Dustin Byrd

In Ali Shariati and the Future of Social Theory: Religion, Revolution and the Role of the Intellectual, Dustin J. Byrd and Seyed Javad Miri bring together a collections of essays by a variety of scholars who explore the lasting influence of the Iranian sociologist and revolutionary, Ali Shariati. Thought to be the most important intellectual behind the Iranian Revolution of 1979, these essays engage in a future-oriented remembrance of Shariati's life and praxis, with the practical attempt to clarify, expand, and apply his liberational Islamic thought to modern conditions. Making use of Shariati's writings on Shi'a Islam and western philosophy, this text is especially important for those who want to understand the role that intellectuals, both religious and secular, can have in the liberation of mankind.

Islam in the Post-Secular Society: Religion, Secularity and the Antagonism of Recalcitrant Faith critically examines the unique challenges facing Muslims in Europe and North America. From the philosophical perspective of the Frankfurt School?s critical theory, this book attempts not only to diagnose the current problems stemming from a marginalization of Islam in the secular West, but also to offer a proposal for a Habermasian discourse between the religious and the secular. By highlighting historical examples of Islamic and western rapprochement, and rejecting the ?clash of civilization? thesis, the author attempts to find a ?common language? between the religious and the secular, which can serve as a vehicle for a future reconciliation.