Encyclopedia of Islam by
In about 550 A-to-Z entries, Encyclopedia of Islam explores the terms, concepts, personalities, historical events, and institutions that helped shape the history of this religion and the way it is practiced today. An informative introduction provides readers with an overview of Islam, and a chronology, a detailed bibliography complete the work.
Islam Explained: Essential Reading for Anyone who wants to Know more about Islam by
Islam, a faith that embraces all races and cultures, has spread far and wide across the globe, and today about one in five people in the world is a follower of the Islamic faith. Few people have not heard about Islam or interacted with Muslims. But many, including some Muslims, do not know much about Prophet Muhammad or what the Qur'an actually teaches. Unfortunately, the focus on terrorism may have resulted in an inaccurate and biased view of Islam and of Muslims in general. Islam is not responsible for those Muslims involved in terrorism and violence; these Muslims make up only a tiny fraction of the vast majority of practicing Muslims who adhere to Islam and find peace and happiness in it. Islam actually promotes peace and harmony. Thus, it is important for the world to discover what Islam really is and what it teaches. This book explores the fundamental beliefs of Islam from its conception to what its adherents need to practise to be righteous and helpful to the peace and progress of one's country of residence and the whole wide world. Presented in an elegant and concise way, it explains the different aspects of the faith in topical form and clarifies misconceptions about Islam. Through this book, readers will be able to better understand and appreciate the truths and expectations of Islam for both Muslims and people of other faiths to work together to build a safer and more harmonious society for everyone.
A Brief Introduction to Islam by
With both nuance and balance, this text provides broad coverage of various forms of Islam with an arresting layout with rich colors. It offers both historical overviews and modern perspectives on Islamic beliefs and practices. The user-friendly content is enhanced by charts of religious festivals, historic timelines, updated maps, and a useful glossary.
The Cambridge Companion to American Islam by
The Cambridge Companion to American Islam offers a scholarly overview of the state of research on American Muslims and American Islam. The book presents the reader with a comprehensive discussion of the debates, challenges, and opportunities that American Muslims have faced through centuries of American history. This volume also covers the creative ways in which American Muslims have responded to the myriad serious challenges that they have faced and continue to face in constructing a religious praxis and complex identities that are grounded in both a universal tradition and the particularities of their local contexts. The book introduces the reader to some of the many facets of the lives of American Muslims that can only be understood in their interactions with Islam's entanglement in the American experiment.
A History of Islam in America by
Muslims began arriving in the New World long before the rise of the Atlantic slave trade. The first arrivals date to the turn of the sixteenth century when European explorers and colonists crossed the Atlantic in search of new horizons and trading routes. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri's fascinating book traces the history of Muslims in the United States and their different waves of immigration and conversion across five centuries, through colonial and antebellum America, through world wars and civil rights struggles, to the contemporary era. The book tells the often deeply moving stories of individual Muslims and their lives as immigrants and citizens within the broad context of the American religious experience, showing how that experience has been integral to the evolution of American Muslim institutions and practices. This is a unique and intelligent portrayal of a diverse religious community and its relationship with America. It will serve as a strong antidote to the current politicized dichotomy between Islam and the West, which has come to dominate the study of Muslims in America and further afield -- Provided by publisher.
Islam: A Short Guide to the Faith by
In this straightforward and authoritative collection of fifteen essays -- each by a different, specialized expert in the field -- readers will encounter all the major elements of Islam, including its history, its beliefs, its practices, and its interactions, notably with Christianity, Judaism, and the modern world. Islam: A Short Guide to the Faith will inform and enlighten all who wish to better understand this increasingly influential world religion.
Key Themes for the Study of Islam by
"Key Themes for the Study of Islam" examines the central themes and concepts indispensable to an informed understanding of Islamic religion and society. From Gender and History to Prayer and Prophecy, each authoritative chapter focuses on a single aspect of the religion and presents a critical discussion written by a world expert in that field. Exposing as false the idea that Islam and Muslims are incomprehensible to Western culture, this book will become the first choice for students and experts in religion from disparate fields, who wish to know how Islam relates to vital concepts in religion and society today.
