Annemarie Schimmel is a Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages at Harvard University.

"The topic is becoming more significant because Islam is the most rapidly growing religion in the world. This book provides a thorough and sophisticated, but at the same time clear-headed and reliable, overview." — Kevin Lacey, State University of New York, Binghamton"This survey represents and distills a lifetime of scholarship devoted to the Islamic tradition. In the Introduction, Schimmel remarks that the book follows 'the traditional view of Islamic history without venturing into the vast field of sociological or political approaches.' In practice, this translates into a traditional view of Islam as experienced by Muslims. It is difