Definitive history of Islam in Malaysia is launched

Islam in Malaysia: An Entwined History by Dr Khairudin Aljunied has been launched. This is the first book to provide an account of Islam in Malaysia according to publisher Oxford University Press.

Source: OUP.

The book investigates how Islam has shaped the social lives, languages, cultures and politics of both Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia, and charts the evolution of Malay states and societies from colonial regimes to the pluralised society that exists today.

This book covers the growth and development of Islam in Malaysia from the 11th to the 21st century, and shows how Muslims in Malaysia built upon the legacy of their pre-Islamic past while benefitting from Islamic ideas, values, and networks.

Dr Aljunied is Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore and Senior Fellow at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University. Dr Aljunied has authored and edited several books, including Muslim Cosmopolitanism: Southeast Asian Islam in Comparative Perspective (2017) and Hamka and Islam: Cosmopolitan Reform in the Malay World (2018). His research covers topics such as religious cosmopolitanism, social movements and intellectual history.

Details:

Islam in Malaysia: An Entwined History
October 2019
328 pages, hardback
£64 Buy the book or e-book
ISBN: 9780190925192

Illustrating the trends in Quranic commentary worldwide

Source: OUP.

The OUP/Institute of Ismaili Studies has published The Qur'an and its Readers Worldwide: Contemporary Commentaries and Translations, edited by Suha Taji-Farouki (ISBN: 9780198754770) as part of its Qur'anic Studies Series.

Some 80% of Muslims in the contemporary world speak languages other than Arabic, the language of the Quran. To respond to the needs of their communities, Muslim scholars and laypersons must increasingly explain and communicate the meanings of the Quran in their own languages — including through the medium of Quran commentary and translation.

The Qur'an and its Readers Worldwide provides an introduction to this rich and expanding field. It brings together a selection of Quran commentaries and translations produced across the twentieth century to the present day, and ranging in provenance from the regions of the traditional Islamic heartlands to the new loci of global Islam. Individual chapters examine works in Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, English, German, Malay, Persian, Swahili, Turkish and Urdu, each viewed in terms of the impact of modernity on the encounter with the Quran.

Through these case studies this book illustrates the defining trends in Quran commentary worldwide, addressing evolving questions of authorship, message, intended readership and media of communication. It also samples debates concerning Quranic meaning in translation.

Taji-Farouki is Senior Lecturer in Modern Islam at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, the University of Exeter. She was formerly at the University of Durham, and has held Visiting Fellowships in London, Berlin, Oxford and Amman.

Interested?

The hardback costs £60.

Fresh view into Islamic ethical thought from Sophia Vasalou

Source: OUP.

Ibn Taymiyya's Theological Ethics by Sophia Vasalou (ISBN: 9780199397839), Oxford University Press, is a new study on Islamic ethical thought in the classical period, detailing intellectual developments in Islamic theology, philosophy and legal theory.

Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya (ابن تيمية; ) was a prominent Islamic scholar, theologian and logician. The book aims to shed fresh light on Ibn Taymiyya's intellectual identity by investigating his ethical thought, considering right and wrong, and God's relationship to standards discerned by the human mind. 

Vasalou, a Library of Arabic Literature Fellow at NYU Abu Dhabi and an Honorary Research Associate at Oxford Brookes University, also explores Ibn Taymiyya's relationship to the intellectual landscape of his time (1263 to 1328), bringing us up against ethical discussions unfolding within theology, philosophy and legal theory in the classical period. 

Interested?

The hardback is priced at £47.99. This book is also available as an ebook

Reviewing Islam and democracy post-Arab Spring

Source: OUP.

In late 2010, the wave of civil resistance known as the Arab Spring stunned the world as dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya were overthrown, while the regimes of Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen suppressed their own revolutions. The Islamic political parties of Tunisia and Egypt have gained particular attention for their success in the national elections following the overthrow of their regimes, and similar electoral success has been seen in Morocco and is predicted throughout the Arab world and beyond in the broader Middle East and in Southeast Asia.

Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring by John Esposito, Tamara Sonn, and John Voll (ISBN: 9780195147988) expands upon ideas raised in by Esposito and Voll in their earlier book Islam and Democracy, as well as data from the Gallup World poll and Gallup polling throughout Egypt, Tunisia, and other loci of the Arab Spring. Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring applies a twenty-first century perspective to the question of whether or not Islam is "compatible" with democracy by redirecting the conversation towards a new politic of democracy that transcends both secular authoritarianism and 'Political Islam'.

The book provides historical context and insights into the broader political developments of the Muslim world. While the opposition movements of the Arab Spring are distinctive, each has raised questions regarding equality, economic justice, democratic participation, and the relationship between Islam and democracy in their respective countries.

The authors are established experts on Islam and democracy and have served as consultants to governments, the military, and think tanks in the US, Europe, and Asia. Esposito is University Professor and Professor of Religion & International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, while Sonn is the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in the History of Islam in the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Voll is Professor Emeritus of Islamic History at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.

Interested?

The hardback costs £20. An ebook version is also available

Muslim case law explained in new book from OUP India

Cases on Muslim Law of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, by Alamgir Muhammad Serajuddin, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, provides an introduction to the basic principles and rules of Muslim law, and shows how case law acts as a social barometer and an instrument of change.

Source: OUP website.

Published by OUP India, the book offers 61 essential cases on Muslim law from pre- and post-independent India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, explains the basic principles and rules of Muslim law, and their application by the courts.

The cases discussed cover such diverse areas as sources and interpretation of law, institution of marriage, polygamous marriages, dower, restitution of conjugal rights, talaq, khula, irreconcilable breakdown of marriage, legitimacy, guardianship, and maintenance of wives and divorced wives. Legislations covered include the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, and Muslim Women Act 1986.

The book also shows how religion-based rules of personal law have been interpreted by secular courts during certain epochs in history and how the trend of interpretation has changed over the last 150 years.

Interested?

The book (ISBN 978-0-19-945761-8) is available in hardback for £34.99.

Oxford encyclopedias on Islam are ideal companion volumes

Source: OUP website.

Two sets of encyclopedias on Islam were published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) within months of each other last year. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics (ISBN: 9780199739356) provides in-depth coverage and discussion of the political dimensions of Islam and the Muslim world. 

Developments in Muslim societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have highlighted the need for a major reference work focusing primarily on these dimensions, says the OUP. The encyclopedia covers major turning points in contemporary Muslim history, including:

• The realisation of internal decay and relentless quest for reform
• The collapse of the Islamic caliphate
• The fall of most parts of the Muslim world under western colonialism
• The emergence of nation-states
• The dominance of secular ideologies
• The rise of Islamic revivalist movements and faith-based political, economic, and social alternatives
• The confrontation between Islamic movements and secular inspired regimes

Based on the 2009 The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics brings together over 400 new and updated entries to create a single, specialised reference source on this important topic. The two-volume set runs to 1,452 pages and costs US$395.

Source: OUP website. 

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam, first edition, was published May 2014 (ISBN: 9780199812578). This US$395. two-volume set runs to a total of 1,152 pages, and provides an overview as well as a comprehensive and detailed survey of the main features of philosophy, science, medicine and technology in the Muslim world. 

The more than 250 A-Z entries cover of Islamic philosophy, sciences, and technologies from the classical through contemporary periods. The tone is scholarly, based on primary and secondary sources, and aimed at advanced students of Islamic philosophy and science. The selection of entries as well as their content reflect the most recent research in the field, providing scholars and advanced students with an authoritative reference work.

