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| Introduction | |
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| About This Book | |
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| Conventions Used in This Book | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go From Here | |
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| Understanding the Basics | |
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| Approaching Islam | |
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| Getting an Overview of Islamic Origins | |
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| Summarizing Islamic Beliefs | |
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| Dividing into Branches | |
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| Counting the Numbers | |
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| Locating Islam on the World Map | |
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| Tracing the Path of Islamic History | |
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| The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs | |
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| The Golden Age | |
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| Bridging the Gap | |
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| Three Great Later Empires | |
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| Submitting to God | |
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| Affirming the Unity of God: Tawhid | |
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| Clarifying the Terminology: Allah Equals God | |
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| Testifying to God's Supremacy | |
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| Defining the Attributes of God | |
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| Loving and Knowing God | |
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| Invoking the 99 Names of God | |
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| What Muslims Believe | |
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| Stating the Five Essential Beliefs of Islam | |
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| Explaining the Faith to Non-Muslims | |
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| Expounding the Faith: Dealing with Difficult Faith Issues | |
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| Naming some theological issues | |
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| Rejecting Formal Creeds | |
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| Standing Before God: Heaven and Hell | |
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| Understanding Other Beings beyond God and Humans | |
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| Going to Heaven or Hell: From Life to Death to Resurrection | |
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| Envisioning Heaven and Hell | |
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| Muhammad: The Man, the Book, and Rules of Law | |
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| The Prophet: Muhammad | |
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| Setting the Stage: Arabia before Muhammad | |
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| Telling the Story of Muhammad | |
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| Thinking about Muhammad Theologically | |
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| Relating Personally to Muhammad | |
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| Searching for the Historical Muhammad | |
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| The Book: The Qur'an | |
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| Introducing the Qur'an | |
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| Hearing the Qur'an | |
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| Treating the Qur'an with Respect | |
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| Gathering and Organizing the Qur'an | |
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| The Style of the Qur'an | |
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| Interpreting the Qur'an | |
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| Using the Qur'an in Daily Life | |
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| Opening the Qur'an: The Fatiha | |
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| Islamic Tradition and Law | |
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| Imitating Muhammad | |
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| Understanding God's Law | |
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| Becoming Familiar with Muslim Daily Life | |
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| The Five Pillars of Worship: Foundations of Islam | |
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| Purification: Getting Ready for Worship | |
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| The Shahada (First Pillar): Testifying | |
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| Salat (Second Pillar): Praying | |
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| Zakat (Third Pillar): Helping the Needy | |
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| Saum (Fourth Pillar): Reflecting and Fasting | |
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| Hajj (Fifth Pillar): Making the Pilgrimage to Mecca | |
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| Observing Other Religious Rituals and Customs | |
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| Rituals Linked to the Yearly Calendar | |
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| Marking Life's Transitions | |
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| Observing Everyday Customs | |
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| Looking at Women's Rituals | |
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| Muslim Ethics: Living the Good Life | |
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| Reviewing the Starting Points for Islamic Ethics | |
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| Applying Ethics to Practical Issues | |
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| Understanding Sexual Ethics | |
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| Outlining Ethics Regarding Marriage and Family | |
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| Recognizing That All Muslims Aren't the Same | |
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| Shi'ites | |
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| Locating and Counting Shi'ite Muslims | |
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| Keeping the Faith in the Family | |
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| Reviewing Two Foundational Events of Shi'ism | |
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| Following the Line of the 12 Imams | |
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| Worshipping in Twelver Shi'ite Fashion | |
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| Thinking like Shi'ites | |
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| Interacting: Shi'ites, Sufis, and Sunnis | |
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| Sufis | |
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| Searching for God | |
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| Believing in the Sufi Manner | |
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| Making a Contribution: Outstanding Individual Sufis | |
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| Organizing the Sufi Community | |
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| Acting in the Sufi Manner | |
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| Putting Faith into Verse: Sufi Literature | |
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| Establishing the Sufi Brotherhoods | |
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| Rejecting Sufism | |
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| Exploring Lesser-Known Sects Linked to Islam | |
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| 'Ibadis (the early Kharijites) | |
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| Zaydis (or Fiver Shi'ites) | |
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| Isma'ili (or Sevener Shi'ite) Groups | |
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| On the Fringes of Islam and Beyond | |
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| Islam in America | |
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| Getting an Overview | |
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| Organizing the Muslim Community | |
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| Reestablishing a Black Muslim Community | |
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| Shi'ites in America | |
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| Sufis in America | |
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| Facing the Future as Muslim Americans | |
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| Considering Islam's Concept of Abrahamic Religions | |
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| Seeking Common Roots: Abrahamic Religion and Beyond | |
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| Belonging to the Same Family | |
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| Reading the Bible in the Qur'an | |
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| Muslims Facing Other Religions | |
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| Moving Toward Religious Dialogue | |
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| Seeking Common Ground | |
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| Ascertaining Muslims' Concerns | |
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| Hearing American Concerns Regarding Muslims | |
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| Facing the Major Issues | |
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| Knowing What's Needed from the Muslim Side | |
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| Knowing What's Needed from the Western Side | |
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| Meeting the Challenge of Modernity | |
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| Considering Islamic Democracy | |
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| Reclaiming Identity as an Islamic State | |
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| Forming a Shi'ite Islamic Republic | |
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| Reviewing the Globalization of Islamic Radicalism: bin Laden and Afghanistan | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Muslim Contributions to World Civilization | |
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| Transmission of Greek Writings | |
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| Algebra and Mathematics | |
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| Arabic Numbers | |
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| Astronomy | |
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| Engineering and Technology | |
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| Medicine | |
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| Pharmacology | |
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| Physics, Specifically Optics | |
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| Architecture | |
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| Ten Noteworthy Muslims, Past and Present | |
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| Taking a Long Trip: Ibn Battuta | |
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| Gathering it All Together: al-Tabari | |
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| Wielding the Sword of Saladin | |
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| Glorifying the King: Akbar | |
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| Thinking Deep Thoughts: Ibn Rushd | |
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| Creating the First Philosophy of History: Ibn Khaldun | |
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| Becoming a Hero of the Revolution: Ali Shariati | |
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| Building Great Mosques: Sinan | |
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| Winning the Nobel Prize: Naguib Mahfouz | |
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| Listening to Umm Kulthum | |
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| Ten Islamic Regions in the News Today | |
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| Africa | |
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| South Asia | |
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| Southeast Asia and the Pacific | |
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| The Baltic States | |
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| Iraq | |
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| Lebanon | |
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| Palestine and Israel | |
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| The Former Soviet Union | |
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| Syria | |
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| Turkey | |
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| Appendixes | |
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| Counting the Years: The Muslim Calendar | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Resources: Digging Deeper | |
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| Academic Resources | |
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| The Qur'an | |
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| Video Resources | |
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| Computer Software | |
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| Islam on the Web | |
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| And Finally ... | |
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| Index | |