Voices of Islam

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V
OICES OF
I
SLAM

V
OICES OF
I
SLAM

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Volume 1 V
OICES OF
T
RADITION

Vincent J. Cornell, General Editor and Volume Editor

P
RAEGER
P
ERSPECTIVES

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Voices of Islam / Vincent J. Cornell, general editor.

1. cm.
   

   Includes bibliographical references and index.
   

   ISBN 0–275–98732–9 (set : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98733–7 (vol 1 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98734–5 (vol 2 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98735–3 (vol 3 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0– 275–98736–1 (vol 4 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98737–X (vol 5 : alk. paper) 1. Islam— Appreciation. 2. Islam—Essence, genius, nature. I. Cornell, Vincent J.
   

   BP163.V65 2007
   

   297—dc22 2006031060
   

   British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright
   ©
   2007 by Praeger Publishers
   

   All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher.
   

   Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006031060 ISBN: 0–275–98732–9 (set)
   

   0–275–98733–7 (vol. 1)
   

   0–275–98734–5 (vol. 2)
   

   0–275–98735–3 (vol. 3)
   

   0–275–98736–1 (vol. 4)
   

   0–275–98737–X (vol. 5)
   

   First published in 2007
   

   Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com
   

   Printed in the United States of America
   

   

   The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
   

   10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
   

   C
   ONTENTS
   

   

   

   •
   

   Voices of Islam
   

   Vincent J. Cornell
   

   Introduction: Islam, Tradition, and
   Traditionalism Vincent J. Cornell
   

   1. Miracle of Sound at the
      Ka‘ba Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
      

   2. Pillars of Religion and
      Faith Karima Diane Alavi
      

   3. Ramadan House
      Guest Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
      

   4. The Qur’an, the Word of
      God Mustansir Mir
      

   5. Drunkenness of the
      Word Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
      

   6. Encountering the Qur’an: Contexts and
      Approaches James Winston Morris
      

   7. Moses and the
      Saint Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
      

   8. Prophets and Messengers of
      God Joseph Lumbard
      

   9. The Loom and The
      Bridge Barry C. McDonald
      

   10. The
       Sunna
       : The Way of the Prophet
       Muhammad Hamza Yusuf Hanson
       

       vii
       xvii 1
       

       5
       

       43
       

       47
       

       63
       

       65
       

       97
       

       101
       

       123
       

       125
       

       vi
       Contents
       

   11. Vision of the
       Shariat Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
       

   12. The
       Shari‘a
       : Law as the Way of
       God Mohammad Hashim Kamali
       

   13. A Man on the Road to
       God Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
       

   14. What Is Sunni
       Islam? Feisal Abdul Rauf
       

   15. What Is Shiite Islam?
       

       Azim Nanji and Farhad Daftary
       

   16. Beginning the
       Prayer Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
       

   17. What Is
       Sufism? Ahmet T. Karamustafa
       

147

149

183

185

217

245

249

Index 271

About the Editor and Contributors 291

V
OICES OF
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SLAM
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Vincent J. Cornell

It has long been a truism to say that Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the world. However, the situation expressed by this statement is more than a little ironic because Islam is also one of the most studied religions in the world, after Christianity and Judaism. In the quarter of a century since the 1978–1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, hundreds of books on Islam and the Islamic world have appeared in print, including more than a score of intro- ductions to Islam in various European languages. How is one to understand this paradox? Why is it that most Americans and Europeans are still largely uninformed about Islam after so many books about Islam have been pub- lished? Even more, how can people still claim to know so little about Islam when Muslims now live in virtually every medium-sized and major commu- nity in America and Europe? A visit to a local library or to a national book- store chain in any American city will reveal numerous titles on Islam and the Muslim world, ranging from journalistic potboilers to academic studies, translations of the Qur’an, and works advocating a variety of points of view from apologetics to predictions of the apocalypse.