A Young Muslim's Guide to the Modern World

As Nasr openly declares in the foreword, this book is not written in a scholarly fashion. It is mainly for giving a general perspective and show potential directions to the young Muslim in the west. Book consists of three major parts: first talking about what Islam is and the history/culture of Muslim civilization. The second part talks about the western philosophy, art, and social life. Book ends with a short section by giving directions to young Muslim in the west.Coming from a Muslim background, first half of the book was quite boring for me, which is the reason for one missing star. First of all, he was talking about the main points of Islamic sharia and aqidah, on a very superficial manner. Considering the target audience which is quite understandable. Then the book starts talking about the golden era of Islamic science, philosophy, and art. It is good to know all these for looking forward to do the better. However, my impression about mentioning of the golden age by Muslims in general is that, it is being used for boosting the ego of Muslims, or at least make them feel less bad about the Muslim identity that they carry in this day and age. Nasr's narration of these "old good days" was not much different as far as I can say. Given that the book is written for encouraging the young Muslims, this might be tolerable. However, I personally do not like this nationalistic teachings which makes people feel privileged about what their ancestors did in the past. Just a personal point of view though. Also, it is not hard to realize Nasr's pride in the Persian heritage within Islamic history in his sentences, just a side note.Second half of the book was giving a nice summary of western thought, social/economic/political life and art. Since I am not that much into western philosophy in terms of reading from the original sources, I enjoyed this second part of the book.Finally, Nasr closes the book with some suggestions for the young Muslim that he is addressing. This part was quiet short though.This book is ideal for people who wants to compare the two worlds, i.e., Islam and the west, on a historical basis, and don't have much of reading in philosophy. However, if you are already familiar with Islamic history and have read a bit of western philosophy, book might be boring at some points.

Dr Nasr has super simplified a very complex subject. It’s an easy read for beginners with a lot of information about Islam and the chronological account of western history, it world view and its impact globally. A must read for Muslims living in the west or in Muslim lands.

I know you have heard it before but this book is truly a must read. Especially when there is so much confusion about Islam, this book puts things in context as far as the Islamic view of the West and the West's view of Islam. It is the best book on an introduction to Islam, I always go back to it and reread it.

Enjoyable reading.

Good book

Seyyed Hossein Nasr "A Young Muslim's Guide to the Modern World" (Kazi, 1994)Picking up a new book (in the sense of not having read before) by Professor Nasr is an experience to be relished, but at the same time one for which you need to brace yourself. Nasr tackles God, Philosophy, Civilization and the crisis of modern man... not exactly holiday reading. His books invariably present the reader with a 'tour de force' of traditional Islamic knowledge as well as an almost frightening breadth of learning spanning the fields of Philosophy, Science, History, the Arts, Education, Politics, Economics and of course Religion.Above all else, perhaps, Professor Nasr's genius lies in his ability to weave together relevant information from seemingly disparate fields to create an organic synthesis simultaneously in accordance with the teachings of Islam and scholastically rigorous enough to present a formidable challenge to the most critical mind. One must also take into consideration his intellectual pedigree, second to none in both the traditional world of Islam, and modern Western learning, presented through his eloquent command of the English language which renders his writing such a joy to read.The book in question is perhaps the ideal entrance for a Muslim reader into the thought of Nasr. Its aim is to at once reaffirm the many aspects of the Islamic 'message' (the first seven chapters) before venturing into a fairly deep, although understandably brief considering the amount of ground covered, analysis of the modern Western world (the next seven chapters) in chapters dealing with Modern Philosophy, Science and Technology and so forth. The fifteenth and final chapter takes the form of an epilogue restating the need for young Muslims to both learn their own tradition deeply and also to learn about the Modern World seriously in order to be able to respond Islamically to the multitude of challenges it poses a follower of tradition. Indeed, Nasr asserts that while the West has produced numerous scholars who study Islam and the Islamic World from their point of view, the Islamic world has produced very few scholars able to study the various aspects of the West (in any depth at least) from the Islamic perspective.So there we have the basic outline of the work, one which is both ambitious and greatly needed at this critical juncture in history. Professor Nasr is by no means the first Islamic scholar to address the topic of the spiritual welfare of the youth as it is confronted with modernity, however he is certainly the one author whose masterful treatment this issue has needed the most. As he notes, most Islamic critiques of the Modern West are shallow, ill-informed and reactionary, unable to stand up to much serious examination. Nasr characteristically avoids such emotional, simplistic generalisations and presents the reader with the learned, scholarly treatment we have come to expect.The volume touches on so many themes that it is difficult to summarise, leaving one to conclude with a strong recommendation in favour of tracking it down and partaking in its blessings (barakah) for yourself. You may also find yourself turning the final page with a sense of faith and belonging, having rediscovered your prestigious tradition, a sense of sobriety having learnt something of the nature of the problems of modernity but above all a sense of illumination and purpose based upon the Eternal Reality of Divinity. Nasr concludes aptly with a well-known quote from the Noble Quran: "When the Truth comes, falsehood shall fade away."Note: The copy in question is published by Kazi (1994) and while it is adequate, the reader is advised to seek out the edition published by the ITS - The Islamic Texts Society, whose books are always of the highest quality, the Kazi edition lacking especially with regard to the typeface used for the chapter headings.

This book by Dr. Nasr is a book which was waiting to be written and it could not have been written by a more qualified person. I learnt a lot about the intellectual history of Islamic thought from this book (philosophy, mystical ideas, speculative theology) and how it has developed throughout the ages to the present. I also was very very impressed by the scholarly yet succint way in which the major philosophical and intellectual movements which shaped the history of the West were presented. This again greatly increased my knowledge. These first two sections were excellent. The third section was not as strong as the other two--how Muslims should respond to the Western dominance at present and a comparative overview--as it was too brief. This though is an excellent book. I hope that Dr. Nasr writes another version of this book--for adults this time following the same format but including a lot more detail and references and bibliography.

IGCE reading material