Contents

1. Illustrations
2. Preface
3. Notes on transliteration and pronunciation
4. Introduction
   1. Chapter 1: Approaching the Subject
      1. Who represents Islam?
      2. What is Islam?
      3. Is there a “true Islam”?
      4. Empathetic understanding
      5. Issues of language and related matters
      6. Dates
      7. Islamist or Islamicist?
      8. An introductory overview of Islam
5. Part I: History of the Community
   1. Chapter 2: On the Eve of Islam
      1. Two “superpowers”
      2. Religion in Iran
      3. Byzantine Christianity
      4. Other forms of Christianity
      5. Jews and Samaritans
      6. Gnostics and philosophers
      7. The Axial Age
   2. Chapter 3: The Beginnings of Islam
      1. The Arabs and their religion before Islam
      2. The career of the Prophet Muhammad
      3. Conflict and conquest after Muhammad
      4. Some scholarly reservations
   3. Chapter 4: Expansion and Flowering of Islam
      1. Later Umayyad period
      2. The Early Abbasid period
      3. Independent or autonomous realms
      4. The later Abbasid period
      5. The crusades and after
      6. The Mongols and after
      7. Ottomans and Safavids
      8. Central Asia, China and South Asia
      9. Southeast Asia and Africa
6. Part II: Aspects of Islam
   1. Chapter 5: The Qur'an
      1. What is the Qur'an?
      2. The Qur'an in Muslim culture
      3. Some teachings of the Qur'an
      4. Other spiritual beings
      5. Social teachings
      6. Interpretation of the Qur'an
      7. Western criticism of the Qur'an
   2. Chapter 6: The Prophet Muhammad
      1. Muhammad is human, but special
      2. How authentic are the Hadith?
      3. Muhammad as intercessor and spiritual being
      4. Modernist views: Muhammad as hero
   3. Chapter 7: Rituals and Ceremonies
      1. Some basic distinctions and concerns
      2. Intention (niyya)
      3. Ritual purity
      4. The Pillars
      5. Other pilgrimages
      6. The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Mawlid al-Nabi)
      7. Life cycle rituals
      8. Sibha
      9. Halal food
   4. Chapter 8: Divisions in the Umma and Political Thought
      1. Kharijis
      2. Shi‘is
      3. Sunnis
      4. Persian and Greek contributions
   5. Chapter 9: Scholars and Learning
      1. Who are the ‘ulama’?
      2. The mosque
      3. Education
      4. The sciences and higher level teaching
      5. ‘Ulama’ and government
   6. Chapter 10: To Know God's Will: Islamic Law
      1. Shari‘a and fiqh
      2. The five Shari‘a valuations
      3. Usul al-fiqh, the roots of jurisprudence: the Sunni form
      4. Sunni “schools” of jurisprudence, Madhhabs
      5. Twelver Shi‘i usul al-fiqh
      6. Muftis and fatwas
      7. A brief history of fiqh
      8. The Shari‘a and popular appropriation
   7. Chapter 11: Theology and Philosophy
      1. Theology (kalam)
      2. Theological issues
      3. Philosophy
      4. Main teachings of philosophy
   8. Chapter 12: The Sufi Path to God
      1. Knowledge, love and remembrance of God
      2. Tariqa, the path
      3. The goal: Fana' and Baqa'
      4. Walis (saints)
      5. Sufism and Shari‘a-mindedness
      6. Historical outline
      7. Poetry and theosophy
      8. Some recent developments
   9. Chapter 13: A Philosopher, a Scholar-mystic, and a Reformer
      1. Ibn Sina
      2. Al-Ghazali
      3. Ibn Taymiyya
   10. Chapter 14: Culture and Counter-Culture
       1. Visual art
       2. Architecture
       3. Literature
       4. Poetry
       5. Prose
       6. Music
7. Part III: Modern Developments
   1. Chapter 15: Western Imperialism and Muslim Response
      1. Modernization, Westernization, secularization
      2. The challenge to Islam
      3. Pre-modern reform
      4. Responses to the challenge
      5. Traditionalism
      6. Islamic modernism
      7. Secularism
      8. Islamism
      9. Resurgence of Islam
   2. Chapter 16: Turkey: Secularist Reform
      1. Ottoman defeats and reforms
      2. Ottoman “pan-Islamic” policy and claim to the caliphate
      3. “Turkism” in the early twentieth century
      4. Nationalist and secularist republic established by Atatürk
      5. Retreat from secularism from about 1950
      6. Alevi revival
   3. Chapter 17: Egypt: Between Secularism and Islamism
      1. The beginnings of modernization and secularization in the nineteenth century
      2. Muhammad ‘Abduh and Islamic modernism
      3. Nationalism and secularization in the early twentieth century
      4. The beginnings of Islamism: the Muslim Brothers
      5. Revolution: support, control and repression
      6. Resurgence of Islam
   4. Chapter 18: Iran: From Secularism to Islamic Revolution
      1. The Qajars: religion, foreign interference, constitution
      2. The Pahlavis: Reza Shah and Iranian nationalism
      3. Muhammad Reza Shah: White Revolution
      4. Islamic opposition and revolution
      5. Islamic republic
   5. Chapter 19: Indonesia: Islamic Society or Islamic State?
      1. Islamization of Java, Sumatra and other islands
      2. Dutch imperialism and continuing Islamization
      3. Twentieth-century movements
      4. Independence and the issue of an Islamic state
      5. The events of 1965 and Suharto's regime
      6. Post-Suharto: election; violent Islamism
   6. Chapter 20: Globalization: Challenge and Opportunity
      1. Globalization: meaning and examples
      2. Global jihad
      3. Why martyrdom operations?
      4. Muslim diaspora in the West
      5. Liberal/progressive Islam
8. Appendix I: Glossary of Names and Terms
9. Appendix II: Chronology
10. Appendix III: The Islamic calendar
11. Appendix IV: Classical Arabic names
12. Appendix V: Muhammad's wives
13. Further Reading
14. References

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