الإيمان والقوة: الدين والسياسة في الشرق الأوسط

by Bernard Lewis, برنارد لويس, أشرف محمد كيلاني (المترجم)

Bernard Lewis is recognized around the globe as one of the leading authorities on Islam. Hailed as "the world's foremost Islamic scholar" (Wall Street Journal ), as "a towering figure among experts on the culture and religion of the Muslim world" (Baltimore Sun ), and as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies" (New York Times ), Lewis is nothing less than a national treasure, a trusted voice that politicians, journalists, historians, and the general public have all turned to for insight into the Middle East.

Now, Lewis has brought together writings on religion and government in the Middle East, so different than in the Western world. The collection includes previously unpublished writings, English originals of articles published before only in foreign languages, and an introduction to the book by Lewis.

Acclaim for What Went Wrong?

A New York Times Bestseller

"Replete with the exceptional historical insight that one has come to expect from the world's foremost Islamic scholar."
--Karen Elliott House, Wall Street Journal

Lewis has done us all--Muslim and non-Muslim alike--a remarkable service.... The book's great strength, and its claim upon our attention, [is that] it offers a long view in the midst of so much short-term and confusing punditry on television, in the op-ed pages, on campuses and in strategic studies think tanks."
--Paul Kennedy, The New York Times Book Review

Acclaim for From Babel to Dragomans

"Lewis has long been considered the West's leading interpreter of Mideast culture and history, and this collection only solidifies his reputation."--National Review

"For more than four decades, Lewis has been one of the most respected scholars and prolific writers on the history and politics of the Middle East. In this compilation of more than 50 journal articles and essays, he displays the full range of his eloquence, knowledge, and insight regarding this pivotal and volatile region."--Booklist

Genres: Politics, History, Middle East, Religion, Nonfiction, Islam, Faith

240 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Bernard Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University and the author of many critially acclaimed and bestselling books, including two number one New York Times bestsellers: What Went Wrong? and Crisis of Islam. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Internationally recognized as the greatest historian of the Middle East, he received fifteen honorary doctorates and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Reviews

[Mohamad Al-blozi · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب: الإيمان والقوة : الدين والسياسة في الشرق الأوسط
الكاتب: برنارد لويس

جاء الكتاب في 13 فصلاً
*ذكر في أول هذه الفصول نظرية بن لادن في حرب الغزو السوفيتي والالمريكي ثم بدأ في الفصول التالية في ذكر الصراع التاريخي بين العالم الاسلامي والعالم الاوروبي او المسيحي الصراع الذي يزعم الكاتب انه لا زال قائماً حتى اليوم .
*ثم يتكلم في الفصل الثالث عن الدين والسياسة في الديانات السماوية الثلاث ونظرياتها بني الوحدة بين الدين والسياسة عند المسلمين والفصل بينهما عند المسيح .
*في الفصل السابع ينتقل للكلام عن انظمة الحكم في المنطقة ويقسمها إلى :
1- اوتوقراطية تقليدية :انظمة حكم ملكية
2-اوتوقراطية متحررة:أنظمة ملكية تسعى نحو التحديث
3- الديكتاتوريات
4-الجمهوريات السوفيتية السابقة
5- انظمة حكم اسلامية ثورية : يقصد الجمهورية الاسلامية في ايران
6-الديمقراطيات: ويرى الكاتب اليهودي كما هو المتوقع انها موجودة في النظام الصهيوني والاتاتوركي فقط
*في الفصل العاشر يتكلم عن أهمية التاريخ للشعوب وان الشعب الذي يجهل تاريخه يكون مثل فاقد الذاكرة ولا يمكنه التقدم.
*في الفصل الحادي عشر يعود ليوضح مفهوم الحرية عند الغرب وتطابقه مع العدالة في الاسلام
*في اخر الفصول يعود لذكر العلاقة بين الدول الاسلامية واوروبا .
****الى فرنسا
ما يعيب الكتاب كثرة التكرار لبعض المعلومات التي اصبحت احفظها
مثل قصة ذهاب رفاعة رافع الطهطاوي
الكاتب متحيز اشد الانحياز إلى الانظمة الليبرالية لكنه لا يمتنع بعض الاحيان من انصاف دول مثل الدولة العثمانية بسبب كونها وحسب قول الكاتب توفر حرية دينية اكثر من ما توفر الدول المسماة بالديمقراطية
ولا يمتنع عن القول عن ان النظام الجمهور الاسلامي في ايران ديمقراطي ولكنه من الدرجة الثانية حسب قوله ويكون بعد اسرائيل ونظام اتاتورك وبالطبع يتناسى اعمال النظامين الفاضحة.
والأهمان الكاتب يتعامى عن دور الدولة الامريكية في ما يحدث في المنطقة ويقول ان الدول العربية فقط لا يمكنها فعل شيء بنفسها لذلك تتهم امريكا متناسي غزو لبنان من قبل الكيان الغاصب ومساندة اميركا له ويتناسى غزو العراق وافغانستان .
وكذلك الكاتب يعترف بدور القاعدة المهم في تفكيك الاتحاد السوفيتي ويذكر زعم كل من الغرب والقاعدة بالنصر .
في النهاية الكتاب به انحياز واضح وهذا طبيعي فالكاتب امريكي يهودي وايضاً
لكن في النهاية الكتاب به الكثير من المعلومات والاحداث المهمة والمثيرة للإهتمام.

