Islam: History, Religion, and Politics(Wiley Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion)

Now available in a fully-revised and updated third edition, Islam: History, Religion and Politics, provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the core teachings, historical development, and contemporary public struggles of Islam. Features a new chapter on the Arab Spring and the ongoing struggles for representative governance throughout the Muslim world Includes up-to-date analysis of the civil wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, including the rise of terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS Spans Islamic history from the life of Muhammad and the birth of Islamic ideals, through Islam’s phenomenal geographical expansion and cultural development, to the creation of modern states and its role in today’s global society Written by a leading scholar of Islamic studies

Table of Contents:
Foreword ix Preface xi Maps xiii 1 Many Paths to One God: Establishing the Ideals 1 The Quran 1 The Quran and Other Scriptures 7 Themes of the Quran 12 The Exemplary Life of Muhammad, Prophet of Islam: The Sunna 21 The Early Muslim Community and the Pillars of Islam 24 The Successors (“Caliphs”) 27 Early Communal Disputes 29 Conclusion 31 2 The Pursuit of Knowledge in the Service of God and Humanity: The Golden Age 34 Institutions 35 Law 36 Political Structure 43 Cultural Achievements 45 Spirituality and the Mystical Tradition: Sufism 54 Conclusion 68 3 Division and Reorganization 71 The Crusades and Other Disasters 71 The Decline of the Abbasids and Rise of the Ottomans 77 Persia: The Safavid Empire 84 India and the Rise of the Mughals 87 Understanding Developments in Islamic History 95 Conclusion 99 4 Colonialism and Reform 101 Colonialism 101 The Outcome of World War I 110 The Effects of Colonialism and Themes of Islamic Reform 117 Modern Iterations of Islamic Reform and New Challenges 125 Islamist Approaches to Reform 129 Conclusion: Mainstream Islamists and Radicals 135 5 Contemporary Islam: The Challenges of Democratization and Complications of Global Politics 139 Turkey 141 Iran 144 Pakistan, Afghanistan, and al]Qaeda 154 Indonesia 166 Tunisia and the Arab Spring 168 What about Terrorism? ISIS, Boko Haram, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hezbollah 173 Conclusion: Asking the Right Questions 185 Further Reading 195 Index 000

About the Author :
Tamara Sonn is the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in the History of Islam at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. She has published numerous books, including Interpreting Islam: Bandali Jawzi's Islamic Intellectual History (1996), Comparing Religions through Law: Judaism and Islam (with J. Neusner, 1999), and most recently The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies (with J. Morreall, 2011) and 50 Great Myths About Religion (with J. Morreall, 2014).