Said Nursi Colin Turner and Hasan Horkuc. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2009. vi, 140 pp. ISBN 978-1-84511-774-0. M. Zakyi Ibrahim # Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 Keywords Said Nursi . Turkey. Muslim intellectual While introducing the “Makers of Islamic Civilization” series, of which this book is a part, the editor explains that the series ‘aims to provide an introduction to outstanding figures in the history of Islamic civilization. They will serve as the essential first point of reference for the study of the persons, events and ideas that have shaped the Islamic world and cultural resources on which Muslims continue to draw’ (p. ii). As it turns out, this statement is very useful for any objective review of Said Nursi, for it both spares the reviewer from having to search for a concise introduction and saves the book itself from a glaring criticism that might not be unwarranted. Hoping for a ‘leading scholar in the field,’ Colin Turner’s unchallenged credentials make him the perfect pick for this project. His former supervisee and coauthor Hasan Horkuc has also done extensive work on Said Nursi. Such facts may cause one to wonder if this task was, perhaps, too light as a joint project. As indicated by the title, this book is about Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, one of the makers of contemporary Islam in Turkey. Ideally, earning a special place among the “Makers of Islamic Civilization” would require not only unassailable intellectual and religious credentials, but also a heightened sense of sociopolitical conscience or accomplishments (such as Fethullah Gulen, Muhammad Abduh, and Muhammad Iqbal, to name a few). But despite his impeccable records, as reflected in his extensive writings on issues pertaining to Islam and Muslims (intellectually), reinterpreting Islam and the Qur’an, instilling religious sense in Muslims (religiously), and successfully mobilizing young Muslims around his Risale in the form of the Nurculuk (socially), our coauthors insist that Nursi ‘repudiated’ politics Cont Islam DOI 10.1007/s11562-009-0113-z M. Z. Ibrahim (*) Comparative Religion Department, California State University, Fullerton, CA, USA e-mail: [email protected] (p. 3). But his activities, at least as chronicled in their book, leave the impression that, in reality, he was repudiated not so much by politicians, even though cases of detention abound, as by the political system with which he was faced in the new Turkish Republic. If that is the case, he would not be the first scholar to declare his disgust for conventional ‘politicking’ (p. 3) after several attempts, or at least gestures (p. 42), designed to take full advantage of the political system failed (e.g., Ibn Hazm [d. 1064] or al-Afghani [d. 1897]). This failure, though, as in the case of previous legends, hardly diminishes his well-entrenched socio-religious achievements. Said Nursi, a relatively short read, is true to expectations in delineating Nursi’s important aspects as out.

1. Said Nursi
Colin Turner and Hasan Horkuc. London and New York:
I.B. Tauris, 2009. vi, 140 pp. ISBN 978-1-84511-774-0.
M. Zakyi Ibrahim
# Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009
Keywords Said Nursi . Turkey. Muslim intellectual
While introducing the “Makers of Islamic Civilization” series,
of which this book is
a part, the editor explains that the series ‘aims to provide an
introduction to
outstanding figures in the history of Islamic civilization. They
will serve as the
essential first point of reference for the study of the persons,
events and ideas that
have shaped the Islamic world and cultural resources on which
Muslims continue to
draw’ (p. ii). As it turns out, this statement is very useful for
any objective review of
Said Nursi, for it both spares the reviewer from having to search
for a concise
introduction and saves the book itself from a glaring criticism
that might not be
unwarranted. Hoping for a ‘leading scholar in the field,’ Colin
Turner’s
unchallenged credentials make him the perfect pick for this
project. His former
supervisee and coauthor Hasan Horkuc has also done extensive
work on Said Nursi.

2. Such facts may cause one to wonder if this task was, perhaps,
too light as a joint
project.
As indicated by the title, this book is about Bediuzzaman Said
Nursi, one of the
makers of contemporary Islam in Turkey. Ideally, earning a
special place among the
“Makers of Islamic Civilization” would require not only
unassailable intellectual and
religious credentials, but also a heightened sense of
sociopolitical conscience or
accomplishments (such as Fethullah Gulen, Muhammad Abduh,
and Muhammad
Iqbal, to name a few). But despite his impeccable records, as
reflected in his
extensive writings on issues pertaining to Islam and Muslims
(intellectually),
reinterpreting Islam and the Qur’an, instilling religious sense in
Muslims
(religiously), and successfully mobilizing young Muslims
around his Risale in the
form of the Nurculuk (socially), our coauthors insist that Nursi
‘repudiated’ politics
Cont Islam
DOI 10.1007/s11562-009-0113-z
M. Z. Ibrahim (*)
Comparative Religion Department, California State University,
Fullerton, CA, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
(p. 3). But his activities, at least as chronicled in their book,

3. leave the impression
that, in reality, he was repudiated not so much by politicians,
even though cases of
detention abound, as by the political system with which he was
faced in the new
Turkish Republic. If that is the case, he would not be the first
scholar to declare his
disgust for conventional ‘politicking’ (p. 3) after several
attempts, or at least gestures
(p. 42), designed to take full advantage of the political system
failed (e.g., Ibn Hazm
[d. 1064] or al-Afghani [d. 1897]). This failure, though, as in
the case of previous
legends, hardly diminishes his well-entrenched socio-religious
achievements.
Said Nursi, a relatively short read, is true to expectations in
delineating Nursi’s
important aspects as outlined in the table of contents. Excepting
the bibliography and
the index, it is divided into six sections, consisting of the
‘Introduction’; ‘Life and
works’; ‘Thought and teachings’; ‘Nursi on culture, society and
politics’;
‘Conclusion’; and ‘Further reading.’
Unquestionably, by far the book’s best part for both experts and
novices is
‘Thought and Teachings’, particularly ‘The Central Themes of
the Risale-i Nur.’
Although this chapter seems to begin with uncertain
deliberations about Nursi’s
thoughts, the coauthors prove to be highly innovative in their
discussion of its
‘central themes’. Their ingenuity is on full display when they
identify the compelling