Exploring the religious and cultural aspects of Baluchistan

Balochistan: Architecture, Craft, and Religious Symbolism, by Dr Mohsen Keiany, is one of the few studies focusing on the culture, architecture and religious traditions of Balochistan (also spelt Baluchistan) and its people. The hardback (ISBN 978-0-19-906784-8) is published by OUP Pakistan, runs to 370 pages and costs £41.99 excluding VAT.                                                     

In this January 2015 research work Dr Keiany, an artist and lecturer in architecture and visual arts at the University of Arts in Isfahan and also at Azad University of Shiraz, Iran, explores the living tradition of Baluchistan and provides a deeper understanding of its religo-cultural aspects. The architectural and artistic traditions are well-documented in this book. The material presented on prayer rugs, tents, and aspects of the nomadic and semi-nomadic architecture is wholly original. 

The research first focuses on the social environment of Baluchistan, in order to understand the input of local culture and tribo-religious influences of local architecture. The Baluchi lifestyle is analysed on a broad plane, taking into account native architecture including mosques and symbolic minarets as key factors, together with their design, characteristics, social contextualisation and methods of production.

New Arabic-English, English-Arabic dictionary contains more than 130,000 entries

Source: OUP.

Produced using the dictionary resources of Oxford University Press with an international team of expert advisors, the Oxford Arabic Dictionary is ideal for serious students of Arabic and English, as well as academics, professionals, business people, teachers, and translators.

The £65 hardback Oxford Arabic Dictionary was published in August 2014, and is also available online. This resource includes the latest vocabulary from computing, business, the media, and the arts, across both languages.

The Arabic-English and English-Arabic dictionary is designed for both Arabic and English native speakers. Based on real modern evidence and computational analysis of hundreds of millions of words of both English and Modern Standard Arabic (the standardised variety of Arabic used in writing and in most formal speech), the dictionary boasts more than 130,000 words and phrases and 200,000 translations. 

It features:

• Over 80,000 collocates and meaning indicators guide you to the right translation 
• Over 70,000 fully translated example sentences and idioms taken from language in real use 
• The most commonly used sense of each word is shown first
• The Arabic-English section of the dictionary is organised by roots, which are listed alphabetically
• Vowels in all Arabic text help non-Arabic speakers in pronunciation and comprehension 
• Tables of Arabic verb conjugations, full forms of Arabic numbers, dates, and years, and irregular English verbs

First book to study tafsir as a genre published

Source: OUP website.

Tafsīr and Islamic Intellectual History: Exploring the Boundaries of a Genre (ISBN 978-0-19-870206-1), is part of the Oxford University Press' Qur'anic Studies Series. The volume offers the only up-to-date survey of scholarship on tafsīr as a genre and its place within the broader framework of Muslim scholarship.

The 400-page hardback, launched in January 2015, represents the first attempt at analysing the fields in which Muslim exegetical activity takes place, its relation to other fields of learning and the conditions that influence the results of exegesis. The £55 book discusses the emergence of the genre in the beginnings of Islamic history and the changes and potential ruptures it has experienced in later times, the role of hadith, law, language, philosophy, theology and political ideology for the interpretive process, the regional dimension, the influx of modernist ideas and the process of writing tafsīr in languages other than Arabic.

Questions answered include: 

• How and when did Qur'anic exegesis (tafsīr) emerge as a literary genre of its own? 
• To what extent was it influenced by other disciplines, such as law, theology or philosophy
• How did different political or theological agendas shape works of tafsīr, and in what ways did the genre develop over time and in different regions?

Edited by Andreas Görke, Lecturer in Islamic Studies, University of Edinburgh, and Johanna Pink, Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Freiburg, the book consists of essays from 15 contributors who are leading scholars in the field or young researchers, providing a mix of perspectives. 

Book argues that Classical Arabic and dialects may not be related

Source: OUP.

Arabic Indefinites, Interrogatives, and Negators: A Linguistic History of Western Dialects, traces the origins and development of the Arabic grammatical marker š/šī, which is found in interrogatives, negators, and indefinite determiners over a broad dialect area that stretches from the southern Levant to North Africa and includes dialects of Yemen and Oman.

David Wilmsen, a Professor of Arabic in the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages at The American University of Beirut who has spent 30 years studying Arabic, and 20 years living in Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon, challenges traditional assumptions about the origins of Arabic interrogatives and negators. He draws on data from old vernacular Arabic texts and from a variety of Arabic dialects to show that, contrary to much of the literature on the diachrony of this morpheme, š/šī does not derive from Arabic šay (شيء) 'thing'. 

Wilmsen argues instead that the usage dates back to a pre-Arabic stage of West Semitic and probably has its origins in a Semitic demonstrative pronoun. With this theory, Arabic šay could in fact derive from š/šī, and not vice versa.

The book demonstrates the significance of the Arabic dialects in understanding the history of Arabic and the Semitic languages, and claims that modern Arabic dialects could not have developed from Classical Arabic. 

The 264-page book is part of the Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics series (ISBN 978-0-19-871812-3). It is available as a hardback and an e-book for £65. It will be of interest to historical linguists, particularly all those working on Arabic and other Semitic languages.

New study analyses Razi's intellectual aims

Source: OUP.

Razi: Master of Quranic Interpretation and Theological Reasoning by Tariq Jaffer repositions the central aims of Razi's intellectual programme with original research on the methods of Razi's Quranic interpretation and theological reasoning.

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1148 to 1210) was a leading representative of Sunni orthodoxy in medieval Islam. He was the first intellectual to exploit the rich heritage of ancient and Islamic philosophy to interpret the Quran, writing on the disciplines of theology, Quranic exegesis, and philosophy, jurisprudence, medicine, physiognomy, astronomy, and astrology. After his death in 1210 his works became standard textbooks in Islamic institutions of higher learning. 

Razi investigates his contributions to the Islamic intellectual tradition, connecting his thought to the history of philosophical and scientific ideas in Islamic civilisation. Jaffer uncovers the development of Razi's appropriation of methods and ideas from ancient and Islamic philosophy into a unified Quranic commentary—and consequently into the Sunni worldview. 

The author shows that the genre of Quranic commentary in the post-classical period contains a wealth of philosophical material that is of major interest for the history of philosophical ideas in Islam and for the interaction of the aqli (عقلي) or 'rational' and naqli (نقلي), 'traditional', sciences in Islamic civilisation. Jaffer also demonstrates how Razi reconciled the opposing intellectual trends of his milieu on major methodological conflicts.

The book was published by OUP USA in January 2015. The 256-page hardback (ISBN 978-0-19-994799-7) is also available as an e-book.

Oxford Islamic Studies Online offers regularly-updated teaching and research resource

Source: Oxford Islamic Studies Online website.

Oxford Islamic Studies Online has been updated with over 300 new and revised articles from The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics, edited by Emed El-Din Shahim, in its Fall 2014 update. New entries include the Arab Spring, sovereignty, rebellion, as well as overviews of Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

The subscription-based service features articles written, selected, and interpreted by renowned scholars to aid research and teaching at any level. The site hosts over 3,000 articles integrated with chapter-based scholarly works, visual, geographic, and social perspectives on global Islam, including maps, illustrations, dynastic tables, and demographic charts, as well as timelines, glossaries, and other learning resources.

Available content includes the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World (six volumes, 2009), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (four volumes), The Islamic World: Past and Present, The Oxford History of Islam, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Hanna Kassis' A Concordance of the Qur'an, two translations of the Quran published in the Oxford World's Classics series, and What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam. 

Monthly or yearly personal subscriptions are granted under the terms of a single-user, non-transferable license. Corporate subscriptions are available on an annual basis. Subscribers may access the site from any location. 

Request a 30-day free trial here. Sign up for a subscription here.

Separating worldviews from lexicology and exegesis

Source: OUP.

The Meaning of the Word: Lexicology and Qur'anic Exegesis is part of Oxford University Press' Qur'anic Studies Series. The 480-page hardback is expected to be available by February 2015, and priced at £70.

