User:I. Al-Jubouri/sandbox

Al-Jubouri, I. M. N.

Imadaldin Mahdi Nori Al-Jubouri was born on Monday morning in 28 december,1953 where the flood just begin in Baghdad, which is known in Iraq as flood of 1954, therefore, his registration was on March 4, 1954. He brought up in Baghdad where finished his education stages, and he got his high degrees in Greenwich compass college: BSc. 1986, Ms. 1987, PhD. 1990, in philosophy. He became a British citizen in 1994, and married his relative Abir in 1998, a father of three daughters: Nora 1999, Zina 2000, and Tara 2003. Fulltime writer and translator, he published many articles and studies in several Arabic and English newspapers, journals and magazines, such as Al-Arab International, Ad-Dustor, Azzaman, Philosophy Now, Pro-Quest, Information and Learning, in London, New York, Beirut, Amman and Baghdad. Further to his entertained in some Arabic satellite channels, such as ANN, Nile, Rafidin, Almustakilah, Al-Hiwar, Wesal, in London, Cairo and Riyadh. Dr. Al-Jubouri is also the Author of various Arabic and English books published during past twenty eight years, amongst these being in English:

• Logical Theory In Metaphysics, Pub. E-Kutub Ltd, London, 2014. • Islamic Thought, From Mohammed To September 11, 2001, Pub. Xlibris, printed in United States of America, 2010. • History of Islamic Philosophy, with view to Greek philosophy and early history of Islam, Pub. Bright pen, England, 2004. • Learn Arabic, Pub. Dar al-Hikma, publishing & Distribution, London, 2002. • God, Existence and Man, Including Arabic Islamic Philosophy, Pub. Zaman, London. 2001, 2002. • Time: Concise Analytical Study, And Other Philosophical Essays. (on the stage).

Reviews

‘This massive volume of 514 pages is divided into two Books. Book I deals with the sources of Islamic thought and is itself divided into two Parts, the first on ‘Greek thought’ and the second on ‘Islam’. Book II deals with Islamic Philosophers. The contains eight chapters, the first seven dealing with the seven major figures and the eight on ‘Transmission of Heritage’. The first of these two very substantial Books is prefaced by essays on ‘The Sources of Islamic Philosophy’, ‘The Role of Islamic Philosophy in Human History’, and ‘Historians and Islamic Philosophy’. The second of these tow Books is rounded off with five Genealogical Tables, a Glossary of Arabic Expressions, Notes, a Bibliography, and an Index. ‘The substantial philosophical interest of the present volume is to be found in the accounts of the work of Alkindi Alfarabi, Avicenna (or Ibn Sina), Alma’arri, Algazel (or Al-Ghazzali), Averrose (or Ibn Rushd) and Ibn Khaldun. The traditionally-recorded birth dates of these seven philosophers spares between 800 and 1332. So several of them were working in the Eastern Islamic world during periods which were for Europe periods of a Dark Age. And of course all the translations into Latin of the works of Plato, Aristotle and other Greek thinkers which later became available to Aquinas and other Scholastics were originally made by Islamci scholars. Since I am assured, presumably by believers in the substantiality of the human soul, that confession is good for it, I should perhaps make some response to the author’s complaint that in my own ‘519 pages book An Introduction to Western Philosophy I should dismiss the whole of Islamic Philosophy in six lines’. My not very shamefaced excuse is that that book was always intended by its publishers to serve as a course textbook in the English-speaking philosophical world, and that it was originally published in 1971. At that date and in that world the only religion of which the philosophy of religion needed to take account was Christianity. Since then a definition of the word ‘God’ originally provided by Richard Swinburne has become standard throughout the entire and very wide English-speaking philosophical world. It runs: ‘A person without a body (i.e. a spirit) present everywhere, the creator and sustainer of the universe, able to do everything, (i.e. omnipotent), knowing all things, perfectly good, a source of moral obligation, immutable eternal, a necessary being, holy and worthy of worship.’ But since Sinburne first published that definition the continuing decline in the proportion of the population of the UK who are believing and practicing Christians and the continuing increase of the population of the UK who are believing and practicing Muslims will soon bring it about that Islam becomes the majority religion if not necessarily and at the same time the religion of the majority. The majority will no doubt consist, as now, of those who are at least nominally believing but certainly not regularly practicing any religion. But now, in view of my near total ignorance of the subject of Al-Jubouri’s book, why am I attempting to review it here? It is because, just as soon as I had seen its title, I realized that this is a work which ought to be noticed in Philosophy, the journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, and in Philosophy Now, to reach the wider philosophical public. So far as I know the Editor of Philosophy has failed to unearth a suitable reviewers and I myself know no such person. But it is nevertheless necessary at least to notice the book in Philosophy Now, and noticing rather than critically reviewing is that and all that I have just done. It is of course for Muslim philosophers to produce a definition of the word ‘Allah’ suitable for Muslim philosophy religion. But it is all too easy for a reader only of Arthur J. Arberry’s interpretation of the Koran to appreciate some of the formidable difficulties of this task. For a start every Sura (chapter) is prefaced by the words ‘In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate’, words which are presumably an editorial contribution. But their authority and their appropriateness become very questionable once we bring into consideration the fact that so many of these Suras include threats of a Hell of eternal punishment. On my own count there are at least 255 such threats in Arberry’s 669 pages.’