A New Anthropology of Islam by
"In this powerful but accessible new study John Bowen draws on a full range of work in social anthropology to present Islam in ways that emphasise its constitutive practices, from praying and learning to judging and political organising. Starting at the heart of Islam - revelation and learning in Arabic lands - Bowen shows how Muslims have adapted Islamic texts and traditions to ideas and conditions in the societies in which they live. Returning to key case studies in Indonesia, Africa, Pakistan and Western Europe to explore each major domain of Islamic religious and social life, Bowen also considers the theoretical advances in social anthropology that have come out of the study of Islam. A New Anthropology of Islam is essential reading for all those interested in the study of Islam and for those following new developments in the discipline of anthropology"-- Provided by publisher.
Shi'i Islam by
"During the formative period of Islam, in the first centuries after Muḥammad's death, different ideas and beliefs abounded. It was during this period of roughly three centuries that two particular intellectual traditions emerged, Sunnism and Shī;'ism. Sunnī Muslims endorsed the historical caliphate, while Shī'ī; Muslims, supporters of 'Ali, cousin of the Prophet and the fourth caliph, articulated their own distinctive doctrines. The Sunnī-Shī'ī schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muḥammad, whereas in reality, Sunnī and Shī'ī Muslims also differ on a number of seminal theological doctrines concerning the nature of God and legitimate political and religious authority. This book examines the development of Shī'ī Islam through the lenses of belief, narrative, and memory. In an accessible yet nuanced manner, it conceives of Shī'ism as a historical project undertaken by a segment of the early Muslim community that felt dispossessed. This book also covers, for the first time in English, a wide range of Shī'ī communities from the demographically predominant Twelvers to the transnational Ismā'īlīs to the scholar-activist Zaydīs. The portrait of Shī'ism that emerges is that of a distinctive and vibrant community of Muslims with a remarkable capacity for reinvention and adaptation, grounded in a unique theological interpretation of Islam"-- Provided by publisher.
Conservative Islam by
Conservative Islam: A Cultural Anthropology by Erich Kolig analyzes the salient characteristics of Islam and contemporary Muslim society from the perspective of traditional cultural anthropology. Gender issues, the headscarf and veiling, alcohol and pork prohibition, the taboo on satirizing religious contents, violence and jihad, attitudes toward rationalism and modernity, and other important issues that emanate from Islamic doctrine are discursively highlighted as to their origins, symbolic meanings, and importance in the modern world. By highlighting socio-cultural configurations, the universals they represent, the circumstances of their creation, and their semiotic meaning, Kolig helps the reader gain understanding of Islam in the modern world.
Contemporary Issues in Islam by
Asma Afsaruddin explores how Islamic concepts have evolved and transformed over time, both in how they are defined and how they are applied. Afsaruddin follows certain concepts, like jihad (holy war) and shahada (martyrdom), and explains how they have been understood in different historical circumstances. By analysing biographical dictionaries from different times, such as Ibn Hajars in the 14th century, she plots the changes in how society viewed womens roles. And she investigates the historicity of claims made by Islamists today that their version of political Islam goes back to the first century of Islam by surveying early historical, political and hadith works.
Islam by
Essential overview for everyone who wants to understand what Islam is and what it means today.
Islam: Historical, Social and Political Perspectives by 
Islam: Its History Teaching and Practice by
This compact introduction to Islam encapsulates the essential aspects of Islam as a living religion and social force.
Islam and Christianity by
In light of the widespread public perception of incompatibility between Islam and Christianity, this book provides a much-needed straightforward comparison of these two great faith traditions from a broad theological perspective. Award-winning scholar John Renard illuminates the similarities as well as the differences between Islam and Christianity through a clear exploration of four major dimensions--historical, creedal, institutional, and ethical and spiritual. Throughout, the book features comparisons between concrete elements such as creedal statements, prayer texts, and writings from major theologians and mystics. It also includes a glossary of technical theological terms. For western readers in particular, this balanced, authoritative work overturns some common stereotypes about Islam, especially those that have emerged in the decade since September 11, 2001.
