San Antonio College Library

The world's largest religion, Islam is also one of the fastest growing and most politically potent, yet its nature remains obscure to many westerners despite its common theological and historical roots with Judaism and Christianity. Combining the finest Western scholarship with an insider's understanding of the Muslim world, this book provides a brief, yet comprehensive introduction to the faith, belief, and practice of Islam from the seventh century...

In this work, thirty-three scholars consider the significance of Jerusalem in the thought and practice of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They describe its archeological remains, cultural creations, and tumultuous history from biblical times to the present. But they also probe its rich significance as a religious site sacred to three faiths: as the sacred center of the world, as a goal of pilgrimage, and as a symbol of eschatological fullness. --From...

Islam's acceptance of other religions remains an enigma for many Westerners. Yet it is this religion's doctrine of Unity, which affirms one supreme God, as well as its belief in multiple prophets, which explains its acceptance of other faiths. The sixteen articles in this volume discuss the fundamental universality of Islam and make the case for it as a religion and civilization intrinsically equipped to address all aspects of the human experience. "Patrick...

Media coverage of the Danish cartoon crisis and the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan left Westerners with a strong impression that Islam does not countenance depiction of religious imagery. Jamal J. Elias corrects this view by revealing the complexity of Islamic attitudes toward representational religious art. Aisha's Cushion emphasizes Islam's perceptual and intellectual modes and in so doing offers the reader both insight into Islamic visual...

In blunt, provocative, and deeply personal terms, Irshad Manji unearths the troubling cornerstones of mainstream Islam today: tribal insularity, deep-seated anti-Semitism, and an uncritical acceptance of the Koran as the final, and therefore superior, manifesto of God. In this open letter to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Manji asks such questions as: "Who is the real colonizer of Muslims--America or Arabia? Why are we all being held hostage by what's...

"ALLAH offers a constructive vision for a new pluralism. The claim that Muslims and Christians worship the same God yet have different understandings of that one God is an expression of just such pluralism. If a "clash of civilizations" is good for fighting each other, this new pluralism is good for building a common future together. Volf is ideally suited to reach a large, motivated audience for this book. He is leading expert about religion and...

Narrated by Academy Award winner, Ben Kingsley, Religions of the World offers insight into the striking similarities and vast differences among the world's major religions as well as the unique perspective of its many individual cultures. Each episode presents a fresh look at the history of our world through the eyes of religion as well as an in-depth look at religion's role in creating cultural diversity. --From container. [V.1] Buddhism: Discover...

"Unmasking the tie between Islam and modern terrorism, Ed Hotaling explores both the radical challenge posed by terrorists to the venerable religion they claim to follow and their threat to the world at large." "Here is the story of how Muhammad's followers conquered half the world, exceeded early Christian Europe in the arts, sciences, and government, and won the bloody battles of the Crusades. Hotaling traces the path of Islam to modern times and...

Award-winning investigative journalist and poet, Eliza Griswold has spent the past seven years traveling between the equator and the tenth parallel: in Nigeria, the Sudan, and Somalia, and in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The stories she tells in "The Tenth Parallel" show us that religious conflicts are also conflicts about land, water, oil, and other natural resources, and that local and tribal issues are often shaped by religious ideas....