audiobook Ties That Bind: Maternal Imagery and Discourse in Indian Buddhism by Reiko Ohnuma in History

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One of the most important developments in the modern history of the Middle East; the so-called Arab Spring began in Tunisia in December 2010; bringing down dictators; sparking a civil war in Libya; and igniting a bloody uprising in Syria. Its long-term repercussions in Egypt and elsewhere remain unclear. Now one of the world's leading Islamic thinkers examines and explains it; in this searching; provocative; and necessary book.Time Magazine named Tariq Ramadan one of the most important innovators of the twenty-first century. A Muslim intellectual and prolific author; he has won global renown for his reflections on Islam and the contemporary challenges in both the Muslim majority societies and the West. In Islam and the Arab Awakening; he explores the uprisings; offering rare insight into their origin; significance; and possible futures. As early as 2003; he writes; there had been talk of democratization in the Middle East and North Africa. The U.S. government and private organizations set up networks and provided training for young leaders; especially in the use of the Internet and social media; and the West abandoned its unconditional support of authoritarian governments. But the West did not create the uprisings. Indeed; one lesson Ramadan presents is that these mass movements and their consequences cannot be totally controlled. Something irreversible has taken place: dictators have been overthrown without weapons. But; he writes; democratic processes are only beginning to emerge; and unanswered questions remain. What role will religion play? How should Islamic principles and goals be rethought? Can a sterile; polarizing debate between Islamism and secularism be avoided?Avoiding both naive confidence and conspiratorial paranoia; Ramadan voices a tentative optimism. If a true civil society can be established; he argues; this moment's fragile hope will live.