Voices of Islam: [5 Volumes]

Front Cover
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006 M12 30 - 1402 pages
Despite frequent and extensive publications on Islam, very few Americans, indeed very few non-Muslims, truly understand the faith or the more than one billion adherents who live it. This set presents the diversity and richness of Islam, filling in the blanks and expanding our knowledge and understanding. Portraying Muslims in all their humanity and diversity balances the images that have bombarded society and presents the reader with a fuller and more accurate picture of the Islamic faith and what it means to live as a Muslim—in Muslim communities, and as part of a broader tapestry of pluralism in the nations of the world.

What does it mean to share Muslim concerns? To experience Muslim spirituality? What is the difference between Sunni and Shiite sects? Why do Muslims pray so frequently? What is the reality of Muslim marriage and gender relations? What is the meaning of jihad and martyrdom to a practicing Muslim? What role do the arts and humanities play in modern Muslim life? How are Islamic children raised? These questions and others are answered in these volumes, which bring together Muslim voices from around the world, including men and women, scholars and laypersons, fundamentalists and progressives, and others from various cultural, political, and Islamic backgrounds. Personal experiences and poetry are included to illustrate the many different expressions of Islam.

About the author (2006)

Vincent J. Cornell is Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. From 2000-2006, he was Professor of History and Director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies at the University of Arkansas. From 1991-2000, he taught at Duke University. His published works include over twenty articles and three books. He lived and worked in Morocco for nearly six years, and spent considerable time both teaching and doing research in Egypt, Tunisia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Omid Safi is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the Chair for the Study of Islam at the American Academy of Religion. His book The Politics of Knowledge in Premodern Islam, dealing with medieval Islamic history and politics, was published in 2006.

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