تقيمي للكتاب 3.75/5

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 I liked Bernard Lewis's insightful The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror earlier. The book was short yet satisfying. Unfortunately, this one seems to be a combination of a half-baked book with the other half filled in with his lectures/articles. This makes it repetitive, and there is a lack of continuity and coherence.
While there are a few scattered insights here and the book is thankfully short too, you may want to avoid.

[Mert Tuzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Özellikle İslam coğrafyasında yaşayanların okuması gerektiğini düşündüğüm bir kitap. İnanç ve iktidar konusunda şu an belleklerimizde olan birçok bilginin kökenini çok güzel bir biçimde anlatmakta.

[Oz. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kitap, yazarin makale ve konusmalarindan bir derleme olduğu için çok fazla tekrar var. 2010 yılında yayinlandigi icin de bilgiler taze degil. Yine de gunumuz Ortadoğu'sunu anlamak icin yol gosterici nitelikte

[Atakan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will share my thoughts on the book under a few titles:

1. Clustering problem:

His clustering is really problematic. He creates a huge cluster of “Islam countries” and put different races, cultures, languages and more. And he try to come up with the same answer to all. That’s why he separate Turks and Iranians from other “elements” of Islamic Countries cluster several times throughout the book.
-note to Bernard Lewis about that critic of mine:
Mr.Lewis cultures, races, languages do not melt in the pot of religion, they are “knead” with it. And create different forms and understanding of Islam. You cannot solve all equations you encounter by assigning value 1 to all variable x’s.

2.Repetitive parts:

Book include different speeches given by Bernard Lewis in different occasions.

Due to his lack of explanation on different questions, he just copy-paste the same theory almost in every part of the book/speeches.

3.Definition of Europe:

Is it the name of the most developed civilization form that humankind have?

Is it just the name of a geological plate?

Or is it the name of christian mainland that stand against islamic mainland(middle east)?

Through my life, I thought that word of Europe represents mostly the geographical location. And European union as the union of countries that are fulfilling the basic civil,legal,educational, etc. standarts and gaining representative influence due to unions larger economic influence.

But when I read the book, I realise that Bernard Lewis believe that word of europe and west mean christian world. I would say that understanding is old and sick as seeing one superior islamic world whenever you look at the middle east. Also, throughout the book, this definition of europe and west change and previously claimed definition is despised.🤦🏽‍♂️

[jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the West's foremost scholars of the Islamic world, Bernard Lewis's "Faith and Power: Religion and Politics in the Middle East// collects a series of essays and speeches, many never before published. While all of the entries fit into the broad category reflected by the title, they cover a range of topics. Some familiar with Lewis's previous excellent works on the relationship between Europe and the Islamic world, may find a few repetitive. A few essays stand out as particularly insightful, such as one on historic gender roles in Ottoman and Arab culture and another on the sources of historical political legitimacy in the Islamic tradition. Another chapter on the relationship between religion and the potential for democracy in the Middle East also makes for thought provoking reading.

