Most Popular Books by Robert Byrd

Muslim heresiographers present the medieval rationalist school of theology known as the Muʻtazila as heretics, while modern Western and modernist Muslim scholarship almost invariably present the Muʻtazila as the original free-thinkers of Islam. The result is a polarized view of the Muʻtazili tradition tradition; Islamists view the Muʻtazila as a heresy best forgotten while modernists, Muslim and Western, as historical proof of Islam''s essentially rational character. The present study is an attempt to problematize both perspectives by reexamining the concepts of reason (or rationalism) and tradition (or traditionalism) in light of Muʻtazilite theology and ethics. This analysis shows that the modern heirs of Muʻtazili thought are not be sought in Muslim scholastic theology or Enlightenment liberalism, but in the postmodern critiques of Western Muslim scholars such as Tariq Ramadan and Khaled Abou El Fadl.

An informative, illustrated history of the Statue of Liberty and how it came to America.

When all the mice would sing and dance, one would stay home and count his money, but then he needs to decide whether or not to share his wealth when everyone loses their jobs.

Illustrations and text portray the life of Leonardo Da Vinci, who gained fame as an artist through such works as Mona Lisa and as a scientist by studying various subjects such as human anatomy and flight.