Studying Islam: The Critical Issues

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This volume in the Studying World Religions series is an essential guide to the study of the Islamic faith. Clearly structured to cover all the major areas of study, including historical foundations, scripture, society, thought, ethics, rituals, spirituality and aesthetics, this is the ideal study aid for those approaching Islam for the first time. Rather than attempting to cover all the material, the critical and methodological issues that students need to grasp in the study of Islam - and religion in general - are drawn out, and the major contemporary debates explored. With helpful suggestions for further study, pointing students towards material such as primary sources (scriptures), films and novels and including ideas for teaching, discussion topics and exercises, Studying Islam is the perfect companion for the fledgling student of Islam.

Reviews

"Bennett provides an insightful and incisive analysis of trends in approaches to the teaching of Islam. He deal frankly with the problems that emerge with both the "faith sensitive" and the "critical" approaches and illustrates ways in which the positive elements of both trends can be integrated. Using an innovative structure mirroring a descriptive analysis of religion in human life, Bennett demonstrates how the study of Islam does not need to side with either polemic or apologetics and how it can and must integrate the tough questions that are asked today if it is to have intellectual rigour. This work provides a summary of scholarship on Islam that will be helpful to students in the development of their analytical tools and to teachers in their search for a classroom stance that is faithful to the principles of religious studies as an academic discipline." - Andrew Rippin, University of Victoria, Canada
"In this comprehensive study aid Bennett provides students with an introductory look at Islam from an academic point of view. The past and current attitudes and approaches to the subject are aptly represented as well as core sources such as the Qur'an. Bennett draws constructive elements from both the critical and the faith sensitive schools of thought thus setting a balanced foundation for religious study in general. This is the first volume in the Studying World Religions series, which takes on the subject of religious studies as social science rather than theology." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.

Author Bio

Clinton Bennettteaches Religious Studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz, and at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA.