Recent items:

(Books and DVDs.)

Books:

The Qur'an : an introduction, by Anna M. Gade. (2010)
Muslims consider the Qur'an to be the final revelation of God. In this stimulating study, Anna M. Gade provides a comprehensive primer to this multifaceted text, exploring the many ways in which Muslims approach it. With extensive extracts, illustrations, and detailed insights into its textual history, this will prove an invaluable resource for both students and general readers interested in Islam. (publisher's description)

Images of Muhammad : narratives of the prophet in Islam across the centuries, by Tarif Khalidi. (2009)
With scholarly authority, Khalidi explores how the 'biography' of Muhammad has been constructed, reconstructed, and utilized in various Islamic cultures, and traces the influences that have shaped his image, including the profound effect of negative perceptions promulgated by the West. As he describes the great variety of Islamic beliefs and practices, Khalidi illuminates the values and ideas shared by the Sunni, Shia, and Sufi sects, as well as the differences among them, providing Western readers with a clear, objective perspective on the current conflicts within the Muslim world as well as their global repercussions. (publisher's description)

The Blackwell companion to the Qur'an, edited by Andrew Rippin. (2006)
This substantial volume, consisting of 30 original essays on the Qur'an by leading authorities in the field, is undoubtedly the best single-volume introduction to Islam's sacred text currently available in English. Each of the essays is concerned, in one way or another, with the place of the Qur'an in the cultural, intellectual, and religious history of Islam. Although written by experts, the individual essays are generally accessible to a nonexpert readership. ...The volume includes an immensely useful bibliography. Summing Up: Essential. (drawn from Choice, courtesy of Syndetics)

A new introduction to Islam, by Daniel Brown. (2009)
This thought-provoking book introduces students to the history and development of Islamic studies as a discipline, showing how it has shaped our understanding of Islam ; examines how the vibrant religious culture of the Near East produced a unique and brilliant intellectual and religious tradition spanning the fields of Islamic law, theology, philosophy and mysticism ; surveys the ways in which Islamic tradition has enriched the world and in turn been enriched by interaction with other civilizations, from the Mongols to the modern West ; considers the opportunities and challenges facing Muslims today" -- Book jacket.

Science & Islam : a history, by Ehsan Masood. (2008)
Between the 8th and 15th centuries, scholars and researchers working from Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan to Cordoba in Spain advanced our knowledge of astronomy, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, medicine and philosophy to new heights. It was Musa al-Khwarizmi, for instance, who developed algebra in 9th century Baghdad; al-Jazari, a Turkish engineer of the 13th century whose achievements include the crank, the camshaft, and the reciprocating piston; ibn Sina, whose textbook Canon of Medicine was a standard work in Europe's universities until the 1600s. These scientists were part of a sophisticated culture and civilization that was based on belief in God - a picture which helps to scotch the myth of the 'Dark Ages' in which scientific advance faltered. Science writer Ehsan Masood weaves the story of these and other scientists into a compelling narrative... (drawn from amazon.com)

A brief guide to Islam : history, faith and politics : the complete introduction, by Paul Grieve. (2006)
"Exploring the beliefs, history and politics of the ordinary people of Muslim countries, Grieve cuts through the complexities as he examines all aspects of Islam.The result is an accessible but never simplistic guide that challenges stereotypical views, from women and banking to war and Malcolm X. Complete with advice for visitors to Muslim countries, and with carefully chosen primary sources, maps and illustrations, this is the ideal summary for the reader looking for an unbiased overview of the religious and political world issues that have become part of our everyday lives."

The story of the Qur'an : its history and place in Muslim life, by Ingrid Mattson. (2008)
As the subtitle indicates, Mattson's work not only focuses on the Qur'an itself but also traces the history of the text and pays special attention to the role played by the Qur'an in the intellectual and spiritual life of Muslims from the seventh century to the present. She repeatedly calls for an open-minded approach to the Qur'an, but one that is solidly grounded in the canons of critical method. Readers of whatever stripe will find her introduction a welcome addition to the academic literature on the Qur'an. Summing Up: Highly recommended. ...." (Choice review, courtesy of Syndetics)

The flowering of Muslim theology, by Josef van Ess ; translated by Jane Marie Todd. (2006)
"Discusses the emergence of theology in the classical period and offers acute and illuminating comparisons with the Christian (and Jewish) traditions. Van Ess looks at the issue of heresy, at early ideas about straying from true belief. In a substantial and original instance of Koranic exegesis, he considers a problem much debated among classical theologians: whether it is possible to see God. He explores the explosive mix of theology and political thought, in an analysis of the development of ideas about the role and authority of a ruler. And he considers the relationship, or contradiction, between faith and knowledge: the enduring question of how one can know whether something is right or true." (book jacket)