What Is Islam? by
What is Islam? How do we grasp a human and historical phenomenon characterized by such variety and contradiction? What is "Islamic" about Islamic philosophy or Islamic art? Should we speak of Islam or of islams? Should we distinguish the Islamic (the religious) from the Islamicate (the cultural)? Or should we abandon "Islamic" altogether as an analytical term?In What Is Islam?, Shahab Ahmed presents a bold new conceptualization of Islam that challenges dominant understandings grounded in the categories of "religion" and "culture" or those that privilege law and scripture. He argues that these modes of thinking obstruct us from understanding Islam, distorting it, diminishing it, and rendering it incoherent.What Is Islam? formulates a new conceptual language for analyzing Islam. It presents a new paradigm of how Muslims have historically understood divine revelation--one that enables us to understand how and why Muslims through history have embraced values such as exploration, ambiguity, aestheticization, polyvalence, and relativism, as well as practices such as figural art, music, and even wine drinking as Islamic. It also puts forward a new understanding of the historical constitution of Islamic law and its relationship to philosophical ethics and political theory.A book that is certain to provoke debate and significantly alter our understanding of Islam, What Is Islam? reveals how Muslims have historically conceived of and lived with Islam as norms and truths that are at once contradictory yet coherent.
And Then We Work for God by
Turkey's contemporary struggles with Islam are often interpreted as a conflict between religion and secularism played out most obviously in the split between rural and urban populations. The reality, of course, is more complicated than the assumptions. Exploring religious expression in two villages, this book considers rural spiritual practices and describes a living, evolving Sunni Islam, influenced and transformed by local and national sources of religious orthodoxy. Drawing on a decade of research, Kimberly Hart shows how religion is not an abstract set of principles, but a complex set of practices. Sunni Islam structures individual lives through rituals―birth, circumcision, marriage, military service, death―and the expression of these traditions varies between villages. Hart delves into the question of why some choose to keep alive the past, while others want to face a future unburdened by local cultural practices. Her answer speaks to global transformations in Islam, to the push and pull between those who maintain a link to the past, even when these practices challenge orthodoxy, and those who want a purified global religion.
Beyond Islam by
In this magisterial work, Sami Zubaida draws on a distinguished career’s worth of experience trying to understand the region to address the fundamental question in Middle East studies: what is the Middle East? He argues, controversially, that to see it through the prism of Islam, as it is conventionally viewed, is to completely misunderstand it. Many of what we think of as the ""Islamic"" characteristics of the region are products of culture and society, not religion. To think of Islam itself as an essential, anti-modern force in the region rather than something shaped by specific historical-economic processes is, Zubaida argues, a mistake. Instead, he offers us an alternative view of the region, its historic cosmopolitanism, its religious and cultural diversity, its rapid adoption of new media cultures, which reveals a multi-faceted and complex region teeming with multiple identities. Wide-ranging, erudite, and powerfully argued, Zubaida’s work will be essential reading for future generations of students of this fascinating region.
Competing Fundamentalisms by
Why do certain groups and individuals seek to do harm in the name of God? While studies often claim to hold the key to this frightening phenomenon, they seldom account for the crucial role that religious conviction plays, not just in radical Islam, but also in the fundamentalist branches of the world's two other largest religions: Christianity and Hinduism. As the first book to examine violent extremism in all three religions together, Competing Fundamentalisms draws on studies in sociology, psychology, culture, and economics--while focusing on the central role of religious ideas--to paint a richer portrait of this potent force in modern life. Clarke argues that the forces of globalization fuel the aggression of these movements to produce the competing feature of religious fundamentalisms, which have more in common with their counterparts across religious lines than they do with the members of their own religions. He proposes ways to deescalate religious violence in the service of peacemaking. Readers will gain important insights into how violent religious fundamentalism works in the world's three largest religions and learn new strategies for promoting peace in the context of contemporary interreligious conflict. - from publisher.
