Description: Over the last half-century, the Gulf Cooperation Council states have invested on a huge scale in higher education, but the stated commitment to internationally recognized excellence has also to come to terms with tradition. These pressure points are examined here in a number of comparative studies.
Brief description: Muhammad Shahrour, born in Damascus in 1938, Emeritus of Damascus University where he was a faculty member between 1972 and 2000. His first book as an Islamic thinker "Al-Islam wa-l-Kitab" was an instant bestseller and one of the most discussed books in the whole Arab world. It remains banned in many Arab countries. Shahrour received the 2017 Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the category "Contribution to the Development of Nations"