One of the most persistent problems in Christian-Muslim relations over the centuries has been the tendency by each to judge the other by standards and criteria not used in assessing itself. Goddard argues that such is no longer admissible and proceeds to offer a number of useful insights.

The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion draws on the expertise of an international team of scholars providing both an entry point into the sociological study and understanding of religion and an in-depth survey into its changing forms and content in the contemporary world. The role and impact of religion and spirituality on the politics, culture, education and health in the modern world is rigorously discussed and debated. The study of the sociology of religion forges interdisciplinary links to explore aspects of continuity and change in the contemporary interface between society and religion. Using a combination of theoretical, methodological and content-led approaches, the fifty-seven contributors collectively emphasise the complex relationships between religion and aspects of life from scientific research to law, ecology to art, music to cognitive science, crime to institutional health care and more. The developing character of religion, irreligion and atheism and the impact of religious diversity on social cohesion are explored. An overview of current scholarship in the field is provided in each themed chapter with an emphasis on encouraging new thinking and reflection on familiar and emergent themes to stimulate further debate and scholarship. The resulting essay collection provides an invaluable resource for research and teaching in this diverse discipline.

From the Crusades to the present day, the interrelationship between Islam and Christianity has been fraught with conflict, both theological and military. Yet events in 20th-century history, particularly the communications revolution, have meant that, after centuries of living in isolation from each other, Christians and Muslims find themselves participating in the same intellectual culture, and are having to review their assumptions about each other. In this work, Zebiri analyzes modern Muslim writings on Christianity and Christian writings on Islam to explore the issues central to Muslim-Christian relations. The literature surveyed is diverse - both popular and scholarly, varying in function, authorship and intended audience. Through its juxtaposition of the mutual perceptions of Muslims and Christians, the book provides an overview of the more important contrasts and similarities between the two religions.

Taking a thematic approach, Bryan S. Turner draws together his writings which explore the relationship between Islam and the ideas of Western social thinkers. Turner engages with the broad categories of capitalism, orientalism, modernity, gender, and citizenship among others, as he examines how Muslims adapt to changing times and how Islam has come to be managed by those in power.

This book provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of civility and political culture in the Muslim world. The contributions consider the changing interface between religion and politics throughout Islamic history, and into the present. Extending beyond saturated approaches of ‘political’ and/or ‘militant’ Islam, this collection captures the complex sociopolitical character of Islam, and identifies tensions between the political-secular and the sacred-religious in contemporary Muslim life. The alternative conceptual framework to traditional analyses of secularisation and civility presented across this volume will be of interest to students and scholars across Islamic studies, religious studies, sociology and political science, civilisation studies, and cultural studies.

Islamic religion has become an object of political discourse in ways that also affects academic reflection; against this background this volume aims to provide a theoretically and empirically founded assessment of where social sciences currently stand with regard to Islam. For this purpose, the volume continues to develop the sociological knowledge of Islam that began in the 1980s. Given the Orientalism inherent in sociology, the volume focuses on Muslim knowledge systems and institutions, as well as the practice of Muslim religiosity in various social contexts stretching from Algeria and Morocco to Turkey.

This volume is one of two edited by Andrew Rippin which are designed to complement one another, and to comprehend the principal trends in modern scholarship on the Qur’an. Both volumes are provided with a new introduction by the editor, analysing this scholarship, and providing references for further study. The Qur’an: Style and Contents reveals the variety of approaches followed within the study of the text. From Nöldeke’s examination of style through Arkoun’s project for the future, these scholarly statements reflect the historical development of the discipline, while providing overviews of key elements for the understanding of the Qur’an.

Beginning in 1954, Apr. issue lists studies in progress; Oct. issue, completed studies.

The Prophetic Tradition: The Challenge of Islam is an enlightening set of lectures given by Norman O. Brown during the 1980s, exploring a wide-ranging array of topics concerning Islam. Brown reveals the overlooked relationship between Islam and early Christianity, exploring Islam’s relation to, and revision of, the Christian tradition, the literary innovation of the Qu’ran, the nature of revolutionary and political Islam, and the vision of a world civilization. Throughout these lectures, which are remarkably pertinent today, Brown seeks to educate the reader on misunderstood areas of Islam, including the split between the Sunni and Shi’ite sects and Islam’s exemplification of the broad themes of art and imagination in human life. The author’s world-historical perspective of religion and tradition gives readers a crucial alternative to the divisive “clash of civilizations” view that paints Islam as at odds with the West. He exposes the unifying strands between Islam and early Judeo-Christian doctrine, showing that Islam is in fact a genuine part of “Western” tradition, and more importantly, part of a global tradition that embraces us all.