Avoiding the traps of sensational political exposes and specialized scholarly Orientalism, Carl Ernst introduces readers to the profound spiritual resources of Islam while clarifying diversity and debate within the tradition. Framing his argument in terms of religious studies, Ernst describes how Protestant definitions of religion and anti-Muslim prejudice have affected views of Islam in Europe and America. He also covers the contemporary importance of Islam in both its traditional settings and its new locations and provides a context for understanding extremist movements like fundamentalism. He concludes with an overview of critical debates on important contemporary issues such as gender and veiling, state politics, and science and religion.

Traces the history of Islam back from the twentieth century to its origins, discussing the faith-based "Believers' movement" started by the prophet Muhammad, and explaining how this led to the separation of Muslims from Christians and Jews as monotheists.

This book situates the teachings of Elijah Muhammad in academia, creating a field of study that particularly extrapolates the jewels of Muhammad's teachings. This preview of the teachings of Muhammad, and its multifaceted, interdisciplinary scope, has the potential to change the philosophical and practical methods of education.

Are jihadists dying for a fiction? Everything you thought you knew about Islam is about to change. Did Muhammad exist? It is a question that few have thought—or dared—to ask. Virtually everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, takes for granted that the prophet of Islam lived and led in seventh-century Arabia. But this widely accepted story begins to crumble on close examination, as Robert Spencer shows in his eye-opening new book. In his blockbuster bestseller The Truth about Muhammad, Spencer revealed the shocking contents of the earliest Islamic biographical material about the prophet of Islam. Now, in Did Muhammad Exist?, he uncovers that material’s surprisingly shaky historical foundations. Spencer meticulously examines historical records, archaeological findings, and pioneering new scholarship to reconstruct what we can know about Muhammad, the Qur’an, and the early days of Islam. The evidence he presents challenges the most fundamental assumptions about Islam’s origins. Did Muhammad Exist? reveals: •How the earliest biographical material about Muhammad dates from at least 125 years after his reported death •How six decades passed before the Arabian conquerors—or the people they conquered—even mentioned Muhammad, the Qur’an, or Islam •The startling evidence that the Qur’an was constructed from existing materials—including pre-Islamic Christian texts •How even Muslim scholars acknowledge that countless reports of Muhammad’s deeds were fabricated •Why a famous mosque inscription may refer not to Muhammad but, astonishingly, to Jesus •How the oldest records referring to a man named Muhammad bear little resemblance to the now-standard Islamic account of the life of the prophet •The many indications that Arabian leaders fashioned Islam for political reasons Far from an anti-Islamic polemic, Did Muhammad Exist? is a sober but unflinching look at the origins of one of the world’s major religions. While Judaism and Christianity have been subjected to searching historical criticism for more than two centuries, Islam has never received the same treatment on any significant scale. The real story of Muhammad and early Islam has long remained in the shadows. Robert Spencer brings it into the light at long last.

Essay from the year 2014 in the subject Sport - Sport History, grade: 1,0, , language: English, abstract: Muhammad Ali was and still is one of the most known athletes of our time. However, he is not only perceived as a great sportsman but also as a solid speaker with a pronounced sense of freedom and justice. He was born in a time where racial segregation was treated like a natural thing. He grew up in a world with people starting to rebel and fight against this injustice. Being a young African-American, he consequently was shaped by the events that took place, by the ideas growing and minds made up at this time. In this work, Muhammad Ali’s background, development and which impact his decisions and life had on his environment will be discussed. Furthermore, I will examine why he is seen as a special person or even a role model.

The scholarly study of Islam has become ever more insular and apologetic. Academic Islamic Studies has tried to maintain a focus on truth, authenticity, experience and meaning and has effectively avoided discussion of larger social, cultural and ideological issues. Many scholars of Islam have presented themselves to their colleagues, the media and the public as the interpreters of Islam and have done so with an interpretation which tends, almost universally, to the liberal and egalitarian. The ignorance and hostility which the Islamic faith has faced since 9/11 has partly necessitated the taking of such a position. But, as Theorizing Islam argues, the issue remains that only one interpretation of Islam is generally being presented and, as with any interpretation, this has its own assumptions. The aim of Theorizing Islam is to explore the potential for a fuller, more honest and more sophisticated approach to both theory and methodology in the academic study of Islam.

Translated from the works of the Mediæval Arab Geographers . . . With maps and illustrations.