Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World

269 Pages·1999·0.77 MB·English

by  Akbar S. Ahmed

AkbarS.Ahmedisadistinguishedanthropologist,writerand
commentatoronIslamicaffairs.HeisTheIbnKhaldunChairof
IslamicStudiesandProfessorofInternationalRelationsatthe
AmericanUniversity,WashingtonD.C.HehasbeenFellowof
SelwynCollege,CambridgeandVisitingProfessoratboth
HarvardUniversityandtheInstituteforAdvancedStudy,Princeton.
HehasalsoheldtheAllamaIqbalFellowshipatCambridgeand
writtenextensivelyontheMuslimWorld.Hispreviouspublications
includethewidely-praisedDiscoveringIslam:MakingSenseof
MuslimHistoryandSociety(1988).HehasworkedwiththeBBC
onatelevisionseriesonIslamandwasExecutiveProducerofthe
featurefilmJinnah,which,alongwithadocumentaryandbooks
onMuhammadAliJinnah,completeshisrecentstudyofthefounder
ofPakistan.

ISLAM TODAY
A Short Introduction to the Muslim World
Akbar S. Ahmed
I.B.Tauris Publishers
LONDON x NEWYORK
Reprintedwithadditionalmaterialin2002byI.B.Tauris&CoLtd
6SalemRoad,LondonW24BU
175FifthAvenue,NewYorkNY10010
www.ibtauris.com
IntheUnitedStatesofAmericaandCanadadistributedby
St.Martin’sPress,175FifthAvenue,NewYorkNY10010
Firstpublishedin1999byI.B.Tauris&CoLtd.
Reprintedin1999,2001.
Copyright©AkbarS.Ahmed,1999
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,or
anypartthereof,maynotbereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoa
retrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withouttheprior
writtenpermissionofthepublisher.
ISBN1860642578
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress
LibraryofCongresscatalogcard:available
TypesetbyQ3Bookwork,Loughborough
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyMPGBooksLtd,Bodmin
For Ibrahim,
with love
Only connect
In the hope that this book will help
to connect different peoples and different faiths
and thereby encourage understanding between them.
Contents
Preface ix
1 Introduction:RaisingQuestions 1
IslamandtheWest 1
LocatingthekeytounlockMuslimsociety 4
MisunderstandingMuslims 8
Questionsforourage 10
2 WhatisIslam? 12
Themessenger:theProphetofIslam 12
TheProphet’searlylife 13
TheProphet’smarriage 15
Thefirstwordsofthemessage 16
Thejourneyacrossthedesert:thehijra 17
ThelatermarriagesoftheProphet 19
TheProphet’slastaddress 20
TheroleoftheProphetinMuslimsocialcustom 21
ImagesoftheProphet 22
TheProphetofIslamandthepeopleoftheBook 23
TheProphet’scritics 27
Themessage:theholyQuran 28
UnderstandingtheQurantoday 30
Thefivepillarsoflslam 32
TheIslamiccalendar 39
SunniandShiadivisionsinIslam 42
TheShia 43
DifferencesbetweenShiasandSunnis 44
viii CONTENTS
TheotherShiagroups 47
ShiismintheWesternmedia 48
Sufism:theMuslimuniversalway 49
3 TheChallengeofthePast:EmpiresandDynasties 52
AMuslimviewofhistory 53
CharacteristicsofthegreatMuslimempires 54
EarlyMuslimhistory:thegreatArabdynasties 55
TheArabscarrythemessageoflslamtotheworld 55
Arabdynasties,Arabdestinies 57
TheChristianCrusades 59
TheidealmodelofEuropeansociety:MuslimSpain 62
MuslimliteratureinSpain 64
TheAndalussyndrome 67
ThemosqueatCordoba 67
ThefalloftheMuslims 68
1492andallthat 70
ThereawakeningofAndalusia 72
TheOttomans(1300–1922) 72
TheTopkapipalace 73
Womenintheharem 74
IslamintheTopkapi 75
TheOttomandynasty 76
TheSafavids(1501–1722) 80
Isfahan:Nisf-e-Jahan 81
TheShiastate 82
TheMughals(1526–1857) 83
Theburdenofhistory 83
TheMughalemperors 86
Babar,thefounderoftheMughaldynasty 86
Mughalhumanism 88
MuslimarchitectureinSouthAsia 91
TajMahal:monumentoflove 94
4 WhenWorldsCollide:MuslimNationsandWestern
Modernity 96
ThedilemmasofmodernTurkey 97
Therediscoveryofthepast 98
KemalAtaturk 100
Islamicrevivalism 101
Turkey’sKurds 104
CONTENTS ix
Iran’sIslamicquest 105
Palaceversusshrine 105
Thestruggleforidentity 106
AyatollahKhomeinithescholar-activist 109
IslamicIranianart 111
Aftertherevolution 113
Khomeini’sfatwaandDante’sDivineComedy 115
IndiaandthecreationofPakistanandBangladesh 121
1857andthebirthofAligarh 122
Jinnah:TheQuaid-i-AzamofPakistan 123
LeadingaMuslimmovement 124
ThePartitionofIndiain1947 125
Theproblemofidentity 126
ThefirstMuslimnuclearpower 128
AschoolinPakistantoday 130
PakistanandthebirthofBangladesh 131
Issuesinmodernity:democracy,familyandidentity 132
TheArabpredicament 132
ThecreationofIsrael 134
TensionsinArabsociety 136
Problemsofdemocracy 137
Democracyanddoublestandards:thecaseofAlgeria 140
TheTalibanofAfghanistan 143
Thecentralizedstate 144
Islamicpunishment 145
Class,corruptionandcommunism 147
Rulersthenandnow 149
TheMuslimfamily 150
PolygamyinIslam 152
Arrangedmarriages 154
Muslimwomen 155
Womeninthemodernworld 156
Muslimdressandthehijab 159
5 MuslimsasMinorities 163
The‘problem’ofMuslimminorities 163
TheinexplicablefearofMuslimminorities 167
Theburdenoftheimmigrant 168
TheNorthCaucasusandtheMuslimproblem 170
MuslimsintheWest 171
Theyoungergeneration 172
x CONTENTS
TheAmericanversustheEuropeanexperience 173
MuslimintegrationinWesternnations 176
IslamandtheAfro-AmericanCommunityintheUSA 178
FrontierMuslims:IslamintheOuterHebrides 181
TheArainworkethicmeetstheProtestantworkethic 182
IslamicrevivalisminStornoway 183
IslaminCentralAsia 184
CentralAsia 185
StalinandIbnKhaldun:bindingsocieties 186
Thetwopolesofsociety:warriorandsaint 188
AmirTaimurthewarrior 190
BahauddinNaqshbandthesaint 191
Seeingmiracles 193
Architectureasametaphorforsociety 193
RedstaroverCentralAsia 196
TheSovietizationofCentralAsia 198
‘Islamicfundamentalism’inCentralAsia 200
Theprocessesoflslamization 204
Intothefuture 206
TheMuslimsofIndia:apeopleinsearchofadestiny 207
DifferentkindsofMuslimsociety 207
TheMuslimmalaise 208
TheHinduresponse 211
India,thelandofcontrasts 212
Themisuseofhistory 214
6 IslamintheAgeoftheWesternMedia 216
IslamandtheWest:confrontationorconsensus? 216
TheMuslimfailurewiththemedia 218
TheGulfWarandthemedia 221
MediaencouragementofMuslimorthodoxy 224
TheWesternbogeyman:Islamicfundamentalism 226
Concludingthoughts 229
UnderstandingIslam 230
ThevoicesofIslam:atthecrossroads 232
Buildingbridges 235
Glossary 238
References 241
Index 245