Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World

by Akbar S. Ahmed, Akbar Ahmed

Overview

Although there are over one billion Muslims in the world, and over ten million in the West, most discussions of Islam are based on clichés or outright prejudice. This lively and compelling book sets out to bridge the gulf of misunderstanding. Islam, argues Akbar Ahmed, does not mean the subordination of women, contempt for other religions, opposition to the modern world, or barbaric punishments for petty crimes. One cannot fully come to terms with modern Islam without understanding its sources and traditions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781860642579
Publisher:	I. B.Tauris & Company, Limited
Publication date:	03/15/1999
Series:	Introductions to Religion Series
Edition description:	Revised Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.36(w) x 8.51(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

Akbars Ahmed is fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge, UK, and has been a visiting professor at Princeton and Harvard Universities.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Raising Questions
• What is Islam?
• The Challenge of the Past: Empires and Dynasties
• When Worlds Collide: Muslim Nations and Western Modernity
• Muslims as Minorities
• Islam in the Age of the Western Media
• Concluding Thoughts
• Index

What People are Saying About This

Lord Runcie

I know of no writer in English who is more sensitive to the questions people ask and better qualified to answer them.

Editorial Reviews

"Get a true picture of the religion distorted by Osama bin Laden in this Oprah recommended guide to the Muslim world." —Guardian

From the Publisher

Get a true picture of the religion distorted by Osama bin Laden in this Oprah recommended guide to the Muslim world.

Guardian

Islam is the fastest-growing world religion, with over ten million Muslims in the West. As their number increases, so do the misunderstandings and conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims. Anthropologist Ahmed accurately explains the conflicting cultural values and ignorance of East and West and does an excellent job explaining the differences between the Shi'ite and Sunni branches of Islam, women in Islam, and Muslim minorities. Unfortunately, owing to space constraints, Nigeria and Indonesia are not covered. Ahmed is a visiting professor at Princeton and Harvard; his Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society (Routledge, 1989. reprint) was highly praised. An essentially identical hardcover version of this book was published in the U.K. in 1993 under the title Living Islam: From Samarkand to Stornoway (BBC). Highly recommended for all libraries as a companion to John Bowker's What Muslims Believe (Element, 1999).--Michael W. Ellis, Ellenville P.L., NY

Library Journal