Articles Online - Islam
The
Islamic Religion | Islam
and the West | Islam's Connection
to Terrorism
Three Books on the Question of Islam and Terrorism
The Islamic Religion [back to top]
"Intro to Islam" A well organized page of links covering most aspects of Islam. <http://www.islam101.com/dawah/index.htm>
"Minnach" A taste of modern Islamic music. http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/sounds/minnach.mid
"Discover Islam" Articles offering a broad range of information about Islam from a Muslim point of view. <http://www.al-islam.com/articles/articles-e.asp>
"Satellite Map of the Middle East." The Middle East as seen from a hundred miles up. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/maps/mideastmap.jpg>
"Introduction to Islam" A one page text describing the Islamic faith. <http://www.islam.com/introislam.htm>
"Bawadaak" Another short sample of contemporary Islamic music. http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/sounds/bawadaak.mid
"Islam Web" Another Islamic sponsored resource for Islamic history and news. <www.islamweb.net/english>
"Islam: Empire of Faith" A PBS exploration of Islam and its people. <http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/index.html>
Maps of Islam's Historical Development. A compendum of maps showing the expansion and contraction of Islam over the ages. <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~rs143/map.html>
"Internet Islamic History Sourcebook" One of the most comprehensive and serious collections of original sources, analysis and secondary articles concerning Islam available. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/islamsbook.html>
"Islamic Studies, Islam, Arabic, and Religion" A thorough and informative site developed by a professor at the University of Georgia. <http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/>
Photographs of the Middle East From the University of Chicago. <www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/mideast/photo/Contents.html>
Islam and the West [back to top]
Much of the discussion of Islam has concerned the nature of its relationship to the West. Many writers believe that the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity made it comparatively easy for these faiths to accept a separation of church and state, while the Qu'ran -- the Islamic holy book -- makes doing so more difficult. The links below offer a variety of interpretations of how Islam interacts with the Western world.
"Islam Past and Present" Muslim author Ishaq Husseini explained in 1956 why Islam has been resistant to the concept of the separation of church and state and examined some of the ramifications of this resistance. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/56oct/husseini.htm>
Interview with Karen Armstrong. Follows the conflict between Islam and the West from its beginnings in the 13th Century. http://stream.realimpact.net/?file=realimpact/wnyc/ranyco/karenarmstrong.ra
Three Articles by Middle Eastern Studies Scholar Bernard Lewis:
"Islam and Liberal Democracy" Lewis suggested in 1993 that in fact many elements of Muslim doctrine -- such as acceptance of plurality and the election of the Caliph -- are in keeping with Western democratic ideals. The danger, he warned, is that cultural incursion by the West can lend support to elements who interpret the Qu'ran in ways antithetical to modern democracy. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/93feb/lewis.htm>
"What Went Wrong?" Lewis argues that repressive regimes in many Muslim countries, more than anything inherent in Islamic culture, are responsible for Islam's difficulty in integrating with the West. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/01/lewis.htm>
"The Revolt of Islam" An examination of the origins of Islam's conflict with the west and some ideas on how that conflict might end. <http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?011119fa_FACT2>
Robert Irwin on 9-11. An artist's pithy capsule history of the interaction of Islam and the West over the last fifty years. <http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n19/mult2319.htm#irwin>
"Muslims in America" Part of an NPR series on the experience of being Muslim in America today. <http://search1.npr.org/search97cgi/s97_>
Islam's Connection to Terrorism [back to top]
Is the Islamic faith particularly conducive to terrorism? This question has perhaps been at the heart of most of the recent interest in Islam. Historically, Islam has given rise to violent fundamentalist movements no more frequently than have Judaism or Christianity. Yet unlike any other religious prophet, the Muslim prophet Mohammed did for a period lead an army. The links below examine the idea that the Muslim faith is more prone to violence than most.
"Terrorism and Islam" An Islamic site examining ways the Qu'ran forbids acts like those of the September 11th terrorists. <http://www.submission.org/terrorism.html>
"What Is the Koran?" Traditionally, Muslims have believed that the entire Qu'ran was a direct transcription of God's word. Toby Lester looks at what this has meant for attempts to reinterpret it in the modern world. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99jan/koran.htm>
"Behind Mubarak" These encounters with Egyptian clerics and intellectuals display the broad range of attitudes towards terrorism in a contemporary Muslim country. <http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?011008fa_FACT3>
"The Gospel According to Osama bin Laden" Argues that Bin Laden has great rhetorical power and that his interpretations of the Qu'ran will have lasting effects. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/01/gerecht.htm>
"The Deep Intellectual Roots of Islamic Terror" Robert Worth shows how Bin Laden has drawn on the work of little known radical Islamic scholar Sayyid Qutb. <http://www.middleeastinfo.org/article13.html>
"The Imam in Cleveland: Alleged Ties to Islamic Radicals Stir Debate over Cleric" Could a Muslim cleric in the United States be a terrorist supporter? http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jan/imam/020118.imam.html
"Facts Belie Hype About 'Islamic Terrorism'" A short article with charts showing that overall terrorism has declined in the last decade. <www.twf.org/News/Y1999/1231-Terrorism.html>
"True Lies: The Construction of 'Islamic' Terrorism" A detailed academic analysis of the idea of Islamic terrorism. <www.colorado.edu/ReligiousStudies/TheStrip/features/truelies/ title.htm>
Three Books on the Question of Islam and Terrorism: [back to top]
Esposito, John L. "The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?" Oxford University Press, 1992.
A thorough and scholarly attempt to convey the complex realities of Islam and Islamic fundamentalism today.
Johnson, James Turner, and Kelsay, John, eds. "Cross, Crescent, and Sword: the Justification and Limitation of War in Western and Islamic Tradition," Greenwood Press, 1990.
A collection of essays comparing ideas about war and violence in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Said, Edward. "Covering Islam : How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World," Vintage Books, 1997.
" Professor Said
is adept at holding a mirror up to American attitudes toward Islam....
[He] skillfully traces the origins of American misinformation about Islam
to the way that Orientalist scholarship is financed and organized in this
country. And finally he pleads eloquently for the instrumentality of all
historical knowledge and the needs of all scholars to be aware of their
objectives in order to acquire that knowledge usefully. This plea amounts
to a prescription for cultural self-awareness that will be wasted on none
of us."
- New York Times Book Review