The book provides what the publishers say is the first in-depth discussion focusing on the relationship between the interpretation of the Quran and the meanings of words, from the beginnings of Quranic exegesis (tafsīr) to the contemporary period.

Stephen R. Burge, Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London and the editor of the book, believes that the different theological perspectives of exegetes and translators, whether medieval or modern, influence how they understand the Quranic worldview, its theology and ethical values.
"Many modern scholars have recognised that lexicology plays an important part in exegesis, but there are few studies of how exegetes use it to develop their interpretations of the Quran or that address lexicology in Quranic exegesis in any depth. This volume of essays addresses this gap in the scholarship," states a description of the book on the OUP website.

Individual contributions analyse the different tafsīr scholars' approaches to lexicology, as well as offering comparative thematic studies of law, women in Islam, and theology. The contributions cover a wide range of subjects, from linguistics to literary criticism, and law and gender to mysticism.

Besides Burge, who also authored Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik (Routledge, 2012), other contributors include: Herbert Berg, Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Ayesha Chaudhry, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Gender Studies at the University of British Columbia. Agostino Cilardo, Professor of the History and Institutions of the Islamic World, and Professor of Islamic Law at the Università degli Studi di Napoli 'L'Orientale'. Claude Gilliot, Professor Emeritus of the Université d'Aix-Marseille and IREMAM, and a member of the Institut Dominicain d'Études Orientales (IDEO) in Cairo. Toby Mayer, Research Associate in the Qur'anic Studies Unit at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. Christopher Melchert, University Lecturer in Arabic and Islam at the University of Oxford. Devin Stewart, Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Emory University. Kees Versteegh, Professor Emeritus of the University of Nijmegen. Stefan Wild. Professor Emeritus of the University of Bonn (Rheinische Freidrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn). M. Brett Wilson, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Macalester College. Travis Zadeh, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Haverford College.

Book discusses how imaginary Muslim monsters promote hate

Source: OUP website.

Muslims in the Western Imagination by Sophia Rose Arjana, is due to be published by OUP USA in February 2015. The £19.99 hardback, which will also be available as an e-book, discusses imaginary Muslim monsters and explains how these creatures aid in the dehumanisation of Muslims.

Muslim men have been depicted as monsters in medieval tales, Renaissance paintings, Shakespearean dramas, Gothic horror novels, and Hollywood films. Arjana surveys medieval, early modern, and contemporary literature, art, and cinema, presenting a Foucauldian genealogy of these creatures, from the demons and giants of the Middle Ages to the hunchbacks with filed teeth that appeared in the 2006 film 300. 

The book argues that constructions of Muslim monsters constitute a recurring theme, first formulated in medieval Christian anti-Semitism. Arjana, who is Visiting Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Iliff School of Theology, shows how Muslim monsters are often related to Jewish monsters, and more broadly to Christian anti-Semitism, which involves both religious bigotry and fears surrounding bodily differences. 

Arjana also discusses the impact such representations have on perceptions of Muslims, arguing that these dehumanising constructions become internalised and contribute to the culture of violence against Muslims.

The principle of wasatiyyah has much to teach the world

Source: OUP.

An upcoming book by the Oxford University Press (OUP) will shed more like on the Quranic principle of wasatiyyah.

The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam, by Islamic law expert Mohammad Hashim Kamali, is estimated to be available in July 2015. The book discusses the roots and presence of moderation in Islamic tradition and proposes practical applications of wasatiyyah to 13 contemporary issues of global policy.

Kamali argues that scholars, religious communities, and policy circles should consider that this governing principle drives the silent majority of Muslims, rather than focusing on the extremist fringe. He quotes the Quran and hadith to show that wasatiyyah has a long and well-developed history in Islamic law and applies the concept to contemporary issues of global policy, such as justice, women's rights, environmental and financial balance, and globalisation.

The 320-page hardcover costs £22.99 and will also be available as an e-book.