ISLAM – A SHORT INTRODUCTION pdf download

Islam – A SHORT INTRODUCTION, Signs, Symbols, and Values by Abdulkader Tayob

ISLAM – A SHORT INTRODUCTION

The book leads the reader into Islam by walking him or her through a mosque. It is a somewhat meandering tour, based on the principle that the immediate object or concept calls for attention and explication.

Beginning with the minaret and ending with the minbar (pulpit), it uses the structures of a mosque to wander through the rich and fascinating images, symbols, and values of Islam. It begins with the tangible and quickly moves to the intangible and abstract, and back again.

Social significance is not far behind the exploration of how Muslims use and grapple with the challenges of their faith and tradition. Each of the key structures of the mosque is used to explore other, seemingly unrelated, aspects of Islam.

Thus, for example, the minaret calls attention to the significance of height in Islamic architecture, but also the presence of Islam among other religious traditions, the issue of music in Muslim society, and the place of modern technology in Islamic rituals.

 I have avoided the tendency to oversimplify the complex questions concerning religion in the modern world. Thus, in almost every case, the book explores and informs, but also grapples with the familiar and commonplace.

In my research for this book, I have come across aspects of Islamic history of which I was unaware, and I share these with the reader.

 This introduction is simply not an introductory gloss on Islam but, hopefully, a challenging encounter. The best way to read this book is to start from the beginning and allow me to lead you through the mosque.

If I have assumed too much in the first chapter, then use the index to find a quick explanation of a concept or term. I hope that this does not happen too often as I have carefully mapped the topics from chapter to chapter.

On the other hand, you may begin with the index and use the text to focus on short introductions to Shari’ah (jurisprudence), inter-religious dialogue, hadith (statements of the Prophet), and its criticism, leadership, Sunnism, Shi‘ism, and many other issues. These topics are embedded within the discussion, but they may also be read about on their own.