Muslim Identities: An Introduction to Islam 2nd Edition

Aaron W Hughes
Paperback, 288 pages
9781800502093

This work presents a fully updated introduction to the religion of Islam and the various social groups who define themselves as Muslim. Unlike other such works, it presents both insider and outsider accounts with the aim of striking a unique balance between overly apologetical and overly Orientalist perspectives. 

Contents

Introduction: Religious Studies and the Academic Study of Islam
Part I: Beginnings
1. Arabia Prior to the Advent of Islam
2. The Making of the Last Prophet
3. The Quran: The Foundation
Part II: Identity Formations
4. The Spread of Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula
5. Early Sectarianism and the Formation of Shi'ism
6. Legal Developments and the Gradual Emergence of Sunni Islam
7. Sufism: The Mystical Strain in Islam
Part III: Beliefs and Practices
8. The Maintenance of Muslim Identities: Beliefs and Schools
9. The Performance of Muslim Identities
Part IV: Modern Variations
10. Encounters with Modernity
11. Gender and the Construction of Muslim Women
12. Islam and "the West"
13. The Inconvenient Muslim: From Majority to Minority