This book is about the “Hundred-Word Eulogy,” a 100-character praise of Islam and Prophet Muhammad written by Zhu Yuanzhang, who reigned as the Hongwu Emperor of China from 1368 to 1398. The analysis of the eulogy is augmented with relevant Islamic texts. The book has become quite revered by many Muslim individuals and organizations across the globe. Yet, no work exists that has systematically analyzed the text. The purpose of this book, then, is to fill this vacuum. Methods from the fields of history, literary analysis, and pragmatic linguistics are employed to provide multidisciplinary and comprehensive analyses of the text, undergirded by the notion of meaning.

The information on Muslims around the World is collected and presented in this book. The Muslim population percentage in major non-Muslim countries of the World, their social, economic, political, cultural, status in these as well as other fields substantiated by numbers. Similar information about the Muslims as well as minorities in the Muslim countries is presented in this book making it overall entertaining and informative at the same time.

Tan Ta Sen has modestly suggested that, as a book to illustrate the peaceful impact of culture contact, he is concerned to show how such cultural influences not only led to transmissions, conversions and transferences involving Inner Asian Muslims from China and Yunnan Muslims, Chams, Javanese, Malays, Arabs and Indians, but also enabled many Chinese in the Malay world to retain their non-Muslim cultural traits. In placing Cheng Ho's voyages in this context, the author offers a fresh perspective on a momentous set of events in Chinese maritime history. - Professor Wang Gungwu, National University of Singapore Tan Ta Sen's book on Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia is not the first one on the subject, but it is the first book that puts Cheng Hos voyages in the larger context of "culture contact" in China and beyond. He has garnered numerous sources, from published documents to architectural sites and buildings, to support his arguments. He has done much more than previous scholars writing on this subject. - Professor Leo Suryadinata, Chinese Heritage Centre (Singapore) This long-awaited book is welcomed by the academic community ... Tan Ta Sen has used historical facts to strengthen the argument on the existence of the "Third Wave", i.e. "the Chinese Wave", in the spread of Islam in the Southeast Asian region. Until now, we only know two major waves, i.e. the India-Gujarat Wave and the Middle East Wave through the development of trade relations. - Professor A. Dahana, University of Indonesia (Jakarta)

This book provides an overview of the theological views on takfīr in classical and medieval Islamic thought, explores the Islamic context of the concept, and considers the following questions: In what context does the term appear in the Qur’ān and ḥadīths (the sayings of the Prophet Muḥammad)? In what circumstances did Muslim theologians engage in takfīr, and what were the social, religious, theological, and political implications on the society? How did the meaning of takfīr evolve in classical and later Islamic theology, and what justifications did prominent medieval Muslim theologians and jurists provide for declaring other Muslims kuffār? This book attempts to demonstrate how takfīr has evolved throughout the centuries from being a term used to condemn (and warn against) unacceptable actions to a term used on individuals and communities to strip them of their belief, dignity, and linkage to the Divine (i.e., declaring them unbelievers). This book also attempts to shed the light on how the theological discourse on takfīr in classical and medieval Islam has made its impact on twentieth- and twenty-first century groups.

"Along with a list of abbreviations and acronyms and a map of the Islamic world, a chronology lists important dates from the 6th to the end of the 20th century, and an introductory chapter outlines the history of Islam. A comprehensive bibliography guides the serious student for further research."--BOOK JACKET.