Provides a wide depiction of Islamic doctrines, practices, and worldviews. Some 50 articles by scholars that are also practicing Muslims representing a diverse range of places, traditions, cultures, and beliefs are presented in volumes that individually address the grand traditions and beliefs of the religion; the spiritual experience of Islam; everyday experiences of family, home, and society; Islamic cultures' art, aesthetics, and science; and Muslim progressives, modernists, and other reformers.

Despite frequent and extensive publications on Islam, very few Americans, indeed very few non-Muslims, truly understand the faith or the more than one billion adherents who live it. This set presents the diversity and richness of Islam, filling in the blanks and expanding our knowledge and understanding. Portraying Muslims in all their humanity and diversity balances the images that have bombarded society and presents the reader with a fuller and more accurate picture of the Islamic faith and what it means to live as a Muslim—in Muslim communities, and as part of a broader tapestry of pluralism in the nations of the world. What does it mean to share Muslim concerns? To experience Muslim spirituality? What is the difference between Sunni and Shiite sects? Why do Muslims pray so frequently? What is the reality of Muslim marriage and gender relations? What is the meaning of jihad and martyrdom to a practicing Muslim? What role do the arts and humanities play in modern Muslim life? How are Islamic children raised? These questions and others are answered in these volumes, which bring together Muslim voices from around the world, including men and women, scholars and laypersons, fundamentalists and progressives, and others from various cultural, political, and Islamic backgrounds. Personal experiences and poetry are included to illustrate the many different expressions of Islam.

Provides a wide depiction of Islamic doctrines, practices, and worldviews. Some 50 articles by scholars that are also practicing Muslims representing a diverse range of places, traditions, cultures, and beliefs are presented in volumes that individually address the grand traditions and beliefs of the religion; the spiritual experience of Islam; everyday experiences of family, home, and society; Islamic cultures' art, aesthetics, and science; and Muslim progressives, modernists, and other reformers.

Provides a wide depiction of Islamic doctrines, practices, and worldviews. Some 50 articles by scholars that are also practicing Muslims representing a diverse range of places, traditions, cultures, and beliefs are presented in volumes that individually address the grand traditions and beliefs of the religion; the spiritual experience of Islam; everyday experiences of family, home, and society; Islamic cultures' art, aesthetics, and science; and Muslim progressives, modernists, and other reformers.

Provides a wide depiction of Islamic doctrines, practices, and worldviews. Some 50 articles by scholars that are also practicing Muslims representing a diverse range of places, traditions, cultures, and beliefs are presented in volumes that individually address the grand traditions and beliefs of the religion; the spiritual experience of Islam; everyday experiences of family, home, and society; Islamic cultures' art, aesthetics, and science; and Muslim progressives, modernists, and other reformers.

An unprecedented, sympathetic, and wide-ranging exploration of the mysterious world of Islamic women--the people behind the veils--is presented by female writers and Christian workers.

In recent years, Islamic fundamentalist, revolutionary, and jihadist movements have overshadowed more moderate and reformist voices and trends within Islam. This compelling volume introduces the current generation of reformist thinkers and activists, the intellectual traditions they carry on, and the reasons for the failure of reformist movements to sustain broad support in the Islamic world today. Richly detailed regionally focused chapters cover Iran, the Arab East, the Maghreb, South Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Europe, and North America. The editor's introductory chapter traces the roots of reformist thinking both in Islamic tradition and as a response to the challenge of modernity for Muslims struggling to reconcile the requirements of modernization with their cultural and religious values. The concluding chapter identifies commonalities, comparisons, and trends in the modernizing movements.