International football's most intriguing stories are the tales of what might have been, those seemingly insignificant incidents that would have had the largest unforeseen effects.Imagine That…Messi is unable to afford growth hormone treatment … and Spanish football loses its charitable natureTechnology helps prevent decades of human error in football ... and West Germany claims victory at Wembley in 1966Substitutions are never introduced to football … and the ga...

Popular music's most intriguing stories are the tales of what might have been, those seemingly insignificant incidents that would have had the largest unforeseen effects.Imagine That…Elvis is drafted into the army before his first studio session … and quietly lives out his days as a support actThe curse of the '27 Club' is broken … and rock music rehabilitates its fallen starsMTV flops as music fans side with the radio star … and hip-hop never reaches the mainst...

The most intriguing stories from the history of cinema are the tales of what might have been, those seemingly insignificant incidents that would have had the largest unforeseen effects.Imagine That…The farmers of southern California revolt against plans for an aqueduct … and Chicago becomes the new home of American cinemaCasablanca's writing committee takes total control … and the film's greatest moments are whitewashed from historyDisney decides against collabo...

Technology's most intriguing stories are the tales of what might have been, those seemingly insignificant incidents that would have had the largest unforeseen effects.Imagine That…Alexander Fleming cleans up his dishes … and penicillin is washed down the drainSteve Jobs skips the company visit to Xerox PAR C … and computers never crack the commercial marketNikola Tesla receives philanthropic support … and the 20th century is illuminated by space age energy and t...

Approaching the Qur’an presents brilliant translations of the short, hymnic chapters, or Suras, associated with the first revelations to the Prophet Muhammad. These early Suras contain some of the most powerful, prophetic, and revelatory passages in religious history, offering the vision of a meaningful and just life that anchors the faith of one fifth of the world’s inhabitants.In addition to these translations, Michael Sells provides an introduction to the Qur’an, commen...

Not since the Crusades of the Middle Ages has Islam evoked the degree of fear, hostility, and ethnic and religious stereotyping that is evident throughout Western culture today. As conflicts continue to proliferate around the globe, the perception of a colossal, unyielding, and unavoidable struggle between Islam and the West has intensified. These numerous conflicts, both actual and ideological, have revived fears of an ongoing "clash of civilizations"—an intractable and irreconcilable con...

The Literature of Al-Andalus is an exploration of the culture of Iberia, present-day Spain and Portugal, during the period when it was an Islamic, mostly Arabic-speaking territory, from the eighth to the thirteenth century, and in the centuries following the Christian conquest when Arabic continued to be widely used. The volume embraces many other related spheres of Arabic culture including philosophy, art, architecture and music. It also extends the subject to other literatures - especial...

Qur'ānic Studies Today brings together specialists in the field of Islamic studies to provide a range of essays that reflect the depth and breadth of scholarship on the Qur'ān.Combining theoretical and methodological clarity with close readings of qur’ānic texts, these contributions provide close analysis of specific passages, themes, and issues within the Qurʾān, even as they attend to the disciplinary challenges within the field of qur’ānic studies today. Chapters are ar...

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Politics - Region: Western Europe, grade: 1,3 (A), University of Constance (Faculty for Management Studies), course: Comparative Local Government, language: English, abstract: Switzerland is one of the smallest, oldest and most complex democratic federal states. Local political structure is far more important in Switzerland than in the centralized polities of most modern European countries, given the historically decentralized nature of the S...

A masterpiece of Arabic love poetry in a new and complete English translationThe Translator of Desires, a collection of sixty-one love poems, is the lyric masterwork of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (1165–1240 CE), one of the most influential writers of classical Arabic and Islamic civilization. In this authoritative volume, Michael Sells presents the first complete English translation of this work in more than a century, complete with an introduction, commentary, ...

In light of the widespread public perception of incompatibility between Islam and Christianity, this book provides a much-needed straightforward comparison of these two great faith traditions from a broad theological perspective. Award-winning scholar John Renard illuminates the similarities as well as the differences between Islam and Christianity through a clear exploration of four major dimensions—historical, creedal, institutional, and ethical and spiritual. Throughout, the book featur...

From the first centuries of Islam to well into the Middle Ages, Jews and Christians produced hundreds of manuscripts containing portions of the Bible in Arabic. Until recently, however, these translations remained largely neglected by Biblical scholars and historians. In telling the story of the Bible in Arabic, this book casts light on a crucial transition in the cultural and religious life of Jews and Christians in Arabic-speaking lands.In pre-Islamic times, Jewish and Christian ...