Akbar S Ahmed & Tamara Sonn 
The SAGE Handbook of Islamic Studies [EPUB ebook] 

… 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.

Зміст

Introduction: Current Issues in Islamic Studies – Laura Thomas

PART ONE: ISLAM AND MULTICULTURALISM

Islam as a Community of Discourse and a World System – John Obert Voll

Islam, Diaspora and Multiculturalism – Bryan S Turner

Andalusian Jurist, Berber Commander and Mozarab Rebel – Camilo Gomez-Rivas

Understanding Iberia′s Islamic Experience

PART TWO: FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAM

The Qur′an – Qaiser Shahzad

Islamic Concepts of Justice – Lawrence Rosen

Islamic Economics: Salient Features and a Critical Survey – S M Ghazanfar

From Madrasa to University: The Challenges and Formats of Islamic Education – Dietrich Reetz

Political Philosophy and Political Thought in the Medieval Arabic-Islamic Tradition of the Middle East – Charles E Butterworth

PART THREE: CULTURE OF ISLAM

Arabic-Islamic Literature: Continuities and Transformations – Asma Afsaruddin

Islamic Art: Visual Manifestations of a Faith and a Culture – Walter Denny

PART FOUR: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ISLAM

Women′s Agency in Muslim Society – Amineh Ahmed

Islam and Democracy: Is Turkey an Exception or a Role Model? – Haldun Gülalp

Islam in the West – Earle H Waugh

PART FIVE: DIVERSITY WITHIN ISLAM

Shi′a Islam – Ayatollah Dr Seyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad

Doctrinal Sufism and Theoretical Gnosis – Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Contemporary Sufism: Islam without Borders – Robert Sampson

Про автора

Professor Sonn’s books include Interpreting Islam: Bandali Jawzi′s Islamic Intellectual History (Oxford, 1996; winner of Choice Book of the Year award); Comparing Religions through Law: Judaism and Islam (with J. Neusner; Routledge 1999; named ‘One of the Best Books of the 1990s’ by the Journal of Law and Religion), Islam: A Brief History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, an expanded and updated edition of A Brief History of Islam, Blackwell 2004), The Sage Handbook of Islamic Studies (2010), and The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies (with J. Morreall; Wiley-Blackwell, 2011).

She has contributed chapters and articles to numerous books, journals, and encyclopedias; and her works have been translated into Arabic and Bengali. She served as senior editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Islam (2003), and associate editor of Oxford′s encyclopedia The Islamic World Past and Present (2004). She is currently an editor of Oxford Islamic Studies Online, and of Oxford′s Encyclopedia of the Islamic World (2009). As well, she is editor-in-chief of Oxford Bibliographies Online–Islamic Studies, and co-editor-in-chief of Wiley-Blackwell′s online journal of Religious Studies Religion Compass.

Past-president of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, Professor Sonn is a member of the academic advisory council for the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, a member of the board of directors of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy; and a member of the editorial boards Muslim World, American Journal for Islamic Social Science, and several other journals. She has lectured in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and has received grants from the United States Institute of Peace, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the U.S. Department of State, and served as senior advisor for a Rockefeller Brothers Foundation-funded study of Islam in Asia for the National Bureau of Asian Research.