Book Notes

The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam by Reza Shah-Kazemi, 2012. London & New York: I. B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies. (Occasional Papers, vol. 4.), x + 165 pp., £7.99. ISBN: 978-17807-6131-2 (pbk).

Refuting the modern stereotype that Islam fosters intolerance, Reza Shah Kazemi proposes the opposite: namely, that the 'trajectory of tolerance' went from East to West, and that Islamic cultures first developed the values of tolerance that were later adopted by the secular West. Objecting to the idea that the Islamic world requires a European-style 'reformation', he instead outlines the practical demonstration of religious tolerance throughout Islamic history with specific focus on the Ottoman, Mughal, Fatimid, and Spanish Muslim dynasties. He then demonstrates how the Qur'an and hadith, including narrations about early Islamic history, support an ethos of plurality and compassionate forbearance. Aimed at a general readership, The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam nonetheless would be appropriate for inclusion in a course on Islamic studies, medieval world history, or comparative religion.

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Reason Unbound: On Spiritual Practice in Islamic Peripatetic Philosophy by Mohammad Azadpour, 2011. (SUNY Series in Western Esoteric Traditions, ed. David Appelbaum.) Albany: State University of New York Press, viii + 179 pp., $70. ISBN: 978-1-4384-3763-7 (hbk).

Reason Unbound assesses the interaction between Islamic (peripatetic) philosophy and European (continental) philosophy. Azadpour's point of departure is Edward Said's analysis of orientalism and Muhsin Mahdi's study of orientalism as it relates to Islamic philosophy specifically. An understanding of what constitutes Islamic philosophy is developed in discussion with Hadot, Heidegger, Corbin, Hegel, Kant, and others. A short concluding chapter draws attention to the persistence of peripateticism in the work of Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra. Reason Unbound is a clearly articulated work which will be of interest to students and scholars of the history of Islamic philosophy and to those interested in exploring how the Islamic and European philosophical traditions may benefit from each other.

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Shī'ah Women Transmitters of Ḥadīth: A Collection of Biographies of the Women Who Have Transmitted Traditions, by Nahleh Gharavi Naeeni, trans. G. Babst, 2011. Qum: Ansarian, 328 pp., $16.00. ISBN: 978-964-219-178-9 (pbk).

Classical biographical literature is notoriously scant in its inclusion of female hadith narrators. While, in recent years, numerous works have begun to appear detailing the lives of Sunni female hadith narrators, little work has been done on Shi'a female hadith narrators. In this extensively researched book, Nahleh Gharavi Naeeni attempts to rectify that omission by scouring numerous sources of hadith and history to discover the names and biographies of early Shi'a female narrators who were omitted from classical (and modern) Shi'a biographical works. Through this immense effort, she provides the names and a surprising amount of biographical information on over two hundred early female hadith narrators who clearly aligned themselves with the Shi'a. She also provides biographical information on a selection of renowned Shi'a muhaddithahs, or female hadith masters, in later eras. The slightly colloquial translation and presentation should not mask the scholarly value of this work; this welcome book is sure to fill a gap in contemporary studies of Hadith literature.

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Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East: Continuity and Change by Tareq Y. Ismael & Jaqueline S. Ismael, 2011. Abingdon & New York: Routledge, xvi + 461, maps, £21.99. ISBN: 978-0415-49145-7 (pbk).

Written with additional contributions from Shereen T. Ismael, Glenn E. Perry, and Ali Rezaei this university-level textbook introduces the politics of the Middle East. Chapters 2 and 3 provide appropriate background, both in terms of religion and in terms of the historical empires which preceded the nation states we find today. The remaining chapters examine these nation states with some chapters covering two states together (e.g. Lebanon and Syria, ch. 7).

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The Art and Material Culture of Iranian Shi'ism: Iconography and Religious Devotion in Shi'i Islam, ed. Pedram Khosronejad, 2011. (International Library of Iranian Studies, vol. 29.) London & New York: I. B. Tauris, xx + 284 pp., ills., £51.50. ISBN: 978-1848851689 (hbk).

This...