Tamara Sonn is the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in the History of Islam at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. She has published numerous books, including Interpreting Islam: Bandali Jawzi's Islamic Intellectual History (1996), Comparing Religions through Law: Judaism and Islam (with J. Neusner, 1999), and most recently The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies (with J. Morreall, 2011) and 50 Great Myths About Religion (with J. Morreall, 2014).

Now available in a fully-revised and updated third edition, Islam: History, Religion and Politics, provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the core teachings, historical development, and contemporary public struggles of Islam.
* Features a new chapter on the Arab Spring and the ongoing struggles for representative governance throughout the Muslim world
* Includes up-to-date analysis of the civil wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, including the rise of terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS
* Spans Islamic history from the life of Muhammad and the birth of Islamic ideals, through Islam's phenomenal geographical expansion and cultural development, to the creation of modern states and its role in today's global society
* Written by a leading scholar of Islamic studies

Foreword ix
Preface xi
Maps xiii
1 Many Paths to One God: Establishing the Ideals 1
The Quran 1
The Quran and Other Scriptures 7
Themes of the Quran 12
The Exemplary Life of Muhammad, Prophet of Islam:
The Sunna 21
The Early Muslim Community and the Pillars of Islam 24
The Successors ("Caliphs") 27
Early Communal Disputes 29
Conclusion 31
2 The Pursuit of Knowledge in the Service of God and Humanity: The Golden Age 34
Institutions 35
Law 36
Political Structure 43
Cultural Achievements 45
Spirituality and the Mystical Tradition: Sufism 54
Conclusion 68
3 Division and Reorganization 71
The Crusades and Other Disasters 71
The Decline of the Abbasids and Rise of the Ottomans 77
Persia: The Safavid Empire 84
India and the Rise of the Mughals 87
Understanding Developments in Islamic History 95
Conclusion 99
4 Colonialism and Reform 101
Colonialism 101
The Outcome of World War I 110
The Effects of Colonialism and Themes of Islamic Reform 117
Modern Iterations of Islamic Reform and New Challenges 125
Islamist Approaches to Reform 129
Conclusion: Mainstream Islamists and Radicals 135
5 Contemporary Islam: The Challenges of Democratization and Complications of Global Politics 139
Turkey 141
Iran 144
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and al?]Qaeda 154
Indonesia 166
Tunisia and the Arab Spring 168
What about Terrorism? ISIS, Boko Haram, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hezbollah 173
Conclusion: Asking the Right Questions 185
Further Reading 195
Index 000