Across the Worlds of Islam: Muslim Identities, Beliefs, and Practices from Asia to America

Muslim people are found all over the world, with most living outside the Middle East. This book offers an inclusive view of the diversity and complexity of the many worlds of Islam, investigating ethics and aesthetics as much as scriptures and theology. It provides a comprehensive and all-embracing vision of the religion and its many interrelated communities, including those who are socially, culturally, doctrinally, or politically marginalized. Contributors from a range of personal and intellectual backgrounds explore the capaciousness of Muslim identities, helping readers achieve a broader understanding of the past, present, and future of the Muslim world.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 18 July 2023
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Muslims are found all over the world, with the majority living outside the Middle East, from Asia to the Americas. While the vast majority of contemporary Muslims are not fluent in Arabic, speakers of languages such as Persian, Urdu, and Turkish have made essential contributions to Islamic history and culture. However, traditional courses on Islam tend to downplay areas beyond the Middle East, focusing on Arabic texts and elite theological and doctrinal arguments.

This book seeks to offer an inclusive view of the diversity and complexity of the many worlds of Islam, investigating ethics and aesthetics as much as scriptures and theology. By paying attention to Muslims who are socially, culturally, doctrinally, or politically marginalized, it provides a comprehensive and all-embracing vision of the religion and its many interrelated communities. Contributors from a range of personal and intellectual backgrounds explore the capaciousness of Muslim identities, helping readers achieve a broader understanding of the past, present, and future of the Muslim world.

This book includes communities such as the Nation of Islam and Alevi Muslims, and it goes beyond rituals like prayer and fasting to consider a wider array of practices, such as tattooing.

Across the Worlds of Islam is at once student-friendly and cutting-edge, written with both introductory courses and general readers in mind. Examining Muslim identity and practice from the perspective of the margins, it offers nuanced portraits of Muslim life across geographic and sectarian divisions.

Weight: 422g
Dimension: 139 x 217 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231210652