Islam’s Intellectual Suicide—and the Threat to Us All People are shocked and frightened by the behavior coming out the Islamic world—not only because it is violent; but also because it is seemingly inexplicable. While there are many answers to the question of “what went wrong†in the Muslim world; no one has decisively answered why it went wrong. Until now.In this eye-opening new book; foreign policy expert Robert R. Reilly uncovers the root of our contemporary crisis: a pivotal struggle waged within the Muslim world nearly a millennium ago. In a heated battle over the role of reason; the side of irrationality won. The deformed theology that resulted; Reilly reveals; produced the spiritual pathology of Islamism; and a deeply dysfunctional culture.Terrorism—from 9/11; to London; Madrid; and Mumbai; to the Christmas 2009 attempted airline bombing—is the most obvious manifestation of this crisis. But Reilly shows that the pathology extends much further. The Closing of the Muslim Mind solves such puzzles as: · why peace is so elusive in the Middle East· why the Arab world stands near the bottom of every measure of human development· why scientific inquiry is nearly dead in the Islamic world· why Spain translates more books in a single year than the entire Arab world has in the past thousand years· why some people in Saudi Arabia still refuse to believe man has been to the moon· why Muslim media frequently present natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina as God’s direct retribution Delving deeper than previous polemics and simplistic analyses; The Closing of the Muslim Mind provides the answers the West has so desperately needed in confronting the Islamist crisis.WHAT THEY ARE SAYING"The lack of liberty within Islam is a huge problem. Robert Reilly’s The Closing of the Muslim Mind shows that a millennium ago Muslims debated whether minds should be free to explore the world—and freedom lost. The intellectual history he offers helps to explain why Muslim countries fell behind Christian-based ones in scientific inquiry; economic development; and technology. Reilly provides astonishing statistics . . . [and] also points out how theology prefigures politics."—World Magazine "As Robert R. Reilly points out in The Closing of the Muslim Mind . . . the Islamic conception of God as pure will; unbound by reason and unknowable through the visible world; rendered any search for cause and effect in nature irrelevant to Muslim societies over centuries; resulting in slipshod; dependent cultures. Reilly notes; for example; that Pakistan; a nation which views science as automatically impious given its view that an arbitrary God did not imprint upon nature a rational order worth investigating; produces almost no patents."—American Spectator"What happened to moderate Islam and what sort of hope we may have for it in the future is the subject of Robert Reilly’s brilliant and groundbreaking new book. The Closing of the Muslim Mind is a page-turner that reads almost like an intellectual detective novel...One thing Reilly’s account makes clear: Only when we move beyond the common platitudes of our contemporary political discussion and begin to deal with Islam as it really is — rather than the fiction that it is the equivalent of our Western culture dressed up in a burqa — will we be able to help make progress in that direction." —National Review Online
#574997 in Books Adventures Unlimited Press 2015-02-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .52 x 6.10l; .76 #File Name: 1931882495100 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A Must-ReadBy KarexI have long questioned many things and over the decades learned to follow my instincts and reach my own conclusions. However as with any extremely complex concepts; I know what I believe but have a hard time explaining it. Stephen Mehler and his teacher; mentor and friend the late Hakim Awyan do just that. There are certain things that defy our limited language but Stephen and Hakim somehow managed to convey them anyway. Kudos!For a total and well-rounded experience however; I would recommend first reading Stephen Mehler's first book "The Land of Osiris"; and even perhaps watching some of his videos before reading this book. It will not disappoint. Thanks to Stephen and Hakim I can now explain what I have come to believe.9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Someone finally asked the Egyptians!By William A. NielsenI've always found it curious that no matter how hard any historical civilization tried for greatness for the last 5000 years or so; it always ended up going down the tubes. Then again; without a genuine conscious connection to the great creative principle that has brought all that is into being; how could it go any other way?There's a lot of interesting historical possibilities brought to light in this book. Not the least of which is the great natural cycle of human consciousness that goes from complete conscious immersion in all that is to a deterioration of our perceptions so complete that it leaves only religious dogma; superstition and myth to remind us of what we once were; (and fortunately; will be again). And around and around we go. It makes so much sense that we're just now beginning to awaken once more. For humanity as a whole; it's been pretty dark for the last 5;000 years. But it wasn't once; and won't always be so. Call me a guarded optimist.Great food for thought based on an ancient Egyptian oral tradition. It speaks well for the book that I read it in three days and plan on reading it again; as soon as the friend to whom I loaned it gives it back. If you're a student of higher consciousness; alternative history; and/or ancient Egypt; I think you'll really enjoy this one.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A difinitive work for understanding the origins of mankind and civilizationBy Peter LacknerDue to S. Mehler's unique source - tapping into the live oral history of Egypt and Pre-Egypt - a much more logical and clear picture of the development of society; technology; art; politics and religion emerges; - one that quickly replaces traditional Egyptological views and explanations because it just simply makes sense!!! If one is open to considering these new facts; the cloudy theories of ambitious historians and archeologists just evaporate as the larger historical landscape takes form through Mehler's wonderfully clear explanations and associations.
