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Gibraltar Offshore Investment and Business Guide (World Offshore Investment and Business Library) ... Read more

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Wars cost money and it is axiomatic that the larger the war, the longer it lasts, the more it costs. The American Civil War was colossal and protracted; both sides were in desperate need of funds.Lincoln thought he would need $400 million to prosecute the war. It ended up costing billions. Fortunately for the Union, a relatively unknown banker, Jay Cooke, stepped forward and helped change the course of the war and American history. The story of Jay Cooke, as told by award-winning author Daniel Alef, is the story of Philadelphia, American banking, the Civil War, the Great Northern Railroad, and one man who defied all odds to achieve the pinnacle of success before bringing about what became one of America's greatest economic depressions, the Panic of 1873. it is a story of great fortunes made, great fortunes lost, and ultimately fortunes regained. [1,414-word Titans of Fortune article] ... Read more

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The very fact that none of the existing Muslim countries has so far achieved a form of government that could be termed genuinely Islamic, makes a discussion of the principles that underlie the constitution of Islamic state imperative. This book is an attempt to keep that discussion alive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Islamic roots of self-governance & rule of law
Thought-provoking. I've beenreading a number of books about Islam, sharia, governance, rule of law, & state-building.
Asad writes clearly & concisely. His analysis offers a legitimate rationale for a democratic-republican constitution for an Islamic state that does not conflict with the over-riding principles of Islamic law.
For obvious reasons, Islamic societies are suspicious of Western powers efforts to persuade them to adopt Western models of governance. The Western models don't necessarily meet the needs or wants of these societies; there have been occasions in history when high-sounding Western rhetoric masked the raw power of imperial states that would not let the principles stand in the way of their own political goals.
Asad demonstrates how, consistent with the Quran & Sunna, an Islamic State could establish a strong executive, checked by a strong assembly and a strong constitutional court, borrowing mechanisms from different Western societies, to establish a government that is subordinate to a higher law but responsive to current social, economic & political conditions. This government could enact laws that do not conflict with the clear, undisputed commands & prohibitions of Islam, just as the earlier Islamic states could.
Asad demonstrates that consent of the governed and consultation of the legislative branch by the executive, as well as accountability of the executive to the Muslim population, were part of Islamic government under the Caliphate.
Asad does not purport to design a single, infallible constitution. Instead, he shows how Islamic principles can be applied to develop workable models of Islamic government that respect the voices of all citizens of the Islamic community. I would be interested in reading books that build on Asad's ideas & further develop the idea of establishing an Islamic polity that engages its population in the consultation process & that maintains checks & balances against potential abuses of power by a leader who chooses to lead his people away from their principles.
I think Islam's best hope of developing workable systems of self-government is to base their efforts on sound Islamic scholarship, rather than to uncritically adopt a Western system. I don't see anything wrong with an Islamic society borrowing forms & mechanisms from other societies, so long as the "tools" fit the needs of the Islamic society.
I think any Westerner who wants to "help" Islamic cultures build "rule of law" and "democratic governance" should start his preparation by reading this brief treatise. These concepts have deep roots in Muslim history.

A must read for anyone interested in Islamic statehood and lawmaking
This is one of very few books written on the fundamentals of Islamic state. It starts with arguing for an Islamic state which is followed by a critique of a secular state. In analyzing the scope of Islamic law, M. Asad argues that except for a very limited number of absolute rulings of sharia (nass), all the other ijtihadi lawmaking of previous jurists are subject to change depending on the contemporary challenges/circumstances. His insights into the executive and legislative branches of Islamic state are also thought-provoking. M. Asad tries to explain how these two branches of government differfrom the Western understanding of separations of powers and tries to portray it as an advantage.

This book is a must for anyone who wants to get fundamental insights into Islamic statehood and lawmaking.

A Must Read
This book, one of the more important works by Muhammad Asad, is a great contribution to the vast array of literature on Islamic jurispudence and governance.Asad provides a clear and balanced presentation of the essentials of an 'Islamic state'.While he shows its uniqueness, he also indirectly shows its similarities to a Western liberal democracy.

