{"title":"Thomas Bauer","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Bauer\u003c\/strong\u003e explores the rich intersections of religion and spirituality, inviting readers into a thoughtful engagement with complex theological concepts. His works often delve into themes of ambiguity and diversity within religious traditions, challenging simplistic interpretations and encouraging a nuanced understanding of faith.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough reflective and scholarly prose, Bauer's books foster dialogue across cultural and spiritual boundaries, making them insightful companions for anyone seeking deeper perspectives on religion's role in contemporary life.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"a-culture-of-ambiguity-by-thomas-bauer-9780231170659","title":"A Culture of Ambiguity","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the Western imagination, Islamic cultures are dominated by dogmatic religious norms that permit no nuance. Those fighting such stereotypes have countered with a portrait of Islam's medieval \"Golden Age,\" marked by rationality, tolerance, and even proto-secularism. How can we understand Islamic history, culture, and thought beyond this dichotomy?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this magisterial cultural and intellectual history, Thomas Bauer reconsiders classical and modern Islam by tracing differing attitudes toward ambiguity. Over a span of many centuries, he explores the tension between one strand that aspires to annihilate all uncertainties and establish absolute, uncontestable truths and another, competing tendency that looks for ways to live with ambiguity and accept complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBauer ranges across cultural and linguistic ambiguities, considering premodern Islamic textual and cultural forms from law to Quranic exegesis to literary genres alongside attitudes toward religious minorities and foreigners. He emphasizes the relative absence of conflict between religious and secular discourses in classical Islamic culture, which stands in striking contrast to both present-day fundamentalism and much of European history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBauer shows how Islam's encounter with the modern West and its demand for certainty helped bring about both Islamicist and secular liberal ideologies that, in their own ways, rejected ambiguity—and therefore also their own cultural traditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAwarded the prestigious Leibniz Prize, \u003cem\u003eA Culture of Ambiguity\u003c\/em\u003e not only reframes a vast range of Islamic history but also offers an interdisciplinary model for investigating the tolerance of ambiguity across cultures and eras.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47470027997420,"sku":"9780231170659","price":66.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231170659-a-culture-of-ambiguity.jpg?v=1775207268"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/thomas-bauer.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}