What Everyone Needs to Know
about Islam
John L. Esposito
ISBN-10: 0-19-515713-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-19-515713-0
Publication date: 23 January 2003
Hardback 224 pages, 207x138 mm
Oxford University Press
- A brief but reliable primer on Muslims and
Islam, written by one of the world's most respected authorities
- The information about Islam that people
most want to know presented in question-and -answer format
- The first place to look for information on
the faith, customs, and political beliefs of the one billion people who call
themselves Muslims
- Topics covered include - Faith and
Practice, Islam and Other Religions, Customs and Culture, and Muslims in the
West
- Special section devoted to terrorism and
violence, addressing such questions as "What is jihad?" and "Why do Muslims
hate us?"
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of
September 11th, there has been an overwhelming demand for information about
Islam. As a leading expert, John Esposito has found himself called upon to
speak to a wide range of audiences, including members of Congress, the Bush
administration, government agencies, the military, and the media. Out of this
experience, he has identified the most pressing questions people consistently
ask about Islam.
In What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam
, Esposito presents in question-and-answer format the information that most
people want to know. Esposito provides succinct, accessible, sensitive, and
even-handed answers to questions that range from the general--"What do Muslims
believe?" and "Who was Muhammad?"--to more specific issues like Is Islam
compatible with modernization, capitalism and democracy? How do Muslims view
Judaism and Christianity? Are women second-class citizens in Islam? What is
jihad? Does the Quran condone terrorism? What does Islam say about
homosexuality, birth control, abortion, and slavery?
As the editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of
Modern Islam and The Oxford History of
Islam , and author of Unholy War
and many other acclaimed works, John Esposito is one of America's leading
authorities on Islam. This brief and readable book is the first place to look
for information on the faith, customs, and political beliefs of the more than
one billion people who call themselves Muslims.
JOHN L. ESPOSITO is Professor of Religion and International Affairs
and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. Founding Director of the Center
for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History and International Affairs in the
Walsh School of Foreign Service, he has served as President of the Middle East
Studies Association of North America and of the American Council for the Study
of Islamic Societies as well as a consultant to governments, multinational
corporations, and the media. His more than 25 books include: Unholy War: Terror
in the Name of Islam, What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, The Islamic
Threat: Myth or Reality?, Islam: The Straight Path, Islam and Politics, Islam
and Democracy and Makers of Contemporary Islam (with John Voll), Political
Islam: Radicalism, Revolution or Reform?, Iran at the Crossroads (with
R.K.Ramazani), Islam, Gender and Social Change (with Yvonne Haddad), and Women
in Muslim Family Law.#
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'
Say:
whether ye believe in it (the Qur'an) or not, it is true that those who were
given knowledge beforehand, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces
in humble prostration'
TMQ al-Isra 107
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