| WORLD STUDIES BOOK LIST FOR ISLAM |
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| WORLD STUDIES BOOK LIST FOR ISLAM |
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| This list includes readings on the religion of Islam and on aspects of Muslim civilization. All are written primarily for a Western audience, but from a variety of perspectives. Some of the works are biographical and historical, while others focus on beliefs and cosmology. All are useful reading for gaining some understanding of the Islamic religion and civilization, and especially in the context of relationships with the West. |
| Ross E. Dunn, The
Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the 14th
Century (1989). Biography of the famed Muslim who spent his life traveling throughout Asia and Africa. Includes excerpts from his diaries, with fascinating first-hand accounts of life in 14th century (CE) Africa and the Middle East.
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri, The Elements of Islam (1993). A concise overall introduction to Islam and Muslim history, including chapters on Islamic beliefs and society. Concludes with brief biographical sketches of famous Muslim men and women, and a glossary.
Thierry Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East (1992). A comprehensive study on the relationships between Western civilization and the Islamic world over the last 14 centuries. Pays particular attention to the ways Islam and Muslims are variously portrayed to suit the prevailing self-image of Western civilization, beginning with Christian thought through rationalism, and up until news media coverage of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf Oil War.
Marshall G.S. Hodgson, Rethinking World History: Essays on Europe, Islam, & World History (1993). These essays are perhaps more relevant today than when the late author wrote them in the 1950s and 1960s. Hodgson covers a lot of ground, ranging from the ethnocentrism of maps to a methodology for doing world history. He includes several particularly useful chapters on comparisons between Western and Islamic civilizations, done with good taste and sensitivity often lacking in many contemporary works.
Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life from the Earliest Sources (1983). Contemporary biography (based on early sources) of Muhammad, who Muslims know as the "Prophet of Islam" and the "Messenger of Allah." Chapters on Arab history with excerpts from Islamic literature.
Aminah Beverly McCloud, African American Islam (1995). An introduction to Islam in America, with attention to the varieties of its expression in African American communities from 1900 to the present. Chapters on social issues, Muslim families, and women in Islam.
Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt (1991). Thorough, and sometimes disturbing, account of Western imperialism in Egypt, beginning with Napoleon's invasion in 1798 and ending on the eve of the Euro-American First World War. Emphasizes the complexities of colonization, and includes a particularly useful discussion on the co-optation of local institutions and the treachery of local elites as key factors in maintaining the colonial order.
Sachiko Murata, The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought (1992). Complicates the facile and often biased attempts to discuss women in Islam found in much Western academic discourse and media portrayals. Chapters on theology, cosmology, and spiritual psychology.
Edward Said, Peace & Its Discontents: Essays on Palestine in the Middle East Peace Process (1996). Erudite reflections on Palestine by the pre-eminent Palestinian intellectual in the West. Discusses the Oslo agreements, the PLO and Israeli politics, winners and losers in the peace process, and skewed media images.
W. Montgomery Watt, The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe (1972). Unearths oft-ignored contributions of Muslims to Western civilization, especially in the sciences, philosophy, commerce, and technology. Includes an appendix of English words derived from Arabic. |
