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Nowadays the religion of Islam, which is still relatively unknown in the West, is forcefully brought to the public’s attention by the acts and threats of the “Islamic terrorists.” As a result, the question is repeatedly asked: “What kind of religion is this?”
The aim of this book is to argue that today traditional Christianity has nothing to fear from traditional Islam. In spite of appearances, the two ancient religions are really allies; they have common enemies and they are united in their opposition to all kinds of modern errors and immoralities, including materialism and secularism. Consequently, a true notion of Islam, and indeed of every complete and uncorrupted religion, is what the present book — taken in its entirety — is all about.
In surveying Islam, Stoddart provides a wealth of relevant background information and an illuminating treatise on traditional art highlighting the often neglected role of art and beauty in spirituality. The text is accompanied by a map and six color illustrations.
William Stoddart (1925–2023) was born in Carstairs, Scotland and lived most of his life in London, England. He was a close associate of both Frithjof Schuon and Titus Burckhardt and translated several of their works into English. He was also assistant editor of the British journal Studies in Comparative Religion for many years. Dr. Stoddart’s works include Outline of Hinduism and Outline of Buddhism.
Awards
- Silver Midwest Book Award for “Current Events/Political Science”
- Finalist in the “Current Events” category of The USA “Best Books 2012” Awards, sponsored by USA Book News
About the Author(s)
William Stoddart
William Stoddart (June 25, 1925 – November 9, 2023) was a Perennialist author, editor, and translator who was active in advancing the understanding of the writings of Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, and others, for over 50 years. Dr. Stoddart's most recent publications with World Wisdom are An Illustrated Outline of Buddhism: The Essentials of Buddhist Spirituality, What Does Islam Mean in Today’s World?, and Outline of Sufism: The Essentials of Islamic Spirituality. A compilation of his writings, Remembering in a World of Forgetting, was edited by M. Soares de Azevedo and A. Vasconcellos Queiroz. Stoddart also edited The Essential Titus Burckhardt, and was perhaps the greatest authority on the work of this great Swiss traditionalist. Dr. Stoddart's other contributions in World Wisdom books include:
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Harry Oldmeadow
Harry Oldmeadow was coordinator of Philosophy and Religious Studies at La Trobe University in Australia and author of the acclaimed Traditionalism: Religion in the Light of the Perennial Philosophy (2000), an authoritative introduction to the perspective of Perennialism. Prof. Oldmeadow's contributions to World Wisdom books & DVDs include:
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Reviews
- What Does Islam Mean in Today’s World? Religion, Politics, Spirituality argues that modem Christianity has nothing to fear from traditional Islam: the two religions have common enemies, concerns, and are united in their opposition to immoralities such as materialism. The general public tends to associate Islam with terrorism: this book considers its underlying connections to Christian beliefs and examines Islam’s role in modem societies. Chapters include surveys of art and culture as they discuss modem religious bias in a pick recommended for any spirituality and Middle East cultural collection.
The Bookwatch (the library newsletter from The Midwest Book Review)
- What Does Islam Mean in Today’s World? makes use of Islam as a vehicle for exploring the state of religion in modernity. Its primary aim is to redeem Islam as it exists in the public’s mind, where the erosion of its true nature has been fed by misinformation. In the process of affecting this reeducation, the book becomes a searing indictment of the dominant impulses of the post-Enlightenment world. “Religion [has], in the present age, become subject to massive betrayal and perversion” claims Dr. William Stoddart, former assistant editor of Studies in Comparative Religion.
A good portion of the work is devoted to apologetics, and so Stoddart explores both what religions ought to be — systems driven by a devotion to truth, beauty, and salvation — and how contemporary incarnations of religions have deviated from this track. The mystics of Islam are held up as its “true and authentic voices”; Stoddart laments that, nonetheless, the public tends to conflate Islamic terrorists with Islam as a whole. Against the resultant misconceptions, he contends that Islam has been historically tolerant of other religions, respectful of women and their sacred roles, and reliably non-violent. Islam’s history is succinctly and respectfully explored in defense of these claims.
An equal portion of the book is spent investigating the contemporary hostilities toward spirituality which have enabled popular degradation of Islam. Against the corrosive ‘spirit of the times,’ Stoddart champions the truth of “perennial religion,” expressions of which he views as holdouts against the seductive and false idols of the modern age.…ForeWord Reviews
