascinating potted history of religion, from primitive animism to the multi-faith world of today. While Aslan questions the truth of all monotheistic and polytheistic belief systems, he is not a dismissive atheist in the Richard Dawkins mould. Indeed, he has lambasted Dawkins as “a buffoon, embarrassing himself every day”.
Interfaith Holiday Books for Kids
For inhabitants of the northern hemisphere, autumn features increasingly shorter days as we move inexorably toward the longest night of the year around December 21. Interestingly, many cultures and faith traditions have long-standing traditions and stories that lift up light during this time of relative darkness. For Neo-Pagans/Wiccans and other indigenous peoples, it’s Winter Solstice, for Jews, Hanukkah, for the ancient Romans, Saturnalia, for Christians, Christmas, and for African-Americans, Kwanzaa, just to name a few.
Bishop Suriel Writes Inspiring Book on Educational Reformer Habib Girgis
More than ever, the world needs strong leaders, committed teachers and people filled with a life purpose. Such was the life embodied by a humble Coptic gentleman named Habib Girgis, who was born in Cairo in 1876 and lived in Egypt until 1951. There is much to be learnt from this man as highlighted in a new book by Leader of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Melbourne, Bishop Suriel.
Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas
Double Exposure is a groundbreaking anthology of plays about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Playwrights Canada Press is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas, edited by Stephen Orlov and Samah Sabawi, the first English-language collection of its kind in any genre worldwide by Jewish and Palestinian writers.
Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy
Few things provoke controversy in the modern world like the religion brought by Muhammad. Modern media are replete with alarm over jihad, underage marriage and the threat of amputation or stoning under Shariah law. Sometimes rumour, sometimes based in fact and often misunderstood, the tenets of Islamic law and dogma were not set in the religion’s founding moments. They were developed over centuries by the clerical class of Muslim scholars. Misquoting Muhammad takes the reader back in time through Islamic civilization and traces how and why such controversies developed, offering an inside view into how key and controversial aspects of Islam took shape.
Letters to a Young Muslim
In a series of essays Omar Saif Ghobash (former UAE ambassador to Russia) offers a guide for young Muslims to navigate the complex 21st century. Although the book is written in the form of letters to his 15 year-old son Saif, the advice and counsel he offers is appropriate for Muslims of all ages. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi read the book “Letters to a Young Muslim.”
Interfaith Leadership: A Primer
What does it takes to Be an Interfaith Leader? Eboo Patel, founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core (at the White House, DC) has written one book on Interfaith Leadership. Below are excerpts from the opening and closing of the Introduction to Interfaith Leadership: A Primer, a new book from Eboo Patel being published by Beacon Press this August. Copyright by Eboo Patel.
Beyond Belief: Why Australians don’t go to church, but call upon God in times of crisis
Most Australians claim they believe in God or some kind of “higher power” and yet fewer than one in 10 of us attend church every week. We don’t actively “worship” and yet are apparently comforted by the mere presence of the many churches that operate in our community.