The Islamic World is an outstanding guide to Islamic faith and culture in all its geographical and historical diversity. Written by a distinguished international team of scholars, it elucidates the history, philosophy and practice of one of the world's great religious traditions. Its grounding in contemporary scholarship makes it an ideal reference source for students and scholars alike.

Edited by Andrew Rippin, a leading scholar of Islam, the volume covers the political, geographical, religious, intellectual, cultural and social worlds of Islam, and offers insight into all aspects of Muslim life including the Qura (TM)an and law, philosophy, science and technology, art, literature, and film and much else. It explores the concept of an a ~Islamica (TM) world: what makes it distinctive and how uniform is that distinctiveness across Muslim geographical regions and through history?

This book explains the concept of Islamic "da'wah," or missionary activity, as it has developed in contemporary Western contexts. Poston traces the transition from the early "external-institutional" missionary approach impracticable in modern Western society, to an "internal-personal" approach which aims at the conversion of individuals and seeks to influence society from the bottom upwards. Poston also combines the results of a questionnaire-survey with an analysis of published testimonies to identify significant traits that distinguish converts to Islam.

The 'War on Terror' ushered in a new era of anti-Muslim bias and racism. Anti-Muslim racism, or Islamophobia, is influenced by local economies, power structures and histories. However, the War on Terror, a conflict undefined by time and place, with a homogenised Muslim 'Other' framed as a perpetual enemy, has contributed towards a global Islamophobic narrative. This edited international volume examines the connections between interpersonal and institutional anti-Muslim racism that have contributed to the growth and emboldening of nativist and populist protest movements globally. It maps out categories of Islamophobia, revealing how localised histories, conflicts and contemporary geopolitical realities have textured the ways that Islamophobia has manifested across the global North and South. At the same time, it seeks to highlight activism and resistance confronting Islamophobia. -- .

This book shows that Dante's project for" "the establishment of a peaceful global human community founded on religious pluralism is rooted in the Arabo-Islamic philosophical tradition--a tradition exemplified by al-Farabi's declaration that "it is possible that excellent nations and excellent cities exist whose religions differ." Part One offers an approach to Dante's "Comedy" in the light of al-Farabi's notion of the relation between religion and imagination. Part Two argues that, for Dante, the afterlife is not reserved exclusively for Christians. A key figure throughout is the Muslim philosopher Averroes, whose thinking on the relation between religion and philosophy is a model for Dante's pragmatic understanding of religion. The book poses a challenge to the current orthodoxies of Dante scholarship by offering an alternative to the theological approach that has dominated interpretations of the "Comedy" for the past half century. It also serves as a general introduction to Dante's thought and will be of interest to readers wishing to explore the Islamic roots of Western values.

This edited volume is a compilation of original scholarly papers on the theme of cultural diversity in Islamic thought and practice under conditions of early and late modernity, with a specific contemporary focus on the crisis of religious tolerance in the Muslim world. Particular emphasis is placed upon Islamic concepts of cultural diversity as they contrast to the traditional Western liberal approach that takes a neutral position on tolerance to cultural difference.

In this volume Henry Corbin emphasizes the differences between the exoteric and esoteric forms of Islam. He also reveals that whereas in the West philosophy and religion were at odds, they were inseparably linked, at least during this period, in the Islamic world.

A valuable section of notes and appendices includes original translation of numerous Sufi treatises.

First published in 2008. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This work was originally published in 1966. Long regarded as a classic, this volume argues that Afghani and 'Abduh should be considered subverters rather than reformers of Islam. It addresses the spread of concealed unbelief and atheism in Muslim society towards the end of the nineteenth century, and shows how both Afghani and 'Abduh, while making a show of their piety, really held esoteric beliefs quite incompatible with orthodox and traditional Islam.

This collection of essays by one of the best known contemporary Muslim scholars writing in English covers many facets of Islamic life and thought. The author has brought together studies dealing with the practical as well as intellectual aspects of Islam in both their historical and contemporary reality. The contemporary significance of themes such as religion and secularism, the meaning of freedom, and the tradition of Islamic science and philosophy is given particular attention.

