Handbook Of Contemporary Islam And Muslim Lives

This is a comprehensive handbook which for the first time provides a general yet detailed discussion of contemporary Islam and various aspects of Muslim lives. It offers a much needed tool for an introduction to the world of contemporary Muslim life and debate, and a link of continuity between the Muslim world and Muslims living and born in the West. The reader gains access to articles by leading scholars who observe phenomena in a post-9/11 context and from a global viewpoint. The topics have been carefully selected to provide the reader with both the necessary general view that a good handbook must offer while presenting details and information, as well as ethnographic examples, to inspire further research and interest. Indeed, each chapter will offer topical reading suggestions from which one can expand the material discussed in the chapter. The approach of the handbook is mainly social-anthropological, but attention is given to other disciplines like history, geography, political studies, as well as gender studies and cultural studies.

With new topics and contributions, this updated second edition discusses the history and contemporary presence of Islam in Europe and America. The book debates the relevance and multi-faceted participation of Muslims in the dynamics of Western societies, challenging the changing perception on both sides. Collating over 30 chapters, written by experts from around the world, the volume presents a wide range of perspectives. Case studies from the Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula between the Middle Ages and the modern age set off the Handbook, along with an outline of Muslims in America up to the twentieth century. The second part covers concepts around new conditions in terms of consolidating identities, the emergence of new Muslim actors, the appearance of institutions and institutional attitudes, the effects of Islamic presence on the arts and landscapes of the West, and the relational dynamics like ethics and gender. Exploring the influence of Islam, particularly its impact on society, culture and politics, this interdisciplinary volume is a key resource for policymakers, academics and students interested in the history of Islam, religion and the contemporary relationship between Islam and the West.

This volume unfolds the ebbs and flows of Muslim thought in different regions of the world, as well as the struggles between the different intellectual discourses that have surfaced against this backdrop. With a focus on Turkey, Egypt, Iran and the Indian subcontinent – regions that, in spite of their particular histories and forms of thought, are uniquely placed as a mosaic that illustrates the intertwined nature of the development of Muslim socio-political thought – it sheds light on the swing between right and left in different regions, the debates surrounding nationalism, the influence of socialism and liberalism, the rise of Islamism and the conflict between state bureaucracy and social movements. Exploring themes of civil society and democracy, it also considers current trends in Muslim thought and possible future directions. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the fields of sociology, anthropology, political science, history and political economy, as well as those with interests in the study of religion, the development of Muslim thought, and the transformation of Muslim societies in recent decades.

This is a comprehensive handbook which for the first time provides a general yet detailed discussion of contemporary Islam and various aspects of Muslim lives. It offers a much needed tool for an introduction to the world of contemporary Muslim life and debate, and a link of continuity between the Muslim world and Muslims living and born in the West. The reader gains access to articles by leading scholars who observe phenomena in a post-9/11 context and from a global viewpoint. The topics have been carefully selected to provide the reader with both the necessary general view that a good handbook must offer while presenting details and information, as well as ethnographic examples, to inspire further research and interest. Indeed, each chapter will offer topical reading suggestions from which one can expand the material discussed in the chapter. The approach of the handbook is mainly social-anthropological, but attention is given to other disciplines like history, geography, political studies, as well as gender studies and cultural studies.

... a welcome addition to the already available introductory works on Islam. The chapters of the book combine depth of analysis and erudition on a wide range of subjects. Thus in a single volume one finds several superbly written papers not only on the foundations of Islam and the manifestations of Islamic culture but also on issues which are at the centre of contemporary debates among Muslims such as multiculturalism, social justice, democracy and diversity. As a sourcebook this work is equally useful for students, academicians and general readers′ - Zafar Ishaq Ansari, Director, Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University Islamic Studies is at a critical moment in its history. It seeks both to maintain its rich history and to engage with other - sometimes dominant - cultural and political studies. This tension is producing complex changes in both the theory and the practice of Islamic Studies. This timely and stimulating Handbook, edited by world-class experts in the field, provides a comprehensive guide to Islamic Studies today. It examines the main issues in the field and explores the key debates. It provides readers with an indispensable, balanced guide to the roots of Islam and the challenges it faces in the twenty-first century. The Handbook includes discussions of: - Islam as a community of discourse and a global system - Islam, diaspora and multiculturalism - The Qu′ran today - Islam as a moral and judicial system - Islam and politics - Islam and culture - Diversities and Islam Concise, level-headed and penetrating, this collection will be of interest to anyone who studies contemporary Islam. It brings together an unparalleled collection of international scholars who illuminate some of the most urgent and complex issues in the world today.

