ISLAM: THE ALTERNATIVE / ISLAM 2000

by Murad Hofmann

The Alternative, when appearing in German in 1992, caused a public scandal. Mr. Hofmann was viciously attacked as a “fundamentalist” by leftist and feminist circles in the German media and parliament. This book is also available in Arabic (Al-Islam ka Badil). Hofmann argues that there is an alternative to the Western paradigm, and that is Islam. True, this religion and its civilization is hardly ever presented by Western media as a valid alternative that can cope with the world’s problems as it enters the 21st century. In fact, Western audiences are bombarded by material presenting Islam as backward, even irrational and aggressive (if not downright terrorist). To counter these false representations, he has isolated twenty major prejudices against Islam and devoted a chapter to each of them. Islam 2000, the other work, presented within the same cover, is a continuation of his earlier thinking. Here Hofmann describes where the Muslim world is at the threshold of the twenty-first century and what it takes to make Islam the relevant religion for that century— worldwide.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2010

About the author

Dr. Murad Wilfried Hofmann (b. 1931, Aschaffenburg, Germany) is a prominent German diplomat and author. He has authored several books on Islam, including Journey to Makkah and Islam: The Alternative. Many of his books and essays focus on Islam's place in the West and, after September 11, in particular, in the United States. He is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.