Heaven on Earth
A Journey Through Shari'a Law From the Deserts of Ancient Arabia to the Streets of the Modern Muslim World
Farrar Straus & Giroux · Print & ebook · April 9, 2013
Ever since 9/11, fears about the shari‘a—Islamic law—have been spreading.
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- Who it’s for
- Explore how shari‘a’s long intellectual tradition became entangled with modern political crises.
- Genres
- Islamic Law, Islamic History, Islam - General
- Published
- Farrar Straus & Giroux, April 9, 2013
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Ever since 9/11, fears about the shari‘a—Islamic law—have been spreading. A word that originally conveyed nothing more sinister than a direct path to water has become associated not with salvation but with brutality and compulsion. And as the legal historian and human rights lawyer Sadakat Kadri realized when he began writing this book, we are all worse off for not knowing its true meaning.
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In Heaven on Earth, Kadri recounts Islam's thrilling and turbulent history with wit and precision and shows how fourteen hundred years of tradition have been turned upside down in just forty years by hard-line extremists. Traveling through more than half a dozen countries, he explores how the shari‘a is currently perceived—by scholars, critics, and ordinary believers alike. Heaven on Earth is a brilliantly iconoclastic tour through one of humanity's great collective intellectual achievements. At a time when the shari‘a is shaping political crises and the lives of more than a billion Muslims worldwide, Kadri clarifies the realities of modern Islam—and helps us anticipate how it is going to look in the future.
Law in Context
Explore how shari‘a’s long intellectual tradition became entangled with modern political crises.
Come here for
- A clear-eyed history of shari‘a and its changing meanings
- Legal history with wit and precision
Expect
- Historical context alongside present-day perceptions
- A precise, lively account of a complex subject
Where it sits
| Islamic Law | 62% |
|---|---|
| Islamic History | 43% |
| Islam - General | 29% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Islamic Law
- Islamic History
- Islamic Studies
- Authors
- Sadakat Kadri
- Publisher
- Farrar Straus & Giroux
- Published
- April 9, 2013
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Islamic Law