Religion & Mythology > Islam

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Science and Islam - the official tie-in with the BBC TV series of the same name - tells the amazing story of one of history's most misunderstood yet rich and fertile periods in science. An enlightening, enthralling and in-depth exploration, it charts a religious empire's scientific heyday, its intellectual demise and the numerous debates that now surround it. Between the 8th and 14th centuries, scholars and researchers working in Islamic territories from Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan to Cordoba in Spain advanced our knowledge ... read more

Western civilization owes the Islamic world an immense debt for its cultural and intellectual gifts, which created the true foundations of the Renaissance. In these troubled and extremist times, when the religion and culture of Islam are under seemingly perpetual attack, it is salutary to consider how much we, in the Christian West, have in common with, and how much we owe to, the spiritual insights of that great culture. Religious tolerance, respect for learning, the concepts of chivalry and brotherhood

Covered from head to toe, and with only her eyes visible, a Muslim woman on a western city street rarely fails to provoke a strong reaction. Feelings of shock, horror, repulsion, pity or even fear are not uncommon. But have you ever wondered who it is behind that veil and what makes her tick? Ever wondered what her life is really like and how her dreams, hopes and aspirations differ from yours? Now, in From My Sisters

In this brilliant look at the rise of political Islam, the distinguished political scientist and anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani brings his expertise and insight to bear on a question many Americans have been asking since 9/11: how did this happen? Mamdani dispels the idea of "good" (secular, westernized) and "bad" (premodern, fanatical) Muslims, pointing out that these judgments refer to political rather than cultural or religious identities. The presumption that there are "good" Muslims readily available to be split off from "ba... read more

Sufism has made significant contributions to the spread of Islam and the development of various aspects of Islamic civilisation. Many conservative Muslims disagree with many popular Sufi practices, particularly saint worship, the visiting of tombs, and the incorporation of non-Islamic customs. Consequently, in recent centuries Sufism has been a target for Islamic reformist and modernist movements. Nasr is the preeminent Sufi scholar in the U.S., and in the tradition of Martin Buber's I and Thou, here provides the beliefs and vision... read more

The Man Who Inspired the World's Fastest-Growing Religion "Muhammad" presents a fascinating portrait of the founder of a religion that continues to change the course of world history. Muhammad's story is more relevant than ever because it offers crucial insight into the true origins of an increasingly radicalized Islam. Countering those who dismiss Islam as fanatical and violent, Armstrong offers a clear, accessible, and balanced portrait of the central figure of one of the world's great religions. Trade paperback (US) Unsewn... read more

From the bestselling writer of The History of God and the widely acclaimed Islam - A Short History comes another valuable addition to the Eminent Lives Series: Karen Armstrong's Muhammad. Muhammad recognized and seeked to transform a period in seventh-century Arabia, a spirit of the time he named jahilliyah. Usually understood to mean a pre-Islamic period and a 'Time of Ignorance', it refers to a state of mind that caused violence and terror in seventh century Arabia. Quite simply, his life was a jihad, which does not mean hol... read more

John L. Esposito is one of the world's leading authorities on Islam. Now, in this brilliant portrait of Islam today--and tomorrow--he draws on a lifetime of thought and research to sweep away the negative stereotypes and provide an accurate, richly nuanced, and revelatory account of the fastest growing religion in the world. Here Esposito explores the major questions and issues that face Islam in the 21st century and that will deeply affect global politics. Are Islam and the West locked in a deadly clash of civilizations? Is Islam ... read more

Most people in the West know very little about the prophet Muhammad. The acclaimed religious writer Karen Armstrong has written a biography which will give us a more accurate and profound understanding of Islam and the people who adhere to it so strongly. Muhammad also offers challenging comparisons with the two religions most closely related to it - Judaism and Christianity. 'Armstrong has a dazzling ability: she can take a long and complex subject and reduce it to its fundamentals, without over-simplifying' Sister Wendy Beckett, Sunday Times

The great scholar of Islam directly confronts the events of September 11th and the reasons behind Islamic terrorism in the modern world - an international bestsellerPresident Bush has made it clear that we are engaged in a war against terrorism. But for Osama bin Laden and his followers this is religious war, a war for Islam against infidels, especially the United States, the greatest power in the world of the infidels. In this book Bernard Lewis shows us where the anger and frustration have come from, and the extent to which almos... read more

The origins, evolution, and future of Islam Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded in ignorance and fear. To many in the west, Islam means jihad, veiled women and suicide bombers. Yet these represent only fringe elements of the world's fastest growing religion. While there have been a number of successful books on the topic of Islamic history - from Karen Armstrong's Islam: A Brief History to Bernard Lewis' The Crisis of Islam, there is surprisingly no book for a popular audience about Isl... read more

Ziauddin Sardar tells of his quest to grasp the meaning of his religion in contemporary society, his journey taking him across the Muslim world.Ziauddin Sardar, one of the foremost Muslim intellectuals in Britain, learned the Koran at his mother's knee in Pakistan. As a young student in London he set out to grasp the meaning of his religion, and, hopefully, to find paradise, his quest leading him throughout the Muslim world, from Iran to China to Turkey. Along the way he accepts that he may never reach paradise but it's the journey... read more

Few books in history are as poorly understood as the Qur'an. Sent down in a series of revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, it is the unmediated word of Allah. The book is revered by Muslims throughout the world, in whom it inspires unparalleled levels of devotion, passion, fear and, sometimes, incomprehension. In this short book, the distinguished scholar Bruce Lawrence shows precisely why the Qur'an is Islam. He describes the origins of the faith in seventh-century Arabia and explains why the Qur'an needs to be both memorised ... read more

This work continues in the superbly priced series of compact, beautifully presented editions of sacred texts selected from the major writings of the world's spiritual traditions in reliable and accessible translations. At the beginning of the 21st Century, there is a longing for spiritual truths and values, an urge to break free from the orthodoxies of our own cultural heritage and to explore beyond its frontiers in search of fulfilment and enlightenment. This search for truth leads us to the great sacred texts of the world. thi... read more

The "New York Times" bestseller: "Historically incisive, geographically broad-reaching, and brimming with illuminating anecdotes."--Max Rodenbeck, "New York Review of Books" Profiled on the front page of the "Wall Street Journal," Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr has become one of America's leading commentators on current events in the Middle East, admired and welcomed by both media and government for his "concise and coherent" analysis ("Wall Street Journal"). In this "smart, clear and timely" book ("Washington Post"), Nasr brillia... read more