Public interest in the religion of Islam and in Muslim communities in recent years has generated an impetus for Western Universities to establish an array of Institutes and programs dedicated to the study of Islam. Despite the growth in number of programs dedicated to this study, very little attention has been paid to the appropriate shape of such programs and the assumptions that ought to underlie such a study."

The Teaching and Study of Islam in Western Universities" attempts to address two central questions that arise through the teaching of Islam. Firstly, what relation is there...

Well known throughout the Islamic world as the foundational thinker for a significant portion of the contemporary Muslim intelligentsia, Sayyid Qutb (1906 1966) was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and was jailed by Gamal Abdul Nasser s government in 1954. He became one of the most uncompromising voices of the movement we now call Islamism and is perhaps best known for his book, Malam fi al-tariq.
A Child from the Village was written just prior to Qutb s conversion to the Islamist cause and reflects his concerns for social justice. Interst in Qutb s writing has...