Abstract

In the first, sweeping volume of The Venture of Islam, the late Marshall Hodgson recalls the Riddah Wars, fought in the 7th century between the brethren over the right to transmit the true legacy of the Prophet. Herbert Marcuse is as far from Mohammed as the deserts of America are from those of Arabia, but since his death in 1979, the familiar archetype has been playing itself out. At the head of the legions of the faithful rides the indomitable Douglas Kellner, who for years has waged a single-minded campaign to clear the field of competition. Kellner has always concluded his polemics with a promise: the damage these pretenders have wrought is not yet irreversible, consequently, “Marcuse's legacy still awaits comprehensive and systematic treatment,” “an adequate appraisal of Marcuse's thought and legacy remains to be done.”