Publishers Weekly Review

Posted on June 4th, 2013
by FUPress

Publishers Weekly review of Islam and the Challenge of Civilization:

“Meddeb’s thesis—that Muslims need to turn towards Sufism more-is not new; many of his foundational arguments, however, are bold and fresh . . . Those well-versed in Islamic Studies will enjoy the erudite read, masterfully rendered into English by Kuntz, a seasoned translator.”

Read the full review here

Islam and the Challenge of Civilization
By Abdelwahab Meddeb and Translated by Jane Kuntz
ISBN13: 978-08232-5123-0
Hardcover, 192 pages, $35.00
June 2013
Fordham University Press

Publishers Weekly review of Islam and the Challenge of Civilization: “Meddeb’s thesis—that Muslims need to turn towards Sufism more-is not new; many of his foundational arguments, however, are bold and fresh . . . Those well-versed in Islamic Studies will enjoy … Full Story →

International Women’s Day

Posted on March 8th, 2013
by FUPress

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REVIEW: The Jewish Week

Posted on January 22nd, 2013
by FUPress

1/20/13

The Tangled History of Shuls and Real Estate

By Sandee Brawarsky

Had it been two blocks south and a bit farther east, the 16th Street Synagogue would have been included in Gerard R. Wolfe’s excellent new edition of his classic work, “The Synagogues of New York’s Lower East Side: A Retrospective and Contemporary View” (Empire State Editions/Fordham University Press). That shul, formerly the Young Israel of Fifth Avenue, is being evicted from its building, after a long dispute with a developer.

Those interested in New York City’s building genealogy and the intertwining connections between real estate interests, immigrant history, shifting populations and synagogue life will find much of interest in Wolfe’s book, first published in 1978. He details the active synagogues (12) and the “lost” or endangered synagogues (24), and also includes a great chronological chart documenting shul mergers and breakaways in New York City, 1654 – 1875.

Wolfe, an architectural historian, unpeels layers of the past behind the congregations and their buildings. He pays careful attention to the special features of the buildings (the Bialystoker Synagogue, built as a church, may have been a station on the Underground Railroad, sheltering runaway slaves) and their architects (the Erste Warshawer Congregation, First Warsaw Congregation, now repurposed to art studios and residence, was designed by Emery Roth, known for designing the Sam Remo apartment house on Central Park West); and their struggles, some ongoing.

Sadly, in this edition, Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol on Norfolk Street moved from the active synagogue to the endangered section, shortly before the book went to press. That shul ‘s sanctuary has magnificent wall paintings and carvings, along with a storied history of distinguished rabbis, most recently, the late Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, who had been the rabbi of the Kovno ghetto. A group including his son-in-law and leaders of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy is trying to secure funding for restoration and renovation. READ MORE

1/20/13 The Tangled History of Shuls and Real Estate By Sandee Brawarsky Had it been two blocks south and a bit farther east, the 16th Street Synagogue would have been included in Gerard R. Wolfe’s excellent new edition of his … Full Story →

Huff Post talks to Nicholas Tampio, author of Kantian Courage

Posted on October 12th, 2012
by FUPress

How to Stop Religious Warfare

October 10, 2012
Huff Post | The BLOG | Religion | The Internet Newspaper: News, Blogs, Video, Community
by Nicholas Tampio

In the past few weeks, militants have tried to spark religious warfare around the world. In the United States, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a Coptic Christian, made and posted on YouTube a crude video mocking the Prophet Muhammad. In Libya, Muhammad Jamal Abu Ahmad, an Egyptian national with ties to al Qaeda, helped orchestrate the attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Many Americans have emphasized that the U.S. is committed to the ideal of mutual respect among existential faiths (along with the right to free speech), and many Libyans have let the world know that those who attacked the U.S. embassy do not represent their country or Islam. And yet many people suspect that militants are planning further episodes to incite hatred and violence.

What can history teach us about stopping religious warfare?

Steven’s death calls to mind a pivotal event in European history: the Defenestration of Prague. In 1618, Protestant aristocrats threw Catholic diplomats out a window, and by the time the Thirty Years War had ended, 20 percent of the population of the Holy Roman Empire had been killed.

For the next two centuries, the political philosophers of the Enlightenment sought to develop a political order that would end sectarian violence. Radicals such as Baruch Spinoza argued for a secular politics and culture. Moderates such as John Locke argued that believers needed to reinterpret, not abandon, their religion. Radicals sparked the debates, but moderates enacted the lasting changes, including providing the intellectual foundation for the US Constitution.

Two lessons from the Enlightenment remain timely. . . . READ MORE

How to Stop Religious Warfare October 10, 2012 Huff Post | The BLOG | Religion | The Internet Newspaper: News, Blogs, Video, Community by Nicholas Tampio In the past few weeks, militants have tried to spark religious warfare around the … Full Story →

Raised by the Church picked up by NYT

Posted on November 6th, 2011
by FUPress

by Edward Rohs and Judith Estrine

The New York Times
BOOKSHELF

By SAM ROBERTS
Published: November 4, 2011

In “Raised by the Church: Growing Up in New York City’s Catholic Orphanages” (Fordham University Press), Edward Rohs, a state mental health worker, recalls an odyssey that began when he was 6 months old and his unwed parents left him at the Angel Guardian Home in Brooklyn to be raised by the Sisters of Mercy. He couples a moving first-person account of coping with a system that separated orphans by age and gender with a historical perspective on child care in the 19th and 20th centuries.

“I remember being lonely,” he writes, “but I was never alone — not ever.” Being an orphan was Mr. Rohs’s secret until he shared his experience at an alumni awards ceremony at Fordham University, where he was honored for his social work. He “saw jaws drop and tears shed” and decided to make his unpublished memoir public with the help of a writer friend, Judith Estrine.