COLIN TURNER, Islam without Allah? The Rise of Religious Externalism in Safavid Iran (London: Curzon Press, 2001). Pp. 284. £45.00 cloth.

Extract

Colin Turner started writing Islam Without Allah as a biography of Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, the highly influential Shiעi scholar of the Safavid era. However, on deciding that not enough primary material was available for a book-length study, he decided to extend the topic and place Majlisi's life and thought within the broader context of the “victory of the exoteric over the esoteric” (p. viii). The book is evidence of continuing interest in Shiעi Islam and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the environment within which Majlisi's thought developed.