Freethinkers of Medieval Islam
Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi and Their Impact on Islamic Thought
Published on 1. January 1999
Book
Hardback
XII, 261 pages
978-90-04-11374-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book endeavors to identify and define the phenomenon of freethinking in medieval Islam, in particular as exemplified in the figures of the two most notorious intellectual heretics, Ibn al-Rawandi (9th C.) and Abu Bakr al-Razi (10th C.).
The development of Islamic freethinking is analyzed on the background of the paramount importance of prophetology in Islam. The book examines the image of the freethinkers in Islam and its connection to the legacy of late antiquity, and to the traditions about Indian and Sabian religions. The last chapters examine repercussions of his phenomenon in various aspects of Muslim, Jewish and Christian medieval thought.
It is argued that, despite its rare occurrence, freethinking was in fact a pivotal Islamic phenomenon, which had a major impact on the development of Islamic thought.
The development of Islamic freethinking is analyzed on the background of the paramount importance of prophetology in Islam. The book examines the image of the freethinkers in Islam and its connection to the legacy of late antiquity, and to the traditions about Indian and Sabian religions. The last chapters examine repercussions of his phenomenon in various aspects of Muslim, Jewish and Christian medieval thought.
It is argued that, despite its rare occurrence, freethinking was in fact a pivotal Islamic phenomenon, which had a major impact on the development of Islamic thought.
Reviews / Votes
'Ces deux precieux volumes devront se trouver dans toutes les bibliotheques de recherche sur l'histoire generale de la pensee tant islamique qu'europeenne.'Mohammed Arkoun, Arabica, 2000.
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Additional editions
Sarah Stroumsa
Freethinkers of Medieval Islam
Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought
Book
03/2016
Brill
€72.00
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Person
Sarah Stroumsa, Ph.D. (1984), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she is currently a professor of Arabic and Jewish thought. She has published extensively on medieval intellectual history in Arabic, especially on Judeo-Arabic thought, including, most recently, The Beginnings of the Maimonidean Controversy in the East (Jerusalem, 1999).