Asad's works are a must read for both Muslim and non-Muslim.The late author is a voice for moderation and progressivism that is the silent majority of Muslims.Read his book and you will hear that silent majority speak.

Oustanding Scholarship
Muhammad Asad is my favourite Muslim author. He writes clearly and without ambugiaty. This books is based on an essay Asad wrote while working for the new Pakistan state in the 1940's. The author argues clearly for a change in attitude from Muslims, whether scholar or layman, that a true Islamic revival can only come about from going back to the Qur'aan and Sunnah and rejecting the schools of fiqh, which by their very nature are no longer relevant to the needs of our times. Clearly influeced by the Zaaheeri school of thought, which only follows the nass injuctions of the Qur'aan and Sunnah, he argues many Muslims have become confused as to what the true Shari'ah is and what arefiqhi derivitives of the various schools of thought. And because there is such a lack of homogenity from various factions of the Muslims community, he argues the situation will never change until Muslims reconcile themselves to the true tennets of the Shar'ah. ... Read more

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Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies. The 'problem' of Gibraltar has been a constant source of diplomatic tension between Britain and Spain for over three hundred years. Franco himself described the Rock as a 'dagger in the spine of Spain', and it was during his dictatorship that Spain's diplomatic campaign to recover Gibraltar reached its height with the closing of the frontier in 1969. Given this background, it has long been assumed by historians and commentators that relations between Gibraltar and its Spanish neighbour have also been strained. Gareth Stockey rejects this assumption, and demonstrates that relations across the frontier had in fact been cordial for most of the period of British occupation of the Rock. The focus of this study is the Gibraltar-Spanish frontier. Rather than seeing the frontier as a physical entity - separating Gibraltar from its Spanish neighbour - the frontier is viewed as a process, through which the communities on either side of it fostered intimate social, cultural, political and economic links.Instead of creating a distinct and definable Gibraltarian 'identity' in this period - an identity which has since become a key argument in Gibraltar's calls for self-determination - the frontier instead served to blur this identity, and infuse the Gibraltarians with an array of Spanish cultural influences. Ironically, given his stated desire to see the Rock returned to Spain, it was Franco's policy of closing the Gibraltar frontier which hardened attitudes on both sides and made a solution to the Gibraltar 'problem' unlikely in the extreme. This book, the first in any language to provide an in-depth local study of Gibraltar-Spanish relations and constitutes a major critique of accepted wisdom on the so-called Gibraltar 'problem'. It also sheds light on a tempestuous period of Spanish history, and the early foreign policy of the Franco regime. It is published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies. ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Administrators of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Bermudian Law, Chief Ministers of Gibraltar, Chief Ministers of Montserrat, Chief Ministers of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Commissioners of the British Indian Ocean Territory, Commissioners of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Council Presidents of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Government of Bermuda, Government of Gibraltar, Government of Montserrat, Government of the British Indian Ocean Territory, Government of the Cayman Islands, Governors of Bermuda, Governors of Gibraltar, Governors of Montserrat, Governors of the Cayman Islands, Heads of Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Law Enforcement in Bermuda, Leader of Government Business of the Cayman Islands, Mayors of Gibraltar, Official Residences in Bermuda, Official Residences in Gibraltar, People Convicted of Murder by Bermuda, People Executed by Bermuda, Premiers of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Foreign Relations of the Cayman Islands, Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Kars, Horace Smith-Dorrien, Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, Charles Harington Harington, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, Governor of Bermuda, Governor of Gibraltar, Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Alfred Dudley Ward, Lgbt Rights in Bermuda, George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, Joshua Hassan, Bermuda Police Service, William Henry Bramble, George Don, George Stuart White, David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, William Lumley, David Waddington, Baron Waddington, Michael Misick, the Convent, Charles Keightley, Robert Thomas Wilson, Roger Elliott, Edwin Leather, Joe Bossano, Law of Bermuda, Charles O'hara, Airport Security Police, Charles Elliot, Varyl Begg, Gerald Lathbury, Richard Luce, Baron Luce, Adolfo Canepa, John Henry Lefroy, James Will... ... Read more