The Crucible of Islam by
Little is known about Arabia in the sixth century CE. Yet from this distant time and place emerged a faith and an empire that stretched from the Iberian peninsula to India. Today, Muslims account for nearly a quarter of the global population. G. W. Bowersock seeks to illuminate this most obscure and yet most dynamic period in the history of Islam--from the mid-sixth to mid-seventh century--exploring why arid Arabia proved to be such fertile ground for Muhammad's prophetic message, and why that message spread so quickly to the wider world. In Muhammad's time Arabia stood at the crossroads of great empires, a place where Christianity, Judaism, and local polytheistic traditions vied for adherents. Mecca, Muhammad's birthplace, belonged to the part of Arabia recently conquered by the Ethiopian Christian king Abraha. But Ethiopia lost western Arabia to Persia following Abraha's death, while the death of the Byzantine emperor in 602 further destabilized the region. Within this chaotic environment, where lands and populations were traded frequently among competing powers and belief systems, Muhammad began winning converts to his revelations. In a troubled age, his followers coalesced into a powerful force, conquering Palestine, Syria, and Egypt and laying the groundwork of the Umayyad Caliphate. The crucible of Islam remains an elusive vessel. Although we may never grasp it firmly, Bowersock offers the most detailed description of its contours and the most compelling explanation of how one of the world's great religions took shape.-- Provided by publisher
The Divergence of Judaism and Islam by
The essays in this volume examine how each group reacted quite differently to colonial rule, how the Palestine Question and the Arab-Israeli crisis have soured relations, and how the rise of nationalism has contributed to the growing tensions. With contributors from a wide variety of scholarly disciplines, this book offers a broad but in-depth analysis of the Jewish-Muslim relationship in recent times.
Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know by
As various events have focused attention on Islam, the often-misunderstood faith of one billion people, westerners have shown a new curiosity about it and other religions. This is perhaps in part because religion is such an important factor in geopolitics. Islam needs to be understood on its own terms, apart from extreme expressions, John Kaltner argues. This edition offers information about Islam in an accessible presentation and presents Islam as first and foremost a religion of practices. Showing the deep humanism of Islam and its commitments, Kaltner presents Islam through assertions that counter frequent misconceptions of the faith.
Islam and North America by
"The attention of this book focuses on the presence of Islam in North America. Globalization, Muslim migration to the West, growing terrorist activity and other concerns makes this book timely resource for the Christian church in North American. The book seeks to accomplish three purposes. (1) Equip North American Christians to think about Islam theologically and missionally. Two-thirds of the book is designed to help prepare Christians to live in a multi-faith context, with particular attention given to living with Muslim neighbors. An overview of Muslim migration explains the development of Islam as a contemporary World Religion, sketching out what takes place when Islam embeds in North American culture and informing readers on what migration patterns are anticipated in the future. The second section of the book answers some of the big theological and socio-political questions surrounding growth of Islam in the West. Do we worship the same God? Should Christians defend the right of Muslims to worship inNorth America? What does the Quran say about violence? Do Muslims aspire for Sharia law to overtake our political systems? he final section of the book prepares the Christian church to (2) engage their Muslim neighbor with hospitality and without fear and (3) encourage North American Christians to love Muslims with the love of Christ. These chapters help Christians discover places of common ground between themselves and Muslims, helping us identify challenges Muslims face when they immigrate to NorthAmerica, approach our multi-faith context missionally, and prepare to have cross-cultural gospel conversations. The last chapter reminds us that a missionary encounter with Islam in North America is both the calling of the church and is best pursued in community."--Publisher.
