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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 | |