Malise Ruthven
Encyclopedia
Malise Ruthven is an Irish academic and writer. He was born in Dublin of Irish-British parentage. He obtained an MA in English Literature at Cambridge University, before working as a scriptwriter with the BBC Arabic and World Service
, and a consultant on Middle Eastern affairs. He also gained a PhD in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University. He pursued a career as a writer, journalist and teacher. Ruthven focuses his work on religion, fundamentalism
, and especially Islam
ic affairs.
:The Grand Conspiracy (Weidenfeld, 1978); Cairo (Time-Life, 1980); Traveller Through Time: A Photographic Journey with Freya Stark
(Viking, 1986); The Divine Supermarket: Shopping for God in America (Chatto & Windus, nominated for the 1989 Thomas Cook Travel Award); A Satanic Affair: Salman Rushdie and the Wrath of Islam (Chatto & Windus, 1989); Islam: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 1997, 2000 has sold more than 90,000 copies since 2000. It is now published in several languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Polish, Serbo-Croat, Italian, German and Spanish; A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America (Granta, 2002); Fundamentalism
: The Search for Meaning (OUP 2004, Dutch and Bulgarian translations); and A Historical Atlas of the Islamic World [with Azim Nanji] (OUP/Harvard University Press, 2004 - Winner of the 2005 US Middle East Outreach Council Book Award). He contributed an afterword to the most recent edition of Albert Hourani
's History of the Arab Peoples
, bringing that work up to date following Hourani's death. Dr Ruthven is internationally recognized for his work on Muslim thought and theology, fundamentalism, Mormonism
, the social impact of religion and migration and the nexus between contemporary politics and belief.
" as early as 8 September 1990 in The Independent
. In 2004, London’s Prospect magazine ranked Malise Ruthven among the 100 top public intellectuals in Britain.
, Scotland, Birkbeck College, University of London, the University of California, San Diego
, Dartmouth College
, New Hampshire and at the Colorado College, Colorado Springs. He has also given numerous lectures as an expert on the Middle East. He has been described by the Guardian as “one of today’s most perceptive observers and historians of religion”.
and Pamela Margaret Fletcher. His elder brother is Grey Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie, while Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
, was his grandfather. He is the godson of the late Freya Stark
, whom his parents knew in Cairo
in 1942, and has published several collections of her photographs.
Articles
Recorded lectures
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, and a consultant on Middle Eastern affairs. He also gained a PhD in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University. He pursued a career as a writer, journalist and teacher. Ruthven focuses his work on religion, fundamentalism
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
, and especially Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic affairs.
Writer
As a writer, he is the author of Islam in the World (OUP, 1984, 1991, 2006), an acclaimed overview of Islamic faith and history. Other books include TortureTorture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
:The Grand Conspiracy (Weidenfeld, 1978); Cairo (Time-Life, 1980); Traveller Through Time: A Photographic Journey with Freya Stark
Freya Stark
Dame Freya Madeline Stark, Mrs. Perowne, DBE was a British explorer and travel writer. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels, which were mainly in Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan....
(Viking, 1986); The Divine Supermarket: Shopping for God in America (Chatto & Windus, nominated for the 1989 Thomas Cook Travel Award); A Satanic Affair: Salman Rushdie and the Wrath of Islam (Chatto & Windus, 1989); Islam: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 1997, 2000 has sold more than 90,000 copies since 2000. It is now published in several languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Polish, Serbo-Croat, Italian, German and Spanish; A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America (Granta, 2002); Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
: The Search for Meaning (OUP 2004, Dutch and Bulgarian translations); and A Historical Atlas of the Islamic World [with Azim Nanji] (OUP/Harvard University Press, 2004 - Winner of the 2005 US Middle East Outreach Council Book Award). He contributed an afterword to the most recent edition of Albert Hourani
Albert Hourani
-Life and career:Hourani was born in Manchester, England, the son of Soumaya Rassi and Fadlo Issa Hourani, immigrants from Marjeyoun in what is now South Lebanon. His brothers were George Hourani and Cecil Hourani. His family had converted from Greek Orthodoxy...