Islam and the Veil by
This volume is centred around the theme of veiling in Islam and provides multifarious aspects of the discussion regarding veiling of Muslim women, especially in the West. The issue of veiling has been intensively debated in Western society and has implications for religious liberty, inter-communal relationships and cultural interaction. Islam and the Veil seeks to generate open and objective discussion of this highly important, though controversial, subject, with contributions from distinguished scholars and academics, including female practitioners of Islam. This subject has inflamed passions and generated heated debate in the media in recent years, particularly in the West. This book aims to look at the historical background, theological and social factors underlying the veiling of women in Islam. Such discussion will provide the reader with a well-balanced and unbiased analysis of this important aspect of Islamic practice. -- Back cover.
Islam Today by
After an initial chapter providing an overview of the Islamic faith, its history and basic theological tenets, Ron Geaves moves through key contemporary themes: Islam and diversity, ethics and morality, gender, fundamentalism, and the relationship between Islam and the West. Concluding with a final section looking at the future for Islam, its relevance in modern times, the future for the religion in question and what it can contribute to society in terms of inter-religious dialogue and harmony between different communities
Islam Without Extremes by
From furious reactions to the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to the suppression of women, news from the Muslim world begs the question: is Islam incompatible with freedom? With an eye sympathetic to Western liberalism and Islamic theology, Mustafa Akyol traces the ideological and historical roots of political Islam.
Meeting the Ideological Challenge of Islamism by
Islamist extremism is one of the most vital issues facing governments and populations today, as Islamist groups turn more violent, with increasingly radicalized recruits. These leading scholar’s essays offer a detailed, compelling critique of the worldview, methodologies and motivations of violent Islamist groups, and of those pursuing a more gradualist approach. They present a significant contribution to the debate by showing how Islamist ideology may be confronted and effectively challenged.
Political Islam and Democracy in the Muslim World by
Belying assertions of the incompatibility of Islam and democracy, many Muslim-majority countries are now or have been democratic. Paul Kubicek draws on the experiences of those countries to explore the relationship between political manifestations of Islam and democratic politics. Kubicek's comparative analysis allows him to highlight the common features that create conditions amenable to democratic development in Muslim-majority countries―and to show how actors in Muslim democracies in fact draw on concepts within Islam to contribute to democratization.
Puritan Islam by
Explores the social, political, and cultural changes happening in Christian and increasingly secular Western countries as their populations expand with growing numbers of Muslim immigrants.
The Search for Truth about Islam by
Are Muslims infiltrating American society? What does Islam really teach about women's roles? Does the Qur'an condone violence? Presbyterian pastor Ben Daniel tackles common stereotypes and misconceptions that tend to define Islam in the popular imagination. Daniel also looks at Christianity's own history of violence and explores what he calls "the American cult of fear," particularly as it relates to the rise of Islamophobia in the United States. Blending travel narrative, interviews, and well-crafted storytelling, Daniel helps debunk the myths and put a human face on Islam in America. -- Publisher.
Truth over Fear by
Questions and fears about Islam have proliferated American life for decades, from the Iranian Revolution in 1979 to the September 11, 2001, attacks. Yet more recent history has seen a new development in the tangle of Christian-Muslim relations: the mainstreaming of Islamophobia as a path to political and societal power at the highest level. Politicians and religious leaders now routinely spread fear and confusion about Muslim beliefs and practice in order to bolster their own positions. Many recognize what is wrong with this situation but are frustrated with what seem to be limited options for response. Truth over Fear provides resources to address the manipulation of religious misunderstanding and intolerance. From renowned Christian scholar of Islam and longtime participant in Christian-Muslim engagement, Charles Kimball demystifies Islam, the world's second-largest religion, and provides practical guidance on how to share simple facts about Muslim beliefs and practices with family and others, how to take the first steps in dialogue with Muslim neighbors, and how to move beyond dialogue to shared ministry and community building. -- Provided by publisher.
What Is Islam? by
"A book that is certain to provoke debate and significantly alter our understanding of Islam, [this work] reveals how Muslims have historically conceived of and lived with Islam as norms and truths that are at once contradictory yet coherent"--Front jacket flap.