Bernard Lewis
Published: 1991-06-11
Total Pages: 182
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Arabic has an entirely different political vocabulary from that shared by most Western languages. The political language of Islam is rooted in Islamic scriptures and classics and shaped by Islamic political experiences. It uses metaphors and symbols that sometimes coincide with and sometimes differ from those of the Western world, and it operates within a frame of reference and allusion often unlike that to which we in the West are accustomed. Here, historian Bernard Lewis traces the growth and development of Islamic political language from the advent of the Prophet and the promulgation of the Qur'an in the seventh century through the transformation of political thought, institutions, and discourse in modern times. Through historical analysis of the formation and transformation of the technical terms used in the literature of statecraft, in the theories of political philosophers, and in the actual conduct of government, he clarifies the perception, discussion, and practice of politics in the Islamic world.--From publisher description.
