Product Description
Appreciate a rich and diverse culture. Understand real people in their everyday lives.
The need to understand Islam and Muslims has never been greater, both because of conflicts that dominate the news and because of the increasing presence of Muslims in Western societies. There are hundreds of books that introduce the Western reader to Islam, and dozens of books that explore various Muslim societies (usually Arab ones). Islam & Muslims is the first to bring together both, explaining Islam in theory and in practice across the diverse Muslim world. Readers learn not just what Islam says about everything from the nature of God to marriage to prayer to politics, but also how individual Muslims (traditional or modern, devout or barely observant) apply teachings in everyday life.
Islam and Muslims: A Guide to Diverse Experience in a Modern World
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Dr. Mark Sedgwick (associate professor of modern Middle East history, American University in Cairo) introduces Western readers to the Islamic world and explores the various different Muslim societies in Islam & Muslims: A Guide to Diverse Experience in a Modern World. Accessible to lay readers of all backgrounds, regardless of personal familiarity with Islam, Islam & Muslims briefly surveys the faith’s history but is much more strongly concerned with Muslims in the present day – from world view and worship practices to family practices, daily life, the intersection of Islam and politics including the unfortunate reality of Islamic political violence. An evenhanded, straightforward evaluation, to be commended especially for its close scrutiny of the cultural differences that at first glance make Islamic and Muslim practices alien to Westerners, and Western culture confusing to or misinterpreted by Muslims.
Rating: 5 / 5