4. issues to be discussed and the following effortless explication
of Nursi’s complicated
ideas. Among the many themes that abound in the Risale-i Nur,
the coauthors chose
six which they consider to be central. These themes—and one
may surmise the same
about other parts of the Risale—revolve around discussions that
some may
ultimately consider, justifiably or not, to be either theological
or mystical
interpretations of the Qur’an. Consider, for instance, (i) The
most beautiful names;
(ii) The Talisman of the human ‘I’; (iii) The ‘self-referential’
and the ‘Other-
indicative’; (iv) Causality; (v) Belief (iman) and submission
(islam); and (vi) ‘Closed
doors of creation.’
On the implications of ‘the most beautiful names’, we are told
that while Nursi
was influenced by the pantheistic tendencies of scholars like Ibn
‘Arabi and Sirhindi
(p. 54), he nevertheless tried to distinguish himself from them
(p. 55). As the belief
that all beings ‘manifest God’s names’ and praise Him through
their natural
disposition is commonplace in pantheism and may even reflect
the Qur’an’s own
declaration (Q, 17: 44), Nursi’s distinct ‘vision is one in which
all things actually
and actively reflect the Other, yet without compromising their
own distinct
otherness’ (p. 55). On the one hand, Nursi was as influenced by
the Sufi mystics
and their ideas (pp. 54–55; 86–87) as he was sympathetic to
their plight (p. 90). Yet

5. for some strategic reasons most certainly attributable to the
socio-cultural climate of
his time, he declared Sufism to be unfit for the twentieth
century (p. 86). In other
words, he wanted to ‘have his cake and eat it too’ with respect
to the Sufis, their
ideas, and their relevance. Consequently, Turner and Horkuc
justifiably and aptly
describe him as a ‘non-Order-affiliated Sufi’ (p. 90).
Chapter 4, ‘Nursi on culture, society and politics’, introduces
his truly important
ideas: Sufism, Nationhood and nationalism, Jihad, Peace, public
order and security,
and The concept of metaphorical (ma‘nawi) jihad. As a matured
leader, Nursi
advocated ‘peace, public order and security’ at all cost, even
though he held a
contextualized understanding of jihad during the early part of
Islam. In his opinion,
these simple moral principles are the sources of stability and
positive social change
Cont Islam
(pp. 100–2). Noteworthy here is the discussion on Nursi’s
tolerance and moderate
positions. His defense of Ibn ‘Arabi against those who attacked
the latter’s concept
of wahdat al-wujud, however, should not be seen so much an
index for his tolerance
and moderate propensity (so emphasized by the coauthors), as it
was an indication of
his sympathy with a respected Sufi master (p. 99). But his

6. standing up on behalf of
innocent Christians and Muslims who were being persecuted
certainly was tolerant,
and therefore deserved recognition (pp. 108–9).
Meanwhile, quite unique to Said Nursi, even if naïve, is the
metaphorical jihad
that he urges Muslims to wage against the ‘civilized world’.
Turner and Horkuc
write:
‘As far as religion is concerned, Nursi says, the civilized can be
conquered not
through force but through peaceful persuasion: to this end, all
that Muslims
have to do is demonstrate the elevated nature of Islam with the
“tongue of
mute eloquence”— namely by adhering to the precepts of Islam
in their own
lives and thus acting as ambassadors of Islam in the presence of
others: “Our
action towards non-Muslims is persuasion, for we know them to
be civilized,
and to show them that Islam is [an] elevated [religion] and
worthy of love”’
(p. 107).
As they rightly point out, Nursi never defined what he meant by
‘civilized’ other
than the prevailing perception in his time that, due to its
scientific and technological
advancements, Europe is the ‘civilized’ group of nations.
‘Further reading’ is, in
practical terms, the most useful section because it contains a
detailed annotated
bibliography of the book’s three main sections. ‘Life and

7. works’, the longest section
and one fully supported by adequate acknowledgements, reads
like an abridged
version of Sukran Vahide’s The Author of the Risale-i Nur:
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
(Istanbul: Sozler Publications, 1992). Any casual reader will
notice how overly
dependent it is on Vahide’s book as well as on Serif Mardin’s
works. Experts and
critical observers who are familiar with some works on Said
Nursi, however, may
find this irritating. The subtitles and content are designed to
mirror Vahide’s,
sometimes with slight changes in wording and often with
extensive omissions. An
acceptable excuse for this may be what I alluded to above
regarding the series
editor’s expectation, namely, making the book accessible,
perhaps at any cost. This
part does, however, provide adequate information about Said
Nursi’s life and thus
may be the only grounds on which readers may pardon the
distinguished coauthors.
Despite this, I found Said Nursi to be exactly what the editors
hoped for—a
recommended simple introduction about this important figure’s
life and works.
Cont Islam
Said Nursi
Example#1
Question1:
For the Mercator projection, the area is strongly distorted. For
instance, the land area of Greenland and Africa is largely out of
proportion.