Of late there has been a great and continuing effort to pigeonhole Lewis, both by his academic rivals and those with a political axe to grind. What comes across clearly in these essays, however, is instead the work of a complex intellectual with an impressive command of facts, a nuanced analysis of the region and its history, and an abiding admiration for his subject.

[Fred Kohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful insights into contemporary and historical relationships between faiths, empires, and nations in the Middle East and Europe! I was taken by surprise when I found out that this is a collection of essays and talks which makes this book rather disjointed and very repetitive. The repetition was actually ok because one found out what points Lewis wants to stress again and again. But it was a bit weird to have chapters of 2 or 3 pages interspersed with chapters of 20 or 30 pages.

[çağrı · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bernard Lewis'in sürekli çok saygın bir tarihçi olarak görüldüğünü duyuyordum. İlk olarak "Bir Ortadoğu Tarihçisinin Notları" kitabını okudum ve şaşırtıcı derecede sade bir dille yazılmış sohbet havasında bir kitap olduğunu gördüm. Bu kitap ise nispeten ağır ama yine de çok sade bir kitaptı. Kendini geliştirmek, orta doğu ve avrupanın karşılaştırmalı olarak tarihleri ve sosyal yaşamları hakkında bilgilenmek isteyenlerin okuması için ideal bir kitap. Kendi adıma benim gibi kurgu okumaya alışkın, bu tarz metinlerden uzak insanları kolayca içine alabilir.

[Emina Buket · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bölgenin içinden biri olarak okunmasinin gerekli olduğunu düşündüm ve içindeki başlıkları da ilgi çekici buldum ama kitap bir butun olarak beklentimi karşılamadı. Çok tekrara düşüyor, bazı konulardaki örnekler bugünün "yeni Türkiye" diye sunulan şekline uymuyor ve kitap bu bakımdan çok da güncel değilmiş havası veriyor. Ama Bernard Lewis Ortadoğu'yu ve politikalarini çok iyi bilen biri olduğunu bir kez daha gözler önüne seriyor.

[John Sagherian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read Bernard Lewis’s “Faith and Power: Religion and Politics in the Middle East”. Though a little dated (published in 2010), it has a lot of informative material as to how things function in the Middle East. It will be helpful for anyone interested in the M.E., the interplay of Islam and politics, democracy and fundamentalism, religion and government.

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 stars. some informative points made, but a lot was repetitive. i mean it wasn't really a book rather than a compilation of different lectures, papers, or articles composed. bro didn't shy away from it tho it was mentioned in the beginning so who am i to complain.

[Onur Sınayuç · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much repetition

[Ramil Ganiyev A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geography Is Destiny
I hope one day Women from Middle East will have more freedom, easy access to education and ability to write their own future.

[TheIron Paw · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent historical perspective on the current situation in the Middle East. I find Bernard Lewis, in all his books, provides a very balanced and insightful perspective into the Arab Islamic world in a very readable style. Because this book is a collection of essays and lectures there tends to be a lot of redundancy (however with my memory that's not a bad thing as it reinforces his basic tenets and themes). An excellent book that provides the perfect background to the present uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and elsewhere.

[Yassmine Azeez · Rating 1 out of 5]

i thought i liked the book till i read this : the muslim rulers , starting from the early islamic periods till the ottoman empire were not tyrant ! not as those in old rome and spain ! could he be that ignorant ? he is supposed to be a historiographer ! even our muslim historians do not ass kiss like he does , they admit that the muslim rulers were tyrant , they would not confess that they persecuted the minorities , but they told us what the successive sultans and wolah (rulers) did to our people ! some of them went too far that they peeled off the skin of their victims !

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individually each essay is a 4 for informativeness, but as a book the collection is haphazardly put together and there are repetition.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a series of lectures and papers that he has given over the years. Interesting and thought-provoking analysis, but it gets a bit repetitive after about half way through.

[Safaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, an interesting read. I liked his chapter on the relevance of history (very short).

[Mishari · Rating 4 out of 5]

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