Product Description

Islam: The Key Concepts is a clear and concise guide to the religion and culture of Islam. Kecia Ali and Oliver Leaman explore this highly topical subject focusing on key issues including: the Qur’an, faith, theology, gender, fundamentalism, martyrdom, Jihad, Islam in America, Islam in Europe and Islamic Law.

This is the ideal study resource and includes: a comprehensive introduction, an alphabetical list of relevant terms (fully cross-referenced), a short bibliographical guide, bibliography, and index. A glossary of all non-English terms is also provided.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1361562 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Customer Reviews

a good reference
"Islam: The Key Concepts" is like a mini-Wikipedia about Islam except that it is written by two actual scholars rather than random people. It is comprised of 123 entries about concepts ranging from practices (salat, zakat, jihad, haram), to beliefs (tawhid, paradise, hell) and Qur'anic themes, to theological, legal debates and intellectual currents, etc. Every entry ends with suggestions of other related concepts to look up.

It is probably not an ideal start for someone who wants to learn about Islam. A book with a continuous narrative might prove more useful as it would provide a general picture of the religion. However, this book is great for someone who already has a grip of the basics and wants to learn more about the details. The authors emphasize the heterogeneous nature of the religion by covering a lot of disagreements between different Islamic thinkers. The authors also suggest looking up referenced passages in the Qur'an while reading. I simply read this text from cover to cover and still learned a lot and found it enjoyable.