8. For the Gall-Peters projection, the shapes of countries may
seem to be squished and some countries might appear to be
stretched. In this way, the size of areas shown on the map is
accurate relative to the physical landmasses.
Question4:
I would like to choose Gall-Peters projection for the first one.
Owing to the fact that I need to compare the acreage for
agriculture in the United States versus Australia, I need a
thematic map and the property that needs to be preserved will
be equal area.
Mercator projection is the best choice for marine and air
navigation. Under this condition, the shape and angle shown in
the map will be extremely important for the captain or pilot.
Therefore, the property needs to be preserved is the shape and
angle, so I choose Mercator projection.
For the last one, I would like to choose Robinson’s projection,
mentioned in the reading materials. This kind of map is called
compromise map, which maintains a balance between different
properties and avoids extreme distortions. So it will be suitable
for a reference map of the world.
Example#2
Question1:
Compare and contrast the Mercator and Gall-Peters projections.
Give examples of specific features in each of the maps that have
been distorted.
The Mercator projection is conformal, which means that it
preserves the shapes and angles of areas on the map. However,
this projection can not show the true size of such areas. For
example, in reality the size of Greenland is much smaller than
Africa, but from the map they appear to be the same size. On
the other hand, the Gall-Peters projection is equal area, which
preserves the true size of the shapes relative to each other. But
at the same time, the shapes and angles are distorted. For

9. example, in order to preserve the area, Greenland now looks
like a cluster of dots and lines, which makes it difficult to see
what the actual shape of it might be.
Example#3
Question1:
In the Mercator projection we see the meridians and parallels
intersecting at right angles which preserve the projections shape
the area is distorted and uses for this map would be navigation
topographic. In the Gail-Peters projection it is for the most part
opposite the area is true but the angle and shape are distorted
this projection has a thematic use.
Example#4
Question1:
4. For the following scenarios, choose a projection and explain
why it would be appropriate.
A. Comparing acreage used for agriculture in the United States
versus Australia
I would suggest using Gall-Peters because land area is
preserved.
B. Marine and/or air navigation
I would suggest Azimuthal Equidistant Projection because
distance is preserved which is key in navigation.
C. A reference map of the world
I would suggest mercator because the shape is preserved.
Example#5
Question4:
A. For comparing purely acreage, the Gall-Peters projection
would be a good choice because it retains the spatial accuracy
of landmasses. It does distort their image, but since this map
would not be used for navigation, it does not necessarily need to
accurately depict the image/shape of the contents of the map.
B. For long-distance navigational purposes, the retention of
both the image of the map and land area may be important, and

10. the only way to preserve both in a practical way is to
strategically “slice” the map in certain areas. For this reason, a
good choice may be the Interrupted Homolographic. The
tradeoff of the lack of a continuous surface is worth the
benefits.
C. For a simple reference map, retaining an undistorted image
on a continuous surface is the most important feature, thus the
best choice in this case would be the Mercator. An argument can
be made for the Gall-Peters, but it sacrifices visibility and
visual clarity, especially near the poles, which more important
than retaining the area of landmasses.
Example#6
Question1:
The Mercator Projection suggests that there is a light source in
the center of the earth, projecting the world onto the surface
area of a cylinder. However, this method results in the fact that
the parts that close to the poles are seriously distorted, the
Greenland has the approximated size to the Africa. The Gall-
Peters Projection make the map be true for the whole. But the
projection also have some distortion. The the parts near the
poles are squished(such as Greenland) and the regions near the
equator are sort of stretched.
Question2:
A. When comparing acreage used for agriculture in the United
States versus Australia, I think we'd better choose the Gall-
Peters Projection. Although the shape of countries may be
distort, the real size doesn't change. Hence, it is accurate to
compared the actual acreages of the two countries.
B. As is widely acknowledged, Modern marine and air
navigation also refer to the using of Mercator Projection. When
traveling in the sea or air, operators do not necessarily care for
the shape of one region. what they actually care for is
the veracity of the line. Since the rhumb lines are clearly noted

11. on the map. So the Mercator Projection can be the best choice.
C. I think Robinson Projection can play a role of the reference
map of the world. Robinson Projection avoids the extreme
distortion and each shape of country closes to the real size. In a
word, it can provide people with a comfortable visual effect.
Example#7
Question1:
For the Mercator projection, the countries near the poles are
strongly distorted. For instance, Greenland area is much smaller
in real life however it appears just as big as Africa. Antarctica
is also being exaggerated while Asia and North America seem
too small.
For the Gall-Peters projection, the shape of the countries appear
to be squished or stretched compared to what they look on the
globe. However, by distorting the shape, it preserves the areas
and landmasses.
Question4:
For comparing acreage used for agriculture in the United States
versus Australia, I think the Gall-Peters projection is the most
appropriate choice. Since the map preserves area, it will be a
perfect use for assessing land area used for agriculture between
countries.
For marine/and or air navigation, I think the Azimuthal
Equidistant projection is the most appropriate choice. Since the
map preserves distance, it will be perfect for visualizing
airplane or marine paths going from one city to another.
For a reference map of the world, I think the Robinson
projection is the most appropriate choice. Since the map keeps a
balance between area, distance, and shape without any
significant distortion, it'll be a great use for visualizing
countries, their areas, and distances around the world.
Example#8
Question1:

