Dr. Abdullah Ibrahim explores the concept of Islamic centralism within the field of critical knowledge, distinct from the traditional perceptions of the world in Islamic thought during the medieval period. He suggests that the intellectual directions indicated by 'Dar al-Islam' influenced Muslims' views of others outside this realm, as it represents a cultural field rich in a unified doctrinal system, different from that of others.

... As the modern era began, the term 'Islamic World' gradually replaced 'Dar al-Islam,' leading to a complex situation regarding the terminology used for 'other worlds.' Since this world was enveloped with a religious covering, what prevents similar coverings from being applied to other worlds sharing the same beliefs, cultures, and languages?

The writer argues that the world as a cultural field remains a domain of rivalry, which may appear in violent forms and within intellectual goals, using the cultural-doctrinal component as a catalyst in its struggle with others. We are still far from establishing an effective function for integrating cultural formations within interactive frameworks, replacing debates with dialogue.

As long as this remains, there is no real possibility to completely abandon terms that convey their cultural and religious underpinnings, like 'Dar al-Islam,' 'Islamic World,' 'the West,' and even 'Dar al-Harb' and 'Land of Unbelief.' Concepts and names express either overt or concealed truths, yet it's beneficial to highlight the necessity of stripping them of their old connotations, as the concepts that guide thoughts have their own developmental paths.

This book reviews Muslim narratives about the 'other' throughout the medieval period, uncovering the methodological stance that formed the background for presenting these narratives. It relies on critical analysis and the perspective that major centralisms are crafted based on a representation provided by cultural narratives (religious, literary, historical, and geographical) that envision the self as perfectly pure and the other as eternally inferior.

Viewing centralisms in human history as outcomes of competing cultural narratives expands the scope for imaginal studies, previously sidelined by modern Western thought. It reinstates the importance of cultural narratives that sometimes hide behind the thick curtain of concepts and methodologies, appearing as objective analyses or shedding these to become, in the author's view, 'narratives and stories,' while concealing degrees of narrative representation that influence human relationships, intellectual concepts, and personal perceptions of self and others.

This book contains an introduction and seven chapters: The introduction is titled 'Islamic Centralism - Grand Narratives and Conceptual Boundaries.' The first chapter is titled 'Emergence of Islamic Narratives about the World.' The second chapter is titled 'Adjacent Worlds, Intertwined Worlds.' The third chapter is 'Journey across the High Earth.' The fourth chapter is 'Incursions into the Depths of the East.' The fifth chapter is 'A Black Mixture and Greek Heritage.' The sixth chapter sheds light on 'Constantinople in the Eyes of Western Travelers.' The seventh and final chapter is 'The First Nation of Books.'

Publishing house: Arab Scientific Publishers/Lebanon Number of Pages: 230 Year of publication: 2010