Originally published in 1964, this volume gathers together extracts from many of Arberry's best-known works and supplements them with a selection of previously unpublished translations. The material therefore presents a vivid picture of the richness and variety of Islamic civilization from its origins to the late twentieth century.

Originally published in 1962, this volume is a historical summary which describes the main events in the rise and evolution of this world religion and indicates its significance for present-day relations between the faiths.

Originally published in 1986, this volume deals with the historical, philosophical and psychological concepts found in Islamic medical practices, and covers Islamic ideas on physiological, pathological, curative and preventative medicine. This was the first systematic study of Islamic medicine to be published in the English language and continues to have much relevance at a time when interest both in Islamic thought and in alternatives to conventional medicine is strong.

What is happening in Islam is of concern to more than Muslims. The Qur'an is the prime possession of Muslims: how then, are they reading and understanding their sacred Book today? This volume, originally published in 1985, examines eight writers from India, Egypt, Iran and Senegal. Their way with the Qur'an indicates how some in Islam respond to the pressures in life and thought, associated in the West with thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Marx, Camus, Kafka, Jung, Fanon and De Chardin.

Originally published in 1967, this Companion is designed to help readers of the Qur'an by giving them necessary background information. An account is given of ideas peculiar to the Qur'an, and the main variant interpretations are noted. A full index of Qur'anic proper names and an index of words commented on has been provided. Based on A J Arberry's translation, this Companion can be used with other translations, or indeed with the original text, since the verses are numbered.

Originally published in 1958, this volume covers important aspects of Islamic history and culture: Arabia before the Prophet The Prophet The Koran and Islam The Caliphate From the Caliphate to the end of the Ottoman The Crusades The Maghreb Muslim Spain The Sharia Philosophy The Sciences Literature The Arts Problems of the Twentieth Century Arab World

The essays in this volume deal with three fundamental problems in Islamic civilization; the growth among Muslims of a consciousness of belonging to a culture; the unity of Muslim civilization as expressed in literature, political thought, attitude to science and urban structure; and the interaction of Islam with other civilizations.

Horse of Karbala is a study of Muharram rituals and interfaith relations in three locations in India: Ladakh, Darjeeling, and Hyderabad. These rituals commemorate an event of vital importance to Shia Muslims: the seventh-century death of the Imam Husain, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the battlefield of Karbala in Iraq. Pinault examines three different forms of ritual commemoration of Husain’s death--poetry-recital and self-flagellation in Hyderabad; stick-fighting in Darjeeling; and the “Horse of Karbala” procession, in which a stallion representing the mount ridden in battle by Husain is made the center of a public parade in Ladakh and other Indian localities. The book looks at how publicly staged rituals serve to mediate communal relations: in Hyderabad and Darjeeling, between Muslim and Hindu populations; in Ladakh, between Muslims and Buddhists. Attention is also given to controversies within Muslim communities over issues related to Muharram such as the belief in intercession by the Karbala Martyrs on behalf of individual believers.

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya on Divine Wisdom and the Problem of Evil is a translation of selections from two of Ibn Qayyim's books Key to the Blissful Abode and Remedy for Those who Question on Matters Concerning Divine Decree, Predestination, Wisdom and Causality. As with all his other writings, Ibn al-Qayyim's foremost goal is to establish the wisdom of God, the primacy of the Qur'an and Sunna, and the congruity between reason and revelation. In the present selections, Ibn al-Qayyim focuses on the application of the wisdom of God to the existence of evil.Ibn al-Qayyim first discusses twenty-six wise purposes behind God creating humanity and settling them on Earth. His perspective is that whatever exists in this world is either purely or preponderantly good, or indirectly leads to a greater good. Ibn Qayyim then explores how the presence of evil allows the manifestation of many of God's Beautiful Names, glorious attributes and compassionate actions. While for humanity, the existence of the evil provides the righteous with opportunities to strive against it; for Paradise can only be reached by 'traversing a bridge of hardships and tribulations'.The discussions of the existence of evil is followed by thirty wise purposes and secrets in God allowing people to sin. Prominent among them are that God loves repentance and loves to manifest His Attributes of forgiveness and mercy. Here, Ibn al-Qayyim also debates at length whether the punishment of Hellfire will be eternal or whether it will come to an end. He favours the the latter position in accordance with the Qur'anic verse 107 of the Chapter Hud and because of God's mercy.