12. Compare and contrast the Mercator and Gall-Peters projections.
Give examples of specific features in each of the maps that have
been distorted.
The Mercator projection distorts the size of many continents in
comparison to one another making Antarctica look bigger than
it actually is. The galls-peters projections still distort shape of
continents but it preserves the continents areas. Seeing that
Africa is larger in the peter galls shows its accuracy of
comparing sizes of continents to one another.
Question4:
For the following scenarios, choose a projection and explain
why it would be appropriate.
A. Comparing acreage used for agriculture in the United States
versus Australia.
I would use a peter galls because acres concern accurate
measures of an area which the peter galls projection preserves.
B. Marine and/or air navigation
For marine and air navigation i would consider using some sort
of conic projection to have the result be similar to the
perspective of a distance pole. The Lambert conformal conic
might be used although it distorts area but angles and
navigation might be similar.
C. A reference map of the world
For a reference map of the world I would use the
Mercator because the rhumb lines converse angles and distances
from one place to another even though the areas are distorted.
Geog 1502: Mapping Our World | 1
Activity: Scale and projections
Deliverable: One online post that answers two questions. Please

13. start early so your fellow
classmates can more readily participate.
The following pages contain maps using different projections.
Examine these maps and address
the questions below with a few short answers in Moodle.
Part 1: Examine the maps on the following pages
You have read and heard about projections. Take look at the
maps on the following pages and
think about their projections.
Part 2: Work with your group to answer four questions
1. Compare and contrast the Mercator and Gall-Peters
projections. Give examples of specific
features in each of the maps that have been distorted.
2. The Lambert and Albers maps are both conic projections.
However, they each preserve
different qualities. What qualities do they preserve? Describe
one specific difference you can
see between these maps.
3. The “Magnifying Glass” and Stabius-Werner projections are
obviously distorted. What do

14. you think the purpose of each map is supposed to be, and why?
4. For the following scenarios, choose a projection and explain
why it would be appropriate.
a. Comparing acreage used for agriculture in the United States
versus Australia
b. Marine and/or air navigation
c. A reference map of the world
Guidelines for working as a group
assigned to a group of your
fellow classmates. So, in this week's activity, for example, you
are automatically in your
assigned group in the forum. You don't need to do anything
special or extra.
Copy and paste the question
you are answering into the forum before answering it so that
your group understands
which question you are answering.
suggestions already raised by other
group members.
een 900a on Monday and 500p on

15. Tuesday. After that time, the
forum will be closed. There are no right or wrong answers. Each
individual will receive
participation points for this activity if they complete all of the
requirements and
contribute to the group discussion.
Geog 1502: Mapping Our World | 2

16. Mercator. Cylindrical conformal (Gerardus Mercator 1569)
Gall-Peters. Cylindrical equal-area (James Gall 1855)

17. Geog 1502: Mapping Our World | 3
Albers Equal-Area Conic (Hans Albers 1805)

18. Lambert Conformal Conic (Johann Lambert 1772)
Geog 1502: Mapping Our World | 4
Interrupted Homolographic. Pseudocylindrical equal-area
(National Geographic Society 1904)
1
Scale & Projection
Two Key Ideas

19. Scale
representative fraction (RF) = map:ground
distance
A 3 cm street on a map with an RF of 1:100,000 is how long in
reality?
What is a key advantage of a bar scale?
3 cm × 100,000 = 300,000 cm = 3,000 m = 3 km
2
Scale Matters
Scale selection
Map scale
Mapped earth area
Information detail

20. Large
Large Small
Small
More Less
Scale and Resolution
fferent resolutions for different uses…
Projection
t easy to carry
3

21. Projection
Projection Concepts
Coordinate Systems: The Graticule
-180°to +180°)
-90° to +90°)
-90°)

22. http://www.gis.unbc.ca/webpages/start/geog205/lectures/map_pr
oject/RegCon.jpg
4
One degree of longitude
at equator (0° latitude)
One degree of longitude
at 60° latitude
Coordinate Systems: Planar
2d surface = planar
coordinates

23. planar coordinate
systems…
+180°
+85°
-85°
-180° 0°
0°
Mercator Projection
Minneapolis
+44.88°, -93.22°
+20037508 m
+20037508 m
-20037508 m
-20037508 m 0 m
0 m
A single projection can be used with many coordinate systems

24. Mercator Projection
5
State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS)
Military Grid Reference System (MGRS)
15SWC8081751205
Precision (m):
100000
10000
1000
100
10
1
What3Words
cover globe

25. square
than long number
sequences
6
Projection Mechanics
Projection Mechanics
(Dent 1999)
Mechanics: Perspective Approach
Developable Surface
7
Mechanics: Algorithmic Approach
Mollweide Mercator
Developable Surface Types
Plane Cone Cylinder
Tangent Point or Line

26. Tangent to Sphere at Line
Tangent to Sphere at Point
Distortion varies with surface type and
intersection of surface with globe
8
Standard Line or
Standard Parallel
Standard Lines or
Standard Parallels
Distortion is minimal at the standard line
Standard Line or
Standard Parallel
Standard Point
(Dent 1999)
Distortion varies with surface type and tangency
9
Projection Properties

27. Property Map Called Use Interesting Fact
Shape / Angle
Conformal
Orthomorphic
Navigation
Topographic
Meridians and parallels
intersect at right angles
Area Equal-area
Equivalent
Thematic Can be true for whole map
Distance Equidistant Atlas Distance is true along lines of
‘true scale’
Property Map Called Use Interesting Fact
Shape / Angle Conformal
Orthomorphic
Navigation

