Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law
Sadakat Kadri
Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law
Some 1400 years after the Prophet Muhammad first articulated God's law - the shari'a - its earthly interpreters are still arguing over what it means. Hardliners reduce it to amputations, veiling, holy war and stonings. Others say that it is humanity's only guarantee of a just society. In Heaven on Earth, criminal barrister and prizewinning writer, Sadakat Kadri, sets out to see who is right.
4.5 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Society, Politics & Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
352 |
| RRP |
£18.99 |
| Date of Publication |
January 2012 |
| ISBN |
978-1847920164 |
| Publisher |
Bodley Head |
| |
Some 1400 years after the Prophet Muhammad first articulated God's law - the shari'a - its earthly interpreters are still arguing over what it means. Hardliners reduce it to amputations, veiling, holy war and stonings. Others say that it is humanity's only guarantee of a just society. In Heaven on Earth, criminal barrister and prizewinning writer, Sadakat Kadri, sets out to see who is right.
Reviews
The Literary Review
Praveen Swami
“Masterful … Kadri’s work makes clear that Islamism is not, as both its proponents and many of its adversaries have claimed, an authentic expression of the faith: the law of God as we know it is, instead, an ideological project distinctly modernist in its genesis and objectives ... Sadakat Kadri’s work, and that of his contemporaries, provides robust foundations for a genuine democratic political challenge to Islamism.”
01/02/2012
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The Observer
Aatish Taseer
“… he has managed, in an area often saturated with pieties, to write a truly penetrating and provocative book. Heaven on Earth, though it might not challenge the sanctity of Islam, leaves the average reader with a kind of wonder … I must confess that I liked [the second part of the book] less than the first. Kadri is not a good traveller ... But these are small criticisms of an otherwise first-rate book”
21/01/2012
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The Spectator
James Mather
“His closest attention is reserved for two of the most controversial aspects of shari’a in the world today: the questions of religious plurality and criminal punishments … Kadri approaches these themes with unstinting humanity and intelligence, as well as great fluency. Some will feel that he pulls his punches in the face of the depressing developments of recent times. Yet the real value of the book consists in its broad eschewal of controversy.”
21/01/2012
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The New Statesman
Mona Siddiqui
“Kadri turns to the Quran and classical Islamic law to show that there is more than one way to understand man's relation to God. He concludes that mortals should not play God, because "heaven and hell are beyond [their] jurisdiction", but his arguments are unlikely to change the minds of religious conservatives. Indeed, the book paints a rather depressing picture, especially for those who fear that the ingenuity and openness of classical Islamic thought is gradually being eroded as the religion is stripped of its richness and compassion in the name of sharia.”
30/01/2012
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