Muslim Identities

Muslim Identities

An Introduction to Islam

  • الكاتب: Hughes, Aaron
  • الناشر: Columbia University Press
  • ISBN: 9780231161466
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780231531924
  • مكان النشر:  New York , United States
  • رقمي: 2013
  • شهر: أبريل
  • اللغة: الإنجليزية
Rather than focus solely on theological concerns, this well-rounded introduction takes an expansive view of Islamic ideology, culture, and tradition, sourcing a range of historical, sociological, and literary perspectives. Neither overly critical nor apologetic, this book reflects the rich diversity of Muslim identities across the centuries and counters the unflattering, superficial portrayals of Islam that are shaping public discourse today.

Aaron W. Hughes uniquely traces the development of Islam in relation to historical, intellectual, and cultural influences, enriching his narrative with the findings, debates, and methodologies of related disciplines, such as archaeology, history, and Near Eastern studies. Hughes's work challenges the dominance of traditional terms and concepts in religious studies, recasting religion as a set of social and cultural facts imagined, manipulated, and contested by various actors and groups over time. Making extensive use of contemporary identity theory, Hughes rethinks the teaching of Islam and religions in general and helps facilitate a more critical approach to Muslim sources. For readers seeking a non-theological, unbiased, and richly human portrait of Islam, as well as a strong grasp of Islamic study's major issues and debates, this textbook is a productive, progressive alternative to more classic surveys.
  • [ Contents ]
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction | Religious Studies and the Academic Study of Islam
    • September 11 and the Quest for a Normative Islam
    • The Insider–Outsider Debate
    • The “Authenticity Debate” in Islamic Studies
    • Identity Formations
    • Islam and Muslim Identities
    • On Diversity
  • Part I. Origins
    • 1. Setting the Stage: Pre-Islamic Arabia
      • Pre-Islamic Arabia
      • Pre-Islamic Arabian Religions
      • Pre-Islamic Mecca
      • Monotheisms in Arabia
      • Later Muslim Accounts of Islamic Origins
      • Outsider and Skeptical Approaches to Islamic Origins
      • Islamic Origins: A Synthetic Approach
    • 2. The Making of the Last Prophet
      • Sources
      • Muhammad at Mecca
      • Muhammad at Medina
      • Muhammad and the Jews of Medina
      • Muhammad’s Wives
      • The Return to Mecca and Death of Muhammad
      • The Making of the Last Prophet
      • Polemical Literature Against Muhammad
      • The Deeds and Sayings of Muhammad: The Genre of Hadith
      • Representing Muhammad
    • 3. The Quran: The Base Narrative
      • Overview
      • Traditional Accounts
      • The Critical View
      • The Linguistic Matrix of the Ancient Near East
      • Why Don’t Muslims Have an “Old Testament”?
      • Messages and Contents
      • The Inimitability of the Quran
      • The Quran in Muslim Life
      • Tafsir: Commentary on the Quran
      • Taʾwil: Esoteric Interpretation of the Quran
  • Part II. Identity Formations
    • 4. Islam Beyond the Arabian Peninsula: A Historical Overview
      • The Death of Muhammad and the Seeds of Division
      • The Events at the Portico of the Banu Saʿida
      • The Four Rashidun
      • Abd al-Malik and the Creation of an Islamic Empire
      • Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period
      • The Abbasid Caliphate
      • Al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain
      • Independent Emirates
      • The View from the Edge
      • The Ottoman Empire
    • 5. Early Sectarianism and the Formation of Shiʿism
      • Wilferd Madelung’s The Succession to Muhammad
      • The Events at the Portico of the Banu Saʿida: A Pro-Shiʿi View
      • Shiʿat Ali
      • The Events at Karbala
      • The Ghulat
      • The Importance of Jaʿfar al-Sadiq
      • The Role of the Imam
      • The Twelfth Imam
      • Shiʿi Dynasties
      • Twelver Shiʿism
      • Other Shiʿi Denominations
      • Distinctive Doctrines
    • 6. Legal Developments and the Rise of Sunni Islam
      • The Origins of Islamic Law: Two Approaches
      • Understanding the Concept of Law in Islam
      • “Hadith Folk” and the Emergence of Sunni Islam
      • The Importance of Muhammad al-Shafiʿi
      • Guardians of the Law: The Rise and Function of the Ulama
      • Sources of Ascertaining the Sharia
      • Qiyas
      • Ijma
      • The Closing of the Gates of Ijtihad
      • The Four Madhahib
      • Shiʿi Legal Schools
      • Al-Azhar: The Center of Sunni Learning Today
    • 7. Sufism
      • Locating Sufism
      • The Expansion–Asceticism Theory
      • Sources of the Ascetic Impulse
      • Geographic Diversity
      • Key Terms and Concepts
      • Tariqa
      • Nafs
      • Dhikr
      • The Stations of Progression
      • Tawakkul
      • Fana
      • “Sober” and “Intoxicated” Sufism
      • Some Key Figures
      • Institutional Sufism
      • Conservative Criticism of Sufism
      • Lived Sufism Today
  • Part III. Beliefs and Practices
    • 8. Constituting Identities: Beliefs and Schools
      • The Rise of Muslim Theology (Kalam)
      • The Status of the Grave Sinner
      • Free Will and Predestination
      • Mutazilites and the Doctrine of the Created Quran
      • Ahmad ibn Hanbal
      • The Asharites
      • The Maturidis
      • Medieval Islamic Philosophy
      • The Five Doctrines of Islamic Faith
    • 9. The Performance of Muslim Identities
      • The Mosque
      • Ritual Action
      • The Five Pillars
      • A Sixth Pillar: The Case of Jihad
      • Ritual Practice in Shiʿism
      • Muhammad’s Birthday
      • “Popular” Islam
      • Sufism
  • Part IV. Modern Variations
    • 10. Encounters With Modernity
      • Definitions of Modernity
      • Colonialism and Orientalism
      • Maximalism and Minimalism
      • The Versatility of Islam in the Modern World: An Overview
      • Typology of Responses to Modernity
    • 11. Constructing Muslim Women
      • Modern Attempts to Re-create Women’s Lives During the Time of Muhammad
      • Gender and the Construction of Female Mystics
      • The Veil: A Contested Symbol
      • Traditional Patterns
      • Fundamentalist Constructions
      • Western Feminism and Islam
      • Contemporary Islamic Feminism
    • 12. Islam Post–September 11
      • Militant Voices: The Case of al-Qaeda
      • Interpreting the Events of September 11
      • Islamophobia
      • Muslim Apologetics: The Need to Define a Liberal Islam
      • The Future
  • Glossary
  • Index

الموضوع