28. Topographic
Meridians and parallels
intersect at right angles
Mercator Projection
Property Map Called Use Interesting Fact
Area Equal-area
Equivalent
Thematic
Can be true for whole map
Gall-Peters Projection
10
Property Map Called Use Interesting Fact
Distance Equidistant Atlas Distance is true along lines of
‘true scale’
Azimuthal Equidistant Projection
11

29. Mercator Projection
Cylindrical & Conformal
Gall-Peters Projection
Cylindrical & Equal Area
Some projections are very different
Lambert Conformal Conic vs. Albers Equal Area Conic
Some projections are quite close
Composite projections combine different projections
Goode’s Homolosine joins Sinusoidal and Mollweide
projections
along north and south parallels 40°44’11.8"
Goode homolosine composite projection
Sinusoidal represented between
north and south parallels 40°44’11.8"
Mollweide represented outside of
north and south parallels 40°44’11.8"
12

30. Interrupted projections cut the surfaces into lobes
Interrupted Goode homolosine
composite projection
Conclusion
mechanics
1
3. Scale and Projections

31. Scale and projections are two fundamental features of maps that
usually do not get the attention
they deserve. Scale refers to how map units relate to real-world
units. Projections deal with the
methods and challenges around turning a three-dimensional (and
sort of lumpy) earth into a two-
dimensional map.
This section will introduce you to…
p user what the map is
measuring on the ground
characteristics
By the end of this chapter, you should be able read map scales
and identify common projections
along with their basic features and uses.
3.1 Scale
The world is vast. The earth’s surface has an area of over 500
million km2 and any picture of the
earth that you can easily carry can only show general outlines of
continents and countries. When
we visually represent a region of the world on a map, we must

32. reduce its size to fit within the
boundaries of the map. Map scale measures how much the
features of the world are reduced to fit
on a map; or more precisely, map scale shows the proportion of
a given distance on a map to the
corresponding distance on the ground in the real world.1
Map scale is represented by a representative fraction, graphic
scale, or verbal description.
Representative fraction.
The most commonly used
measure of map scale is the
representative fraction (RF),
where map scale is shown as
a ratio. With the numerator
always set to 1, the
denominator represents how
much greater the distance is
in the world. Figure 3a
shows a topographic map

33. with an RF of 1:24,000,
which means that one unit on
the map represents 24,000
units on the ground. The
representative fraction is
accurate regardless of which
units are used; the RF can be
measured as 1 centimeter to 24,000 centimeters, one inch to
24,000 inches, or any other unit.
Figure 3a. Representative fraction and scale bars from a United
States
Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map
2
Graphic scale. Scale bars are graphical representations of
distance on a map. Figure 3a has scale
bars for 1 mile, 7000 feet, and 1 kilometer. One important
advantage of graphic scales is that

34. they remain true when maps are shrunk or magnified.
Verbal description. Some maps, especially older ones, use a
verbal description of scale. For
example, it is common to see “one inch represents one
kilometer” or something similar written
on a map to give map users an idea of the scale of the map.
Map makers use scale to describe maps as being small-scale or
large-scale. This description of
map scale as large or small can seem counter-intuitive at first.
A 3-meter by 5-meter map of the
United States has a small map scale while a UMN campus map
of the same size is large-scale.
Scale descriptions using the RF provide one way of considering
scale, since 1:1000 is larger than
1:1,000,000. Put differently, if we were to change the scale of
the map with an RF of 1:100,000
so that a section of road was reduced from one unit to, say, 0.1
units in length, we would have
created a smaller-scale map whose representative fraction is
1:1,000,000.
When we talk about large- and small-scale maps and geographic
data, then, we are talking about

35. the relative sizes and levels of detail of the features represented
in the data. In general, the larger
the map scale, the more detail that is shown (Figure 3b).2
Figure 3b. These two satellite images depict the pyramids in
Giza, Egypt. The image on the left is zoomed
out or appears to be taken from far above the earth. This is a
small-scale map. The map on the right is a
larger-scale map. This distinction between larger-scale and
smaller-scale is not intuitive, so here is an
easy tool to remember it: if the buildings are larger, then the
scale is larger.
3
3.2 Extent vs. Resolution
The extent of a map describes the area visible on the map, while
resolution describes the smallest
unit that is mapped. You can think of extent as describing the

36. region to which the map is
zoomed. The extent of the map in Figure 3c is national as it
encompasses the contiguous United
States, while the resolution is the state, because states are the
finest level of spatial detail that we
can see.
Figure 3c. Map showing a national extent and a state resolution.
4
We often choose mapping resolutions intentionally to make the
map easier to understand. For
example, if we tried to display a map with a national extent at
the resolution of census blocks, the
level of detail would be so fine and the boundaries would be so
small that it would be difficult to
understand anything about the map. Balancing extent and
resolution is often one of the most
important and difficult decisions a cartographer must make.
Figure 3d offers two more examples

37. of the difference between extent and resolution.
Figure 3d. Maps showing an extent of the Pacific Northwest,
the left with a spatial resolution of county
and
the right with a spatial resolution of census tracts
5
3.3 Projections
This section will introduce you to projections, the term
for turning a three-dimensional globe into a two-
dimensional map. We will discuss the process of how
objects on a 3-dimensional surface (the earth) come to
be represented on a flat piece of paper or computer
screen. Our emphasis will be on the properties that
different projections distort or maintain – area, shape,
and distance.

