Leo Strauss, Islamic Philosophy, & the Crisis of Modernity
2nd September 2026
It’s true. A spoonful of sugar does help the medicine go down. But it’s the medicine we need, not the sugar. With this understanding, one may happily recommend Georges Tamer’s recently translated book, Islamic Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity: Leo Strauss’s Relationship with al-Fârâbî, Avicenna, and Averroes. The author makes clear arguments, and his translator writes good English prose. But the book is not light reading. It is a prescription dose of deep research and astute scholarship. Following two hundred pages of densely argued text are 120 pages of appendix, endnotes, and bibliography. Tamer draws information from a multitude of authorities, both primary and secondary. He uses sources written in Arabic, Latin, English, German, and French. Whatever this approach sacrifices in readability, it makes up for in credibility. Tamer knows what he is talking about.