The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment Author:Attar, Samar capturing the imagination of outsiders

capturing the imagination of outsiders and ultimately attracting the attention of hostile sovereigns who sacked the city three times and plundered it half a dozen more

Tales are told at communal gatherings to share and pass on Beldi women's secret lore of love

Islam is deemed by more than a billion Muslims to be a source of serenity and spiritual peace

Ibn Al-Qayyim

What does the fourteenth-century North African traveler Ibn Battuta have in common with the American hip hopper Mos Def

The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment Author:Attar, Samar capturing the imagination of outsidersThe Vital Roots of European Enlightenment is a collection of essays dealing with the influence of Ibn Tufayl, a 12th century Arab philosopher from Spain, on major European thinkers. Had Edward Said known about the impact of Hayy Ibn Yaqzan on Europe throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, he might have reached different conclusions in his book Orientalism.