38. Projection is the process of making a two-dimensional
map from a three-dimensional globe. We can think of the earth
as a sphere. In reality, it is more
of an ellipsoid with a few bulges, but it is fine to think of it as a
sphere. To get a sense of how
difficult this process can be, imagine peeling the skin from an
orange and trying to lay the skin
flat (Figure 3e).
As you peel and flatten the skin, you will encounter several
problems:
Shearing – stretching the skin in one or more directions
– causing the skin to separate
– forcing the skin to bunch up and condense
Cartographers face the same
three issues when they try to
transform the three-dimensional
globe into a two dimensional
map (Figure 3f). If you had a
globe made of paper, you could

39. carefully try to ‘peel’ it into a
flat piece of paper, but you
would have a big mess on your
hands. Instead, cartographers
use projections to create useable
two-dimensional maps.
Figure 3e. Flattened orange peel
3
Figure 3f. Shearing, tearing, and compression on a globe.
6
3.4 Mechanics of Projection
The term “map projection” refers to both the process and
product of transforming spatial
coordinates on a three-dimensional sphere to a two-dimensional
plane.
In terms of actual mechanics, most projections use mathematical
functions that take as inputs

40. locations on the sphere and translate them into locations on a
two-dimensional surface.
It is helpful to think about projections in physical terms (Figure
3g). If you had a clear globe the
size of a beach ball and placed a light inside this globe, it would
cast shadows onto a surrounding
surface. If this surface were a piece of paper that you wrapped
around the globe, you could
carefully trace these shadows onto the paper, then flatten out
this piece of paper and have your
projection!
Figure 3g. Thinking of projections in physical terms – a clear
globe, a light bulb, and tracing paper.
4
7
Most projections transform part of the globe to one of three
“developable” surfaces, so called
because they are flat or can be made flat: plane, cone, and
cylinder. The resultant projections are

41. called planar, conical, and cylindrical (as seen in Figure 3f). We
use developable surfaces
because they eliminate tearing, although they will produce
shearing and compression. Of these
three problems, tearing is seen as the worst because you would
be making maps with all sorts of
holes in them! As we see below, however, there are times when
you can create maps with tearing
and they are quite useful.
The place where the developable surface touches the globe is
known as the tangent point or
tangent line (Figure 3h). Maps will most accurately represent
objects on the globe at these
tangent points or lines, with distortion increasing as you move
farther away due to shearing and
compression. It is for this reason that cylinders are often used
for areas near the equator, cones
used to map the mid-latitudes, and planes used for polar
regions.
For beginning mapmakers, understanding the exact mechanics
of projections doesn’t matter as
much as knowing which map properties are maintained or lost
with the choice of projection – the

42. topic of the next section.
Figure 3h. Red marks the tangent line/point. The flat surface
touches the globe and it is the point on
the projected map which has the least distortion.
5
8
3.5 Types of Projections
Projections must distort features on the surface of the globe
during the process of making them
flat because projection involves shearing, tearing, and
compression. Since no projection can
preserve all properties, it is up to the map maker to know which
properties are most important for
their purpose and to choose an appropriate projection. The
properties we will focus on are:

43. shape, area, and distance.
Conformal
Conformal projections preserve shape and angle, but strongly
distort area in the process. For
example, with the Mercator projection (Figure 3i), the shapes of
coastlines are accurate on all
parts of the map, but countries near the poles appear much
larger relative to countries near the
equator than they actually are. For example, Greenland is only
7-percent the land area of Africa,
but it appears to be just as large! Conformal projections should
be used if the main purpose of the
map involves measuring angles or representing the shapes of
features. They are very useful for
navigation, topography (elevation), and weather maps.
Figure 3i. Mercator projection
9
Equal Area

44. On equal-area projections, the size of any area on the map is in
true proportion to its size on
the earth. In other words, countries’ shapes may appear to be
squished or stretched compared to
what they look like on a globe, but their land area will be
accurate relative to other land masses.
For example, in the Gall-Peters projection (Figure 3j), the shape
of Greenland is significantly
altered, but the size of its area is correct in comparison to
Africa.
This type of projection is important for quantitative thematic
data, especially in mapping density
(an attribute over an area). For example, it would be useful in
comparing the density of Syrian
refugees in the Middle East or the amount of cropland in
production.
Figure 3j. Gall-Peters projection
10

45. Equidistant
Equidistant projections, as the name suggests, preserve
distance. This is a bit misleading
because no projection can maintain relative distance between all
places on the map. Equidistant
maps are able, however, to preserve distances along a few
clearly specified lines. For example,
on the Azimuthal Equidistant projection (Figure 3k), all points
are the proportionally correct
distance and direction from the center point.
This type of projection would be useful visualizing airplane
flight paths from one city to several
other cities or in mapping an earthquake epicenter.
Figure 3k. Azimuthal Equidistant projection
11
Distortion and Developable Surfaces

46. Note that distortion is not necessarily tied to the type of
developable surface but rather to the way
the transformation is done with that surface. It is possible to
preserve any one of the three
properties using any of the developable surfaces, as Figure 3l
shows when using a cone.
Conformal
Equal Area
Equidistant

47. Figure 3l. Three maps created using a conic surface each of
which preserves a different map property
(Lambert conformal conic, Albers equal area conic, and
Schjerning north polar equidistant conic)6
12
Compromise Projections
Some projections, including the Robinson projection (Figure
3m), strike a balance between the
different map properties. In other words, they do not preserve
shape, area, or distance, but