Islam : an illustrated history, by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville and Stuart Christopher Munro-Hay. (2006)
"This illustrated work by two renowned scholars narrates the history of the spread of Islam all over the world, from its birth in Arabia in the seventh century to the present day. With its 180 maps, 200 illustrations, and carefully prepared text, the book brings clarity and understanding to a religious and cultural force of great contemporary significance." (book jacket)

No god but God : the origins, evolution, and future of Islam, by Reza Aslan. (2005)
Beginning with an exploration of the religious climate in the years before the Prophet's Revelation, Aslan traces the story of Islam from the Prophet's life and the so-called golden age of the first four caliphs all the way through European colonization and subsequent independence. Aslan sees religion as a story, and she tells it that way, bringing each successive century to life with the kind of vivid details and like-you-were-there, present-tense narration that makes popular history popular. (Drawn from John Green, writing in Booklist)

The garden of truth : the vision and practice of Sufism, Islam's mystical tradition, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. (2008)
The Sufi mystical heart of Islam is one of the few antidotes to fundamentalism in the Muslim world, and here Nasr looks at the human spiritual quest for Ridwan—the paradisiacal divine garden—from an orthodox Sufi perspective. Life is a journey from the heavenly primordial covenant through a physical experience to the pinnacle of choosing to become nothing and to experience God as the only true existence. To reach the truth, the disciple must follow divine law and walk a spiritual path guided by a master. (Drawn from Library Journal, courtesy of Syndetics)

Arguing the just war in Islam, by John Kelsay. (2008)
How has the concept of jihad been understood over the course of Islam's history? Do Islamic militants have any justification in defending their actions as necessary elements of jihad? These are the kinds of questions Kelsay (religion, Florida State Univ.) addresses. Kelsay notes that, historically, authoritative religious reasoning was done primarily by religious scholars and jihad was understood in terms of Islamic just-war criteria. In the last two centuries, however, individuals have claimed the right to do religious reasoning apart from scholars and to justify jihad in nonwar situations. ... A thought-provoking work; a valuable addition to all libraries (Drawn from Library Journal, courtesy of Syndetics)

The Qur'an, by Mona Siddiqui. (2007)
"Mona Siddiqui considers how the Qur'an has been understood by Muslims in the intellectual traditions of Islam as well as in popular worship. ... She also considers head on what the Qur'an says about gender, jihad, and about the role of ritual in Islam. Siddiqui's central concern is that Muslims must look to the Qur'an to breathe new life into the social and ethical relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. ..." -www.allenandunwin.com

The messenger : the meanings of the life of Muhammad, by Tariq Ramadan. (2007)
"A biography of the Prophet Muhammad, highlighting the spiritual and ethical teachings of one of the most influential figures in human history".

The face behind the veil : the extraordinary lives of Muslim women in America, by Donna Gehrke-White. (2008)
"This nonscholarly, sympathetic study of Muslim women in the US is divided into four parts of different sizes, each containing between 8 and 25 chapters. Each chapter tells a different story of a Muslim woman. Journalist Gehrke-White essentializes her subject by using the term Muslimah to refer to Muslim women in the US; these women come from varied backgrounds and have very different experiences. ...(drawn from Choice review, courtesy of Syndetics)

Islamic aesthetics : an introduction, by Oliver Leaman. (2006)
"Is there something unique about Islamic art? ...It is often argued that a very special sort of consciousness went into creating Islamic art, that it is very different from other forms of art, that Muslims are not allowed to portray human beings in their art, and that calligraphy is the supreme Islamic art form. Oliver Leaman challenges all these ideas, showing them to be misguided. (drawn from book jacket)

What Islam did for us, by Tim Wallace-Murphy. (2006)
"From the flowering of Islamic culture in Moorish Spain, a beacon of light in Europe's Dark Ages of religious arrogance and persecution, to the fall of Byzantium and the conflicts of the twentieth-first century, [the book] traces the prejudice and intolerance that have led to today's state of disgrace - and holds out hope that we can set it right." (book jacket)

My soul is a woman : the feminine in Islam, by Annemarie Schimmel ; translated by Susan H. Ray. (2006)
The author challenges commonly-held misconceptions about women in Islam and demonstrates the equality between the sexes in the Quran, in Islamic mystical traditions and in the role of holy women as manifestations of God.

The Shia revival : how conflicts within Islam will shape the future, by Vali Nasr. (2006)
"This timely and important book sheds light on an enduring conflict within Islam—the historic divide between its Shia and Sunni branches. Although Sunnis make up the majority of Muslims, the Shia, suppressed by Saddam Hussein, make up over 60 percent of Iraq's population. ... The entrenched historical, theological, and political disputes within Islam are analyzed here in an eminently readable and informative book". (drawn from Library Journal, courtesy of Syndetics)

The Qur'an : a biography, by Bruce Lawrence. (2006)
The author “describes the origins of the faith in seventh-century Arabia and explains why the Qur’an needs to be both memorised and recited by its followers. Lawrence also discusses the book’s many doubters and commentators… and assesses its influence in societies and politics today”.

