Islam

Tamara Sonn is the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in the History of Islam at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. She has published numerous books, including Interpreting Islam: Bandali Jawzi's Islamic Intellectual History (1996), Comparing Religions through Law: Judaism and Islam (with J. Neusner, 1999), and most recently The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies (with J. Morreall, 2011) and 50 Great Myths About Religion (with J. Morreall, 2014).

• Foreword ixPreface xiMaps xiii1 Many Paths to One God: Establishing the Ideals 1The Quran 1The Quran and Other Scriptures 7Themes of the Quran 12The Exemplary Life of Muhammad, Prophet of Islam:The Sunna 21The Early Muslim Community and the Pillars of Islam 24The Successors (“Caliphs”) 27Early Communal Disputes 29Conclusion 312 The Pursuit of Knowledge in the Service of God and Humanity: The Golden Age 34Institutions 35Law 36Political Structure 43Cultural Achievements 45Spirituality and the Mystical Tradition: Sufism 54Conclusion 683 Division and Reorganization 71The Crusades and Other Disasters 71The Decline of the Abbasids and Rise of the Ottomans 77Persia: The Safavid Empire 84India and the Rise of the Mughals 87Understanding Developments in Islamic History 95Conclusion 994 Colonialism and Reform 101Colonialism 101The Outcome of World War I 110The Effects of Colonialism and Themes of Islamic Reform 117Modern Iterations of Islamic Reform and New Challenges 125Islamist Approaches to Reform 129Conclusion: Mainstream Islamists and Radicals 1355 Contemporary Islam: The Challenges of Democratization and Complications of Global Politics 139Turkey 141Iran 144Pakistan, Afghanistan, and al]Qaeda 154Indonesia 166Tunisia and the Arab Spring 168What about Terrorism? ISIS, Boko Haram, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hezbollah 173Conclusion: Asking the Right Questions 185Further Reading 195Index 000