48. instead try to avoid extreme distortion of any of these
properties. This type of projection would
be useful for a general purpose world map.
Interrupted Projections
Other projections deal with the challenge of making the 3D
globe flat by tearing the earth in
strategic places. Interrupted projections such as the Interrupted
Homolographic (Figure 3n)
represent the earth in lobes, reducing the amount of shape and
area distortion near the poles.
Figure 3m. Robinson Projection
7
Figure 3n. Interrupted Homolographic. Pseudocylindrical
equal-area (National Geographic Society
1904)

49. 13
Artistic projections
There are also a large number of projections that are interesting
and beautiful, but not intended
for navigation between places or to visualize data. Examples of
these artistic projections include
the heart-shaped Stabius-Werner projection (Figure 3o) and
Waterman’s “Butterfly” projection
(Figure 3p).
Figure 3o. Stabius-Werner Projection
(Pseudoconic equal area)
8
Figure 3p. Waterman’s “Butterfly” projection
9
3.6 Conclusion
In this section, we have looked at some of the most frequently

50. used projections. There are
hundreds of projections, each which distorts the world in a
slightly different way. Keep in mind
that all maps have a scale and there a few important ways to
indicate this scale. All maps also use
a projection that can be formed from a developable surface and
can preserve one or two
properties at most.
14
Resources:
-and-map-preprocessing/
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~jochen/gtech201/lectures/lec6
concepts/map%20coordi
nate%20systems/how%20to%20choose%20a%20projection.htm
o http://www.csiss.org/map-projections/index.html
o
http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjTbl/projT
bl.html

51. 1 Parts of this section are adapted from Campbell and Shin
(2011). Essentials of Geographic Information Systems.
http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=67
2 Penn State Geog 482 “The Nature of Geographic Information”
Ch.2.5
3
http://krygier.owu.edu/krygier_html/geog_222/geog_222_lo/geo
g_222_lo13.html
4
http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~dylan/mtpe/geosphere/topics/map/m
ap1.html#proj
5 http://geokov.com/education/map-projection.aspx but ©
USGS
6 © 2013 Carlos A Furuti,
http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjCon/Proj
ConNP/projConNP.html
7 http://kartograph.org/showcase/projections/#robinson
8 © 1997 Carlos A Furuti,
http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjPCon/pro
jPCon.html#Werner1
9 © 1997 Carlos A Furuti,
http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjPoly/proj
Poly2.html#gnoct
http://giscommons.org/earth-and-map-preprocessing/
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~jochen/gtech201/lectures/lec6
concepts/map%20coordinate%20systems/how%20to%20choose
%20a%20projection.htm
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~jochen/gtech201/lectures/lec6
concepts/map%20coordinate%20systems/how%20to%20choose

52. %20a%20projection.htm
http://www.csiss.org/map-projections/index.html
http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjTbl/projT
bl.html
http://geokov.com/education/map-projection.aspx
Political Islam, World Politics and Europe: Democratic Peace
and Euro-Islam versus
Global Jihad
Bassam Tibi
London and New York: Routledge, 2008, xxii+311pp.
Due to his established record of critical scholarship, Bassam
Tibi needs no introduction
among the contemporary academics of Islamic civilization in
the West. He is, arguably, one
of the few leading Muslim scholars in Europe who not only
have a significant reputation
among European policy makers (Germany in particular), but
also command a considerable
respect among non-Muslim scholars there.
Political Islam, World Politics and Europe, like some of Tibi’s
other books, is a
carefully written, well-edited, and by all accounts highly
ambitious work. But reading it, one
is quickly reminded of his confrontational style of presentation:
his innumerable harsh words
for those he calls “Islamists,” his less than flattering words for
some specific scholars
(pp.148, 164, 176, 186), criticism of peer-reviewers (pp.xx,
114), and assertion of other
scholars not acknowledging him adequately (pp.156, 187). Most
importantly, many of the

53. ideas Tibi has ever posited in his other over sixty-nine works
reappear in both the text and the
notes of the volume. Thus, contrary to the promotional excerpts
on the book’s back cover,
one is left to wonder how it’s most likely readers, specialists
and experts will receive it.
Generally, the author argues that “political Islam,” “Islamism,”
and “Islamic
fundamentalism” are one and the same thing (p.123): a
significant minority (p.117), and a
violent and potent manifestation of Islam that is incompatible
with European democracy. It is
“in a nutshell: a new world order shaped by ‘hakimiyyat
Allah/God’s rule’ and not just an
expression of anti-globalism” (p.98). Significantly “Euro-Islam”
- a concept Tibi asserts to
having coined (pp.156, 177, 180, 187, 190) - is presented as the
only option (p. 186) for both
Muslims in Europe and European democratic institutions to
employ, if the “Islamization of
Europe” is to be averted.
The book itself is divided into a detailed preface, a lengthy
introduction, seven
chapters, extensive notes, and a bibliography followed by an
index. In Part 1, the author
introduces “the basic notion underlying the civilizational
conception in world politics: the
envisioned Nizam Islami/Islamic order and the vision of
democratic peace for a post-bipolar
world order” (p.11). While tracing the idea of jihad from its
classical conception to modern
jihadism (Chapter 1), he undertakes his own search for Islamic
democracy, peace, and
pluralism and suggests how these can serve as a better

