In recent months, much attention has been paid to Islam and the greater Muslim world. Some analysis has been openly hostile, while even more has been overly simplistic. Islam in Context goes behind the recent crisis to discuss the history of Islam, describe its basic structure and beliefs, explore the current division between Muslim moderates and extremists, and suggest a way forward.
Authors Peter G. Riddell and Peter Cotterell draw from sources such as the Qur'an, early Christian chronicles of the Crusades, and contemporary Muslim and non-Muslim writings. They move beyond the...

This volume comprises 17 articles on various aspects of Islamic Studies, brought together to celebrate the scholarly work of Professor A.H. Johns, which spans Islam of the medieval Middle East and Islam in Southeast Asia. The first part of the book contains 9 articles which deal with Islam as a scriptural religion, concerned to revere and interpret the Qur'ān, and promote the spread and doctrinal purity of Islam. Subjects included are Qur'anic exegesis, problems of translating the Qur'ān into Chinese, and analyses of the theological reasoning used by Muslim scholars. The second part...

The relationship between Christianity and Islam is complex. This collection of essays by scholars and human rights activists engages with some of the most pressing issues in Christian-Muslim relations, addressing matters of theology, the encounter between civilisations and inter-religious affairs. Some of the most controversial and sensitive questions are considered, ranging from sacred text to the politics of multiculturalism. These are key questions for the 21st century, a period when Christianity and Islam are destined to interact more closely than ever before in human history.

Liu Zhi (c.1662-c.1730), a well-known Muslim scholar in China, published in Chinese outstanding theological works, short treatises, and easy-to-memorize short poems on Islam. He encountered various challenges in his interpretation and transmission of Islamic texts. First, traditional Arabic and Persian Islamic texts used Arabic and Persian concepts to explain Islam. This book answers the question, did Liu Zhi communicate difficult Islamic concepts? Second, Islam has insisted on monotheism. This book discusses whether and how Liu Zhi integrated the basic religious living of the Hui Muslims...

What happens when Muslim women gather together at the mosque to read the Qur'an, learn, and pray? How does family loyalty interact with mosque attendance for women? This book explores the growing Muslim women's piety movement through looking at one women's program in a Syrian suburban mosque. Community models shape individual behavior. The place and power of blessing help define the boundaries between orthodox and popular Islam. Modesty and shame, feasts and fasting, purity and prayer, interact to shape daily life possibilities for women involved in the mosque program. At the same time, the...