What do Muslims believe?, by Ziauddin Sardar. (2004)
"Ziauddin Sardar examines the true teachings of Islam and explores the reality of the Muslim world today. Emphasizing the diversity of Islam and its ideals, he assesses the role Islam plays in the lives of ordinary Muslims and shows how Islamic beliefs and practices help Muslims understand the modern world."

DVDs:

Sufi soul : the mystic music of Islam, Songlines MWTV for Channel 4 (2008).
For hundreds of millions of Sufi followers worldwide, music is at the heart of their tradition and a way of getting closer to God. From the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey to the qawwali music of Pakistan, Sufism has produced some of the world's most spectacular music celebrated by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Dalrymple's film traces the shared roots of Christianity and Islam in the Middle East and discovers Sufism to be a peaceful, tolerant and pluralistic bastion against fundamentalism"--Container

Muhammad, legacy of a prophet, (DVD) (2003)
Tells the story of the seventh century prophet who changed world history in 23 years, and continues to shape the lives of more than 1.2 billion people. Three years in the making, the film takes viewers not only to ancient Middle Eastern sites where Muhammed's story unfolds, but into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's estimated seven million Muslims to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example.

Reference books:

The concise encyclopaedia of Islam,, editor-in-chief Cyril Glasse. (2001)
This edition encompasses the religion, history and culture of the Islamic world in some 1300 entries. It covers aspects of religious belief, ritual, practices, prayer, significant political movements, spiritual and political leaders, art, architecture, sects, law, social institutions, history, ethnography, nations and states, languages, science, major cities and centres of learning. (Amazon)

Online databases & articles

Wellington City Libraries subscribe to a number of different online databases that provide news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics. Below you'll find some links to recent articles on Islam, selected by our librarians.

If you have signed on to EBSCO (one of our magazine databases) in the last month, the journal links below will take you straight in to the database to browse journal issues. Otherwise, you'll be prompted to use your library card number and surname details to log in and view articles. If you'd like to discover what our databases have to offer on topics other than Islam, visit our online databases section, www.mygateway.info.

Recent journal article:

• An Islamic perspective on environmental literacy, by Imfadi Abu-Hola in Education, Winter 2009, Vol. 130 Issue 2, p195-211.
  Discusses Islamic values and rules relevant to environmental concepts and issues - such as forbidding negative behaviours threatening the environment, preventing pollution, and respecting animal, plants and water. One theme in Qur'an verses and Prophet (pbuh) sayings and traditions is to build and maintain a healthy and balanced environment.

Journal titles:

• Muslim World.
  Read the full text to these journal articles, issue by issue online, or search for the topics you need.
  (Note: there is a 12 month embargo on full-text articles.)

Useful websites

• Muslims
  Concisely explains the basic principles of Islam, including the most widely accepted definition of jihad. This site provides an abundance of facts about Islamic history, beliefs, and various other topics through its portrayal and interviews of Muslims.
• Islam @ University of Southern California
  Includes three translations of the Qur'an; introductions to and texts of the Sunnah (examples) and Hadith (sayings) of Muhammad; descriptions of the fundamentals of Islam; Islamic principles in society; and relations between Islam and other religions. Also contains an extensive glossary of Islamic terms and concepts. From the Muslim Students Association at the University of Southern California (MSA-USC).
• Islam 101
  An educational site on Islam, its way of life, civilization and culture. It includes an introductory course on Islam and presents Islamic views on contemporary issues.
• Al-Islam.org
  Created and maintained by the Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project (DILP). To facilitate access to resources related to Islamic history, law, practice, and the societies of various Muslim peoples. The homepage provides a general search engine, and an option to browse the site and its materials in four different languages. For those unfamiliar with the subject, they may want to begin by perusing the materials in the "Discover Islam" section.
• Introduction to Islam
  Online version of M. Cherif Bassiouini's book, the purpose of which is "to convey to a non-Muslim audience an understanding of Islam, its history, culture, and contribution to civilization." Includes maps, charts, pictures, and drawings. Relevant verses of the Qur'an (Koran) and sayings of the Prophet (Hadith) have been included where appropriate. The Arabic text of the Qur'an is also included.
• NZ Muslim net
  Portal for the New Zealand Muslim community with forums, chat room, library, gallery, and articles.
• Islam for today
  For Westerners seeking a knowledge and understanding of Islam. A guide to the religion of Islam, Muslim history and civilizations, the rights of women in Islam, Islam in the West and around the world today plus Muslim schools and family life.