54. alternative political choice (Chapter
2). Part 2 then discusses “global jihadism as an Islamist
internationalism”, focusing on its
Sunni (Chapter 3) and Shi’i (Chapter 4) manifestations. In Part
3, the author assesses
Islamization and Europeanization in regard to “Muslim Europe”
(Chapter 5) or “Euro-Islam”
(Chapter 6) as the likely outcomes. Finally, Chapter 7 contends
that rather than voting
procedures, the “political culture of democracy is the solution
for Islamic civilization” (pp.
217).
Tackling these topics and doing justice to them is no easy task
for anybody. Even
Tibi, despite over four decades of research in the field, is by no
means an exception to this
reality. In truth, this conundrum has more to do with the issues’
complicated nature than with
the authors’ qualifications and experiences. There are more
points of contention in this
information-loaded Political Islam than one can tackle here.
However, since the origin of the
idea of “Euro-Islam” is not only demonstrably claimed by the
author but is also among the
top of this book’s main points, it is worth pursuing further.
Tibi rejects “political correctness,” describing it as the “rules of
censorship” (p.95),
“questionable culture” (p.127), “self-victimizing discourse”
(p.157), and “self-censorship” (p.
171), as he makes his case for tough language and straight-
forwardness in arguing with

55. European scholars of cultural relativism or multi-culturalists
(pp. 115, 153, 155, 172, 200)
and in dealing with Islamists (pp. 157, 171). These and other
sentiments may be construed as
uncompromising tendencies on the part of the author, which
may also expose the author’s
own work to harsh criticism. Despite the author’s claim to
promoting freedom (p.188), his
tough stance against granting minorities (in this case, Muslims
and others in Europe) any
freedoms simply because that might ignite a backlash among the
majority or hinder the
minority’s integration portrays conflicting ideological
temperaments. He writes: “I have
misgivings that any granting of minority privileges and special
collective rights to cultural
and religious groups would be counter-productive…” (p. 212).
The following is written as a stylistic reciprocity with his
rejection of “political
correctness” and in acceptance to his call to speak “out
candidly” (p. 159). Following suit
with his own critique of other scholars in the field, it is
understandable to state that the idea of
“Euro-Islam” is the most “flawed” (p.164) and most unrealistic
proposition in this book. This
is how Tibi describes and explains the concept/notion:
In Euro-Islam I address the effort of devising a liberal variety
of Islam acceptable
both to Muslim migrants and to European societies, thus an
Islam that can
accommodate the ideas of Europe, ideas including secularism
and individual
citizenship along the lines of a modern secular democracy …
Euro-Islam is the

56. very same religion of Islam as exists anywhere. In the case of
Europe, however, it
is culturally adjusted to the civic culture of modernity … The
major features of
the concept of Euro-Islam would include laïcité, cultural
modernity, and an
understanding of tolerance that goes beyond the Islamic
tolerance restricted to
Abrahamitic believers (ahl al-kitab) (pp. 206-7).
This proposition, as described above, includes certain universal
ideals and aspirations that
Muslims can accept without feeling that they will jeopardize
their religion, cultures and
asabiyya. But in general, the author’s “Euro-Islam” is simply
“Europeanization” of Muslims
in a form of total assimilation, whether he means it or not. In
and of itself, “Europeanization”
may not necessarily be a bad idea or be an unrealistic choice for
Muslims. It should, however,
be presented as such. Some Muslims would be glad to be
Europeanized enough and maintain
their religion in a comfortable fashion (most are already there,
for the most part, due to the
idea of Europe). Besides, “Euro-Islam” as presented, would
hardly be accepted by all
Europeans.
The problem with Tibi’s version of “Euro-Islam,” especially as
he equates it to “Afro-
Islam” and “Indo-Islam,” lies however in who is to be charged
with the process of
Europeanzing Islam and how realistic such an undertaking is. In
his opinion, this mantle must
be assumed by Muslim immigrants (“to be demanded of
Muslims living in Europe” [p.207];

57. “it can only be accomplished if change and religious reforms
are admitted by Muslims”
[p.189]). Using the “Afro-Islam” example, he could not be more
wrong in this expectation.
When Islam went to Africa, the local people eventually accepted
it individually and
collectively, depending on the region, and Africanized it in due
course. So “Afro-Islam” was
not accomplished by those who introduced it there. In fact,
those who introduced it could not
stop the process, let alone reverse it. So to demand that
Europe’s Muslim immigrants, who
remain a diverse, non-integrated, and largely “ghettoized”
minority, spearhead the
Europeanization of Islam is utterly misplaced.
For “Euro-Islam” to occur the same way as “Afro-Islam” did,
the indigenous
Europeans, like their African counterparts, would have to accept
Islam first and then
Europeanize it. Such a scenario, everybody will agree, is almost
impossible because Europe’s
religious, cultural, and political conditions are unlike those in
Africa, both then and now.
Significantly, were things to occur in similar ways, Islamism as
it currently manifests itself in
Europe would not exist. If it did, it would be easily contained,
just as some Wahhabis in
Senegal (a country, Tibi writes, that is a prime example of Afro-
Islam [pp. 196, 218]), the
Sunni counterparts of the Islamists in Europe, were unhappy
with the Africanization of Islam
and yet could neither prevent nor reverse it, due to the fact that

58. the larger, local majority
spearheaded such a process.
To end on a positive note, the best part of Political Islam
remains Chapter 6, where
the author presents a detailed account of the consequences of
the Europeans’ failure to admit
Muslim immigrants and the repercussions of the latter’s
resistance to full Europeanization.
The chapter is relatively free of the harsh words mentioned
above and contains less of what
many may consider as the author’s self-promoting statements. It
is to be hoped that the
author, given his intellectual rigor and discipline, will
eventually weed out the unnecessary
repetitions that abound in his works and also tone down his
rhetoric – at least for the sake of
keeping the readers honestly engaged.
M. Zakyi Ibrahim
California State University, Fullerton, USA