islam/Jamal J.Elias

    islam/Jamal J.Elias

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    Islam
    Jamal J.Elias
    Amherst College, Massachusetts
    LONDON
    Preface
    Writing a brief introductory book of this kind presents a set of unique challenges
    to the author, who must balance brevity,
    clarity, and comprehensiveness. These
    demands are particularly acute in the case of Islam, which is a religion of people
    from vastly varying cultures, and simultan
    eously one perceived as foreign to the
    Western world. In the interest of clarity
    I have chosen to concentrate on a limited
    number of societies when providing concrete examples of Islamic beliefs and
    customs, and must apologize to those readers whose regional interests have not
    been sufficiently accommodated.
    Emphasizing Islam as a living tradition, I have provided only the most
    condensed description of classical Islamic history and thought, subjects which
    are covered in great detail in a variety of books. I have tried to focus on the
    religion of ordinary Muslims, who live in
    societies that are mostly in a state of
    relative peace, and whose major concerns revolve around the day-to-day issues
    that preoccupy human beings in most societies. I have intentionally avoided the
    Islam of newspaper headlines; nor have I attempted to make religious sense of
    the madness that has gripped Afghanistan and Algeria.
    I have tried to be as consistent as possible in my use of technical terms that
    have not been standardized in scholarly
    use. For example, I use “Muslim” as an
    adjective to refer to both men and women who profess the religion of Islam. I
    also use “Muslim” as an adjective referr
    ing to societal or historical phenomena
    that are religious in content
    or character. This is distin
    ct from my use of the term
    “Islamic” to refer to those features of li
    fe that are shared ev
    en by the non-Muslim
    members of a predominantly Muslim soci
    ety, such as its art or music. This
    formula parallels the usage of “Christian” versus “Western” in the book. I have
    used Arabic technical terms only where absolutely necessary, and have used a
    simplified system of transliteration—in
    terested readers should consult the
    pronunciation guide for clarification. Arabic words that have entered the English
    language are treated as English words when written in plural form; singular and
    plural forms of other words are provided as necessary.
    This book emerges from roughly ten year
    s of teaching introductory courses on
    Islam, and I would like to acknowledge the contribution of students, both past
    and present, at Amherst, Yale, and Brown, for foreing me to think about the
    material in new ways. My frequent resear
    ch trips to the Islamic world have been
    facilitated by a number of granting ag
    encies and academic institutions, most
    significantly Amherst College.
    In putting together this volume I have drawn information from a large number
    of people in the Islamic world and in the United States. Among those scholars
    whose direct communications I was acutel
    y aware of during th
    e months in which
    I was writing this book are Eqbal Ahmed, Leila Ahmed, Virginia Aksan, Adel
    Allouche, Gerhard Böwering, Amila Bu
    turovic, Michael
    Cooperson, Alan
    Godlas, Yvonne Haddad, Farooq Hamid, Nancy Hill, Ahmet Karamustafa,
    Nevzat Kaya, Ahmet Kuyas, Ali Mirsepassi, Dwight Reynolds, Ahmed Tasbihi,
    Shawkat M. Toorawa, E.Sarah Wolper, a
    nd Osman Yahya. There are, no doubt,
    many others whom I have overlooked, but neither they nor the people named
    above are in any way accountable for the shortcomings of this book.
    I would particularly like to thank Me
    lanie White, my editor at Calmann and
    King, for her patience with the delays
    necessitated by my schedule, Shahzad
    Bashir for reading the manuscript and commenting on it, and Mehrin Masud for
    her careful reading, for listening to me formulate ideas, and for keeping the
    cappuccinos coming.
    Jamal J.Elias
    June 1998
    10
    Chronology of Islam
    C. 570 C.E.
    Birth of the Prophet in Mecca.
    619
    Death of Khadija, first wife of the Prophet and first convert to
    Islam.
    622
    The Hijra: the emigration of
    Muhammad and his followers
    from Mecca to Medina, marking
    the beginning of the Islamic
    lunar calendar.
    630
    Conquest of Mecca.
    632
    The Farewell Pilgrimage and death of the Prophet.
    632
    Death of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali.
    632–4
    Abu Bakr is Caliph.
    634–44
    Umar is Caliph.
    635
    Conquest of Damascus.
    639
    Conquest of Egypt.
    640
    Conquest of Persia.
    644
    Death of Umar.
    644–56
    Uthman is Caliph.
    651
    Death of the last pre-Islamic Persian emperor. Yazdigird.
    653
    Official date of the canonization of the Qur’an under Uthman.
    656
    Death of Uthman.
    656–61
    Ali is Caliph.
    657
    Battle of Siffin between supporters of Ali and the army of
    Mu
    c
    awiya.
    661
    Assassination of Ali. Mu
    c
    awiya becomes Caliph.
    661–750
    Umayyad dynasty.
    678
    Death of A’isha, wife of the Prophet and one of the most
    influential figures in early Islam.

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