Islam: A Very Short IntroductionIslam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction offers an essential insight into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, why the Shar'ia (Islamic law) is such an important aspect of Islamic life, and why the greatest `Jihad' (holy war) is now against the enemies of Islam, rather than the struggle against evil. In addition he prompts further questioning into the ideas of `Islamic resurgence' as both an old and new concept, whether or not women can find fulfilment and equality within an Islamic framework, and the sort of problems facing Islam and its confrontation with the modern world. - ;Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam, both as ideology and religion. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction therefore offers an essential insight into issues such as the why the greatest `Jihad' (holy war) is now against the enemies of Islam, rather than the struggle against evil, why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, and how the Shar'ia (Islamic law) has become such an important aspect of Islamic life. In addition he prompts further questioning into the ideas of `Islamic resurgence' as both an old and new concept, whether or not women can find fulfilment and equality within an Islamic framework, and the sort of problems facing Islam and its confrontations with the modern world. - |
Contents
The Quran and the Prophet | |
Divine Unicity | |
The Sharia and its Consequences | |
Women and Family | |
The Two Jihads | |
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Common terms and phrases
according activity al-islam Algeria Allah Arab Arabian argued authority Ayatollah became becomes believer brotherhood Caliph century Christian clergy cultural dar al-islam divine doctrine Egypt élite ethical faith female fiqh forbidden God’s commands hadith hadith literature Hajj Hasan historical holy human Hussein Ibn Arabi ideology ijma ijtihad Imam increasingly India institutions interpretation Iran Iraq Islamic law Islamist Isma‘ili jahiliya Jews jihad jurists Ka‘ba khamr Khan Khomeini kinship known leader leadership Makka male Malise Ruthven marriage Maududi means Messenger modern modernist mosque movements Muhammad mujtahid Mulla Sadra Muslim societies Muslim world mystical non-Muslim one’s Ottoman pagan Pakistan pilgrimage political prayer Prophet punishment qiyas Quran Ramadan religion religious revealed ritual rulers rules sacred Saudi Sayyid scholars sexual Shari‘a Shi‘a Shi‘i Shi‘ism social spiritual Sufi Sufism Sunna Sunni Syria tawhid theological tradition traditionalists ulama Umar unicity University urban veil verses Western woman women