Publisher's Synopsis
The qibla is the noblest of directions. This book settles the question of the physical direction of Mecca from North America in the first thirty pages, after which it presents to readers for the first time the 1998 Fatwa of al-Azhar on the North American qibla. From this point of departure, the author surveys such major contemporary issues as the relationship between religion and science, the Sacred and profane, scholars and engineers, ijtihad and taqlid. Combining traditional Islamic law, a clear exposition of the complex geographical issues, and the author's own meetings and correspondence with twenty-three contemporary scholars from seven Muslim lands, the book is a journey of discovery not only for Western Muslims, but everyone interested in Sacred Law in a modern world.
