Studying the Qur'an in the Muslim Academy examines what it is like to study and teach the Qur'an at academic institutions in the Muslim world, and how politics affect scholarly interpretations of the text. Guided by the author's own journey as a student, university lecturer, and researcher in Iran, Malaysia, and New Zealand, this book provides vivid accounts of the complex academic politics he encountered. Majid Daneshgar describes the selective translation and editing of Edward Said's classic work Orientalism into various Islamic languages, and the way Said's work is weaponized to question the credibility of contemporary Western-produced scholarship in Islamic studies. Daneshgar also examines networks of journals, research centers, and universities in both Sunni and Shia contexts, and looks at examples of Quranic interpretation there. Ultimately, he offers a constructive program for enriching Islamic studies by fusing the best of Western theories with the best philological practices developed in Muslim academic contexts, aimed at encouraging respectful but critical engagement with the Qur'an.

This book demonstrates why and how it is necessary to redesign Islamic Education curriculum in the K-12 sector globally. From Western public schools that integrate Muslim perspectives to be culturally responsive, to public and private schools in Muslim minority and majority contexts that teach Islamic studies as a core subject or teach from an Islamic perspective, the volume highlights the unique global and sociocultural contexts that support the disparate trajectories of Islamic Education curricula. Divided into three distinct parts, the text discusses current Islamic education curricula and considers new areas for inclusion as part of a general renewal effort that includes developing curricula from an Islamic worldview, and the current aspirations of Islamic education globally. By providing insights on key concepts related to teaching Islam, case studies of curriculum achievements and pitfalls, and suggested processes and pillars for curriculum development, contributors present possibilities for researchers and educators to think about teaching Islam differently. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of secondary education, Islamic education, and curriculum studies. Those interested in religious education as well as the sociology and theory of religion more broadly will also enjoy this volume.

A bold new conceptualization of Islam that reflects its contradictions and rich diversity What is Islam? How do we grasp a human and historical phenomenon characterized by such variety and contradiction? What is "Islamic" about Islamic philosophy or Islamic art? Should we speak of Islam or of islams? Should we distinguish the Islamic (the religious) from the Islamicate (the cultural)? Or should we abandon "Islamic" altogether as an analytical term? In What Is Islam?, Shahab Ahmed presents a bold new conceptualization of Islam that challenges dominant understandings grounded in the categories of "religion" and "culture" or those that privilege law and scripture. He argues that these modes of thinking obstruct us from understanding Islam, distorting it, diminishing it, and rendering it incoherent. What Is Islam? formulates a new conceptual language for analyzing Islam. It presents a new paradigm of how Muslims have historically understood divine revelation—one that enables us to understand how and why Muslims through history have embraced values such as exploration, ambiguity, aestheticization, polyvalence, and relativism, as well as practices such as figural art, music, and even wine drinking as Islamic. It also puts forward a new understanding of the historical constitution of Islamic law and its relationship to philosophical ethics and political theory. A book that is certain to provoke debate and significantly alter our understanding of Islam, What Is Islam? reveals how Muslims have historically conceived of and lived with Islam as norms and truths that are at once contradictory yet coherent.

A Basic Hanafi Primer on Faith, Prayer, & the Path of SalvationAllah has commanded us to worship and obey Him, with sincerity, out of reverence, love, and thankfulness. He says in the Quran, And they are ordered only to serve Allah, keeping religion pure for Him, to remain upright, and to establish worship and to pay the poor-due. That is true religion (Quran, 98.5).This worship is not possible without knowledge. This short work outlines the absolute essentials of this knowledge: in faith, prayer, and key points related to ones life and dealings.It is based on the methodology of traditional Sunni Islam, according to the Hanafi school, the largest school of Islamic law, and its purpose is to make ones worship valid, sound, and proper in a short amount of time. Learn the basics & essentials of Islamic beliefs Make your purification and prayer proper, sound, & valid Learn key issues on the path to Paradise

John L. Esposito is one of America's leading authorities on Islam. Now, in this brilliant portrait of Islam today--and tomorrow--he draws on a lifetime of thought and research to sweep away the negative stereotypes and provide an accurate, richly nuanced, and revelatory account of the fastest growing religion in the world. Here Esposito explores the major questions and issues that face Islam in the 21st century and that will deeply affect global politics. Are Islam and the West locked in a deadly clash of civilizations? Is Islam compatible with democracy and human rights? Will religious fundamentalism block the development of modern societies in the Islamic world? Will Islam overwhelm the Western societies in which so many Muslim immigrants now reside? Will Europe become Eurabia or will the Muslims assimilate? Which Muslim thinkers will be most influential in the years to come? To answer this last question he introduces the reader to a new generation of Muslim thinkers--Tariq Ramadan, Timothy Winter, Mustafa Ceric, Amina Wadud, and others--a diverse collection of Muslim men and women, both the "Martin Luthers" and the "Billy Grahams" of Islam. We meet religious leaders who condemn suicide bombing and who see the killing of unarmed men, women, and children as "worse than murder," who preach toleration and pluralism, who advocate for women's rights. The book often underscores the unexpected similarities between the Islamic world and the West and at times turns the mirror on the US, revealing how we appear to Muslims, all to highlight the crucial point that there is nothing exceptional about the Muslim faith. Recent decades have brought extraordinary changes in the Muslim world, and in addressing all of these issues, Esposito paints a complex picture of Islam in all its diversity--a picture of urgent importance as we face the challenges of the coming century.