Professor Antony Flew, Philosophy Now, London, issue 52, 2005. ‘I am sorry to say that until now, philosophers such as Alkindi and Algazel have only been names to me, so it is about time I read something about their ideas.’

Rick Lewis, Editor-in-Chief; Philosophy Now, London.

‘History of Islamic Philosophy, with view to Greek philosophy and early history of Islam is a very important project… Today scholars realize in order to better understanding Eastern Culture we need to investigate their history, philosophy and religion in their own terms.’

Report: University of Rochester Press; New York.

‘Many thanks indeed for your HISTORY OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY. I am delighted to have this since I know virtually noting about the subject except a little on the Sufis I picked up from Idries Shah. But I was quite fascinated by your brilliant and expert summary of Heraclitus and Plato. ‘From what you write in your introduction about the rather casual attitude of Russell, Flew, Tomlin etc, a book such as this is much needed, and it’s clarity is so irresistible that I believe it is bound to fill an important gap. I am keeping it by my armchair to brose at random – every page seems to contain something fascinating.’

Colin Wilson, February 7, 2005.

‘Many thanks for sending me a copy of your History of Islamic Philosophy. I’m sure that it is a very timely publication, + I look forward to reading it.’

Antony O’Hear, the Royal Institute of Philosophy, 10-12-2004.

‘Very occasionally a book appears which provides a perfect bridge between amateurs and professionals. This event is usually less likely to happen in the somewhat arcane field of philosophy and almost beyond concept in the English speaking world when the subject is entwined with the history of Islam. In ‘History of Islamic Philosophy, with a view to Greek philosophy and early history of Islam’, Dr. Al-Jubouri, similarly to those he writes of, is clearly a born teacher. He describes succinctly the circumstances of Mohammed the Prophet’s life, times and influences upon him, then explains by chronological examination of succeeding philosophers how they, in turn, evolved their theories based upon the written and spoken words of the founder of Islam. This discourse inevitably draws on comparisons with later Western philosophers who embraced the ancient teachings then developed their won ideas. To anyone not at all familiar with the history of Arabic academia it will probably come as a surprise to learn where later Renaissance Man eventually trod, the trail had already been pioneered by a succession of Islamic philosophers many of whom, until this book, have been long lost to obscurity. Besides a discussion of their works, we learn about their lives and in many instances how difficult and perilous they were. Wars and dissent led to frequent persecutions, something the Roman Catholic Church was later to emulate during the ‘Dark Ages’ in Europe when almost the only ‘beacons of learning’ were to be found in countries with cities such as Toledo in Spain; Islamic by conquest. Since Western philosophers based many of their treatises upon the ancient Arabic texts, it is hardly surprising to learn Islamic philosophers also with the idea of philosophy being able to explain the cosmos, all scientific investigation and their relation to human humdrum existence within a religious context. What does surprise, given the limited resources at their disposal, are the observations, logic and purity of rational thought which provided answers still relevant today. I was particularly struck by the work of ibn Khaldun whose rules for historical research are foolproof and should be in large print on the wall of every aspiring historical author. Ibn Khaldun also described how human societies evolve, rise to greatness and decline; an accurate, salutary lesson and particularly pertinent to those nations who have once and currently dominate the world. I found this work extraordinarily engrossing: the historical input and research are prodigious and are provided for objectively and often with dry wit. The finer points of philosophical issues are also discussed and presented to enable anyone, whether a scholar or not, Arabic or Westerner, to understand the truths these ancients sought. Due to this exposition, especially in the light of later experience, many of the proposition posited still have capacity to provoke thought. Some of the questions raised, even in the 21st. century remain unanswered. Man and women obviously still have a great deal more to learn.’