Considered the most authoritative single-volume reference work on Islam in the contemporary world, the German-language Der Islam in der Gegenwart, currently in its fifth edition, offers a wealth of authoritative information on the religious, political, social, and cultural life of Islamic nations and of Islamic immigrant communities elsewhere. Now, Cornell University Press is making this invaluable resource accessible to English-language readers. More current than the latest German edition on which it is based, Islam in the World Today covers a comprehensive array of topics in concise essays by some of the world's leading experts on Islam, including: • the history of Islam from the earliest years through the twentieth century, with particular attention to Sunni and Shi'i Islam and Islamic revival movements during the last three centuries; • data on the advance of Islam along with current population statistics; • Muslim ideas on modern economics, on social order, and on attempts to modernize Islamic law (shari'a) and apply it in contemporary Muslim societies; • Islam in diaspora, especially the situation in Europe and America; • secularism, democracy, and human rights; and • women in Islam Twenty-four essays are each devoted to a specific Muslim country or a country with significant Muslim minorities, spanning Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. Additional essays illuminate Islamic culture, exploring local traditions; the languages and dialects of Muslim peoples; and art, architecture, and literature. Detailed bibliographies and indexes ensure the book's usefulness as a reference work.

""Islam and Women" is a very broad topic and as complex as the lives of women that it encompasses in a broad swath of the world. In its wide-ranging coverage of issues subsumed under this umbrella topic, this volume is purposefully multi-disciplinary. The chapters are authoritative contributions from well-known scholars who are at the cutting-edge of scholarship on inter alia Qur'anic hermeneutics and hadith studies, women's legal and social rights, women's scholarly, cultural, economic, and political activities in the pre-modern and modern Islamic societies, the rise of Islamic feminism and women's activism and movements in a number of contemporary Muslim-majority countries and regions, including Egypt and North Africa, Turkey, Iran, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region, South and Southeast Asia, and in Muslim-minority contexts in western Europe, the United States, and China. The politicized portrayal of Muslim women, especially of those who wear the headscarf (hijab), in the global Western-dominated media and the weaponization of their bodies in certain kinds of political and feminist discourses also receive attention. These chapters delineate a broad spectrum of views on these key issues that are prevalent inside and outside of academia and provide sophisticated and careful analysis of textual sources and of broad sociological and political trends. Many of these essays emphasize above all the diversity present in Muslim women's lives, both in the pre-modern and modern periods, and pay close attention to the historical and political contexts that shaped their lives and framed the thinking and actions of key female figures throughout Islamic history. Such an approach results in fine-grained macro- and micro-studies of Muslim women's lives that problematize reified assumptions of gender and agency in the context of Muslim-majority societies"--

Given the intense political scrutiny of Islam and Muslims, which often centres on gendered concerns, The Routledge Handbook of Islam and Gender is an outstanding reference source to key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising over 30 chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into seven parts: Foundational texts in historical and contemporary contexts Sex, sexuality, and gender difference Gendered piety and authority Political and religious displacements Negotiating law, ethics, and normativity Vulnerability, care, and violence in Muslim families Representation, commodification, and popular culture These sections examine key debates and problems, including: feminist and queer approaches to the Qur’an, hadith, Islamic law, and ethics, Sufism, devotional practice, pilgrimage, charity, female religious authority, global politics of feminism, material and consumer culture, masculinity, fertility and the family, sexuality, sexual rights, domestic violence, marriage practices, and gendered representations of Muslims in film and media. The Routledge Handbook of Islam and Gender is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, Islamic studies, and gender studies. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as cultural studies, area studies, sociology, anthropology, and history.