Discussing the history and civilization of Islam from its origins until the late twentieth century, this set examines the political and cultural development of Islam as well as Islamic sexuality, philosophy, and medicine. It also includes works by Akbar Ahmed, A J Arberry, Abdelwahab Bouhdiba, Muhammad Salim Khan, Henri Pirenne, and A S Tritton.

Sufism, the mystical movement within Islam, has, in a thousand years of history has powerfully influenced the life, art and literature of the Muslim peoples. It has supplied the element of personal devotion and direct apprehension of Divine Realities which the more formal and practical character of orthodox ritual tended to overshadow. Originally published between 1950 and 1987, the volumes in this mini-set include works by A J Arberry, Henry Corbin, Rom Landau, Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

Sayyid Amjad Hussain Shah Naqavi's introduction and annotated scholarly translation of Ayatollah Khomeini's The Mystery of Prayer brings to light a rarely studied dimension of an author better known for his revolutionary politics. Writing forty years before the Islamic revolution, Khomeini shows a formidable level of insight into the spiritual aspects of Islamic prayer. Through discussions on topics such as spiritual purity, the presence of the heart before God, and the stations of the spiritual wayfarer, Khomeini elucidates upon the nature of reality as the countenance of the divine. Drawing upon scriptural sources and the Shi'ah intellectual and mystical tradition, the subtlety of the work has led to it being appreciated as one of Khomeini's most original works in the field of gnosis.

'A powerful corrective' Guardian

'This should be compulsory reading' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

'For anyone interested in the future of Islam, both in Britain and the Islamic world, this is an important book' The Times

The gulf between Islam and the West is widening. A faith rich with strong values and traditions, observed by nearly two billion people is seen by the West as something to be feared rather than understood. Sensational headlines and hard-line policies spark enmity, while ignoring the feelings, narratives and perceptions that preoccupy Muslims today.

The House of Islam seeks to provide entry to the minds and hearts of Muslims the world over. It introduces us to the kindness of Mohammed; the beauty of Islamic art and the permeation of the divine in public spaces; and the tension between mysticism and literalism that still threatens the House of Islam.

Ed Husain expertly and compassionately guides us through the nuances of Islam and its people, contending that the Muslim world need not be a stranger to the West, nor its enemy, but a peaceable ally.

In secular Europe the veracity of modern science is almost always taken for granted. Whether they think of the evolutionary proofs of Darwin or of spectacular investigation into the boundaries of physics conducted by CERN's Large Hadron Collider, most people assume that scientific enquiry goes to the heart of fundamental truths about the universe. Yet elsewhere, science is under siege. In the USA, Christian fundamentalists contest whether evolution should be taught in schools at all. And in Muslim countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Pakistan and Malaysia, a mere 15 per cent of those recently surveyed believed Darwin's theory to be 'true' or 'probably true'. This thoughtful and passionately argued book contends absolutely to the contrary: not only that evolutionary theory does not contradict core Muslim beliefs, but that many scholars, from Islam's golden age to the present, adopted a worldview that accepted evolution as a given. Guessoum suggests that the Islamic world, just like the Christian, needs to take scientific questions - 'quantum questions' - with the utmost seriousness if it is to recover its true heritage and integrity. In its application of a specifically Muslim perspective to important topics like cosmology, divine action and evolution, the book makes a vital contribution to debate in the disputed field of 'science and religion'.