Dione M. Coumbe LL.B(Hons.) Managing Director, Book Publicity Ltd., Dover, UK.

Letters

1. Antony Flew (1923-2010).

2. Colin Wilson (1931-2013).

3. Antony O’Hear (1942-).

Reviews

From the author of History of Islamic Philosophy, with view of Greek Philosophy and early History of Islam comes a sequel that’s equally compelling, informative, and thought-provoking. Learn and understand the world behind Islamic Thought as author I. M. N. Al-Jubouri presents Islam from its origins to the present. After the tragic attack on the World Trade Center in New York, on the Pentagon in Washington, and on an aircraft in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, the gulf between the two worlds of the West and the Muslims has widened and deepened. In his hopes to bridge this gap, he prepares this historical presentation. Concisely written, this book details significant information about Islamic movements, doctrines, scholars, thinkers, reformers, and modernists.

Al-Jubouri’s earnest treatment of Islam delivers a wealth of invaluable information on one of the largest religions in the world. Few could gainsay the motivation behind Al-Jubouri’s new historical review of Muslim thinking—the author says that he was compelled to write as an effort to help close a widening gap between Islam and the Western world in the wake of 9/11. His book, then, stands as an attempt to communicate the basic conceptual structures of the fastest-growing religion in the world to a Western audience woefully ignorant of its basic precepts. Al-Jubouri’s is a thorough, workmanlike effort. His well-researched tome begins with a description of Islam in the time of its prophet Muhammad, and then tracks the religion’s development through the Middle Ages, into the Renaissance and up to the present moment. A British citizen born in Iraq, Al-Jubouri is an evenhanded scholar, and he gives equal time to Islam’s many—sometimes warring—factions; Sunnis, Shi’ites and Sufis all have their say, as do luminaries from some of the religion’s lesser-known movements. He also does an excellent job describing Islam’s legal, mystical and philosophical schools. And his treatment of contemporary Islam is cognizant of the fact that fundamentalist Muslims confront scholars, lay readers, believers and agnostics alike with stark challenges. He carries off his ambitious project calmly, concisely and confidently. Perhaps the only weakness is that the book enters an already crowded field of post-9/11 scholarship on Islam. The author’s tone is formal and academic, and readers with no knowledge of Muhammad’s faith may be better served by beginning their study with more accessible introductions, among them Karen Armstrong’s Islam: A Short History, or Reza Aslan’s No god But God. And those readers with a basic understanding may rather get a more detailed analysis from established scholars such as Georgetown’s John L. Esposito. Painstaking, comprehensive religious scholarship. Al-Jubouri, I.M.N. ISLAMIC THOUGHT: From Mohammed to September 11, 2001 Xlibris (380 pp.) Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., TX 78744 indie@kirkusreviews.com

‘To deal with some sensitive problems about God and man, no one ‎could claim that he has the full answers, but he could give more ‎convincing and acceptable answers than the others. Philosophy, ‎always, is the field in which to grow various ideas that confined the ‎human mind in this world or with the higher world. To believe and support mentally what you believe in, or disprove by all means what you do not believe in, therefore, I have sought to deal with such problems, as far as I am able.’ ‎ (Author).

Contact the Author

E-mail: dr.imadjubouri@gmail.com