Nietzsche and Islam

In the light of current events, particularly the ‘post September 11th’ debates with much focus on aspects of the ‘clash of civilisation’ thesis, the issue of Islamic identity is a crucial one. Whilst Friedrich Nietzsche was addressing an audience of a different culture and age, his own originality, creativity, psychological, philological and historical insights allows for a fresh and enlightening understanding of Islam within the context of our modern era.

In this book, Roy Jackson sets out to determine:

• Why did Nietzsche feel inclined to be so generous towards the Islamic tradition yet so critical of Western Christianity?
• How important was religion for Nietzsche’s views on such matters as moral and political philosophy and how does this help us to understand the Islamic response to modernity?
• How does Nietzsche’s distinctive outlook and methodology help us to understand such key Islamic paradigms as the Qur’an, the Prophet, and the ‘Rightly-Guided’ Caliphs?

Nietzsche and Islam provides an original and fresh insight into Nietzsche’s views on religion and shows that his philosophy can make an important contribution to what is considered to be Islam’s key paradigms. As such it will be of interest to a diverse readership and will provide useful material for researchers when thinking about religion, Islam and the future.

Dr Roy Ahmad Jackson is a lecturer, writer and freelance researcher in Philosophy and Religion. He is the author of a number of books on such topics as Plato, Nietzsche and the Philosophy of Religion. His book ‘Fifty Key Figures in Islam’ was published by Routledge in June 2006.