Zubair’s Bookshelf
Non-fiction for the intellectually curious —largely from the radiant realms of the East. Let the illumination begin!
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 867 | Founded | a year ago | Last Issue | 3 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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zubairsbookshelf.substack.comLatest Issues
Did Muslim Clerics Really Ban the Printing Press? A Response to Ahmet Kuru
Why has much of the Muslim world struggled to keep up with the West?
One popular answer comes from the scholar Ahmet Kuru, in his book Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment (2019), published by Cambridge University Press.
Kuru sa...
Ali Sedad Bey’s Principles of Transformation in the Motion of Particles: Muslim Theology and Modern Science
What happened when a nineteenth-century Ottoman Muslim scholar confronted thermodynamics, atomism, and Darwinism and refused to see them as threats to faith?
BOOK SUMMARY:
Coming September 2026, Ali Sedad Bey’s Principles of Transformatio...
Did the Muslim Merchant Class Really Collapse? Ahmet Kuru’s Decline Story Meets the New Evidence
Introduction
I have been writing an essay challenging some of the claims Ahmet Kuru makes in his 2019 book, Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison (Cambridge University Press).
Kuru’s...
Reassembling Knowledge: Science, Medicine, and Philosophy in Sasanian and Early Islamic Iraq and Iran
What if the foundations of Islamic civilization were laid not only in the deserts of Arabia, but also in the academies, courts, hospitals, and observatories of late antique Iraq and Iran?
BOOK SUMMARY:
Coming September 2026, Reassembling...
The Role of Italian Presses in Early Arabic Printing
What if one of the most important revolutions in Middle Eastern intellectual history was not a battle, a dynasty, or a theological movement but the invention of Arabic printing?
BOOK SUMMARY:
Published June 2026 and now available as open...
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Non-fiction treasures for curious souls —mostly from the luminous world of the East: History, religion/mysticism, philosophy, art, science, and more!
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