's History of the Arab Peoples
History of the Arab Peoples
A History of the Arab Peoples is a book written by the British-born Lebanese historian Albert Hourani.The book presents the history of the Arabs from the advent of Islam to the late 20th Century...
, bringing that work up to date following Hourani's death. Dr Ruthven is internationally recognized for his work on Muslim thought and theology, fundamentalism, Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
, the social impact of religion and migration and the nexus between contemporary politics and belief.
Journalist
Malise Ruthven’s book reviews have appeared in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the Observer, the Times Literary Supplement, Prospect magazine and the New York Review of Books. His blog for the NYR - “Revolution by Latrine” won an award from the Overseas Press Club of America in April 2011. He is a particularly regular contributor to the NYR, where recently he has written articles and reviews on such topics as Al Qaeda, Islam in Europe, unanswered questions in the Lockerbie crash and the repression of gay people in Iran. He also contributes occasionally to the BBC. He used the term "IslamofascismIslamofascism
The term Islamofascism is a neologism which draws an analogy between the ideological characteristics of specific Islamist movements from the turn of the 21st century on, and a broad range of European fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism.-Origins of...
" as early as 8 September 1990 in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. In 2004, London’s Prospect magazine ranked Malise Ruthven among the 100 top public intellectuals in Britain.
Teacher
He has taught Islamic studies, cultural history and comparative religion at the University of AberdeenUniversity of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
, Scotland, Birkbeck College, University of London, the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, New Hampshire and at the Colorado College, Colorado Springs. He has also given numerous lectures as an expert on the Middle East. He has been described by the Guardian as “one of today’s most perceptive observers and historians of religion”.
Family
Malise Ruthven is the younger son of Patrick Hore-RuthvenPatrick Hore-Ruthven
Major The Honourable Alexander Hardinge Patrick Hore-Ruthven was a British soldier and poet.Hore-Ruthven was born in Quetta in India. He was the only surviving child of Alexander Hore-Ruthven and his wife, Zara Eileen née Pollok.He studied at Cambridge University from 1931...
and Pamela Margaret Fletcher. His elder brother is Grey Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie, while Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC was a British soldier and colonial governor and the tenth Governor-General of Australia. Serving for 9 years and 7 days, he is the longest serving Governor-General in Australia's history...
, was his grandfather. He is the godson of the late Freya Stark
Freya Stark
Dame Freya Madeline Stark, Mrs. Perowne, DBE was a British explorer and travel writer. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels, which were mainly in Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan....
, whom his parents knew in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in 1942, and has published several collections of her photographs.
Publications
Books- Torture: The Grand Conspiracy (1978). London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-77389-5
- Traveller Through Time: A Photographic Journey with Freya Stark (1986). London: Viking. ISBN 0-670-80183-6
- The Divine Supermarket: Travels in Search of the Soul of America (1989). London: Chatto. ISBN 0-7011-3151-9
- A Satanic Affair: Salman Rushdie and the Rage of Islam (1990). London: Chatto. ISBN 0-7011-3591-3
- Freya Stark in the Levant: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine (1994) Reading: Garnet Publishing ISBN 1-85964-003-6
- Freya Stark in Iraq and Kuwait (1994) Reading: Garnet Publishing ISBN 1-85964-004-4
- Freya Stark in Persia (1994) Reading: Garnet Publishing ISBN 1-85964-011-7
- Islam: A Very Short Introduction (2000). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285389-9
- Fury for God: the Islamist Attack on America (2002). London: Granta. ISBN 1-86207-540-9
- Fundamentalism: the Search for Meaning (2004). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-284091-6
- Historical Atlas of the Islamic World (2004). (with Azim Nanji). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860997-3
- Islam in the World (1984, 1999, 2006). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-520454-9
Articles
Recorded lectures
- Gnostic themes in the Abrahamic family of religions, Malise Ruthven, British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, Middle East Now podcast series, April to September 2006