Freethinkers of Medieval Islam ─ Ibn Al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr Al-Razi and Their Impact on Islamic Thought

The study of the ninth century AD thinkers pivots on two paradoxes: though contemporaries considered them among the brightest intellects of their time and they devoted considerable time to religion, histories of medieval Islamic religious philosophy usually gives them a relatively marginal place; and though their freethinking approach was indeed marginal and short-lived, the vehement reaction of Muslim thinkers gives the impression that it was a widespread phenomenon that presented a real threat to orthodox Islam over several centuries. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Sarah Stroumsa, Ph.D. (1984), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she is currently a professor of Arabic and Jewish thought. She has published extensively on medieval intellectual history in Arabic, especially on Judeo-Arabic thought, including, most recently, The Beginnings of the Maimonidean Controversy in the East (Jerusalem, 1999).