Islam

In recent years, a number of scholars have published introductory books on Islam. These books differ from one another in various ways, but most can be usefully classified into three main types. First, there are books such as Frederick Denny’s Introduction to Islam (4th edn., 2011), which contain a wealth of detail on topics ranging from ritual purity and ṣalāḥ to dietary law and the ḥajj, but which take a largely uncritical approach to the sources (e.g., the Qurʾān, ḥadīth, sīra, and early Islamic histories). Second, there are books such as Daniel Brown’s A New Introduction to Islam (2nd edn., 2009) and Andrew Rippin’s Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (4th edn., 2012), which provide fewer details than the first type, but which are deeply informed by critical scholarship on the sources. Third, there are books such as Carole Hillenbrand’s Introduction to Islam: Beliefs and Practices in Historical Perspective (2015), whose level of detail (at least on many issues) and engagement with critical scholarship are intermediate between the first and second types. Given their respective aims, many of these books are quite good, and some are even excellent. Thus, the bar has been set high for any future book that would join their company

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• Islam in the 21st century

  Cassandra Chaney, Wesley T Church•Journal of Religion & Spirituality…•2017

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