Table of Contents

About the Contributors xi List of Illustrations xvii 1. Introduction AMYN B. SAJOO 1 2. The Prophet’s City REZA ASLAN 25 3. Reading the Quran ABDULLAH SAEED 55 4. Islam in the Plural AMIR HUSSAIN 87 5. Networks of Solidarity BRUCE LAWRENCE 107 6. Women and Social Change AZIZAH YAHIA AL-HIBRI 133 7. Inclusive Governance: A Fatimid Illustration SHAINOOL JIWA 157 8. The Art and Architecture of the Mosque HASAN-UDDIN KHAN 177 9. The Umma in the City AMIRA K. BENNISON 209 10. Cultures of Learning ANIL KHAMIS 237 11. A Conference of Bards: Rumi to Adonis RAFICQ ABDULLA 263 12. The Digital Umma GARY R. BUNT 291 Index 311

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What is the extraordinary text that is the Quran - and how does it relate to the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad? This book offers a journey into the full range of experience - past and present, secular and sacred - of the diverse peoples and cultures of the Muslim world.

About the Author

Amyn B. Sajoo lectured at Simon Fraser University in Canada - and held visiting appointments at Cambridge and McGill universities - before joining The Institute of Ismaili Studies in 2007. His publications include Muslim Modernities: Expressions of the Civil Imagination (2008), Muslim Ethics (2004), Civil Society in the Muslim World (2002) and Pluralism in Old Societies and New States (1994). Dr. Sajoo has served with the Canadian departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs, and is a frequent contributor to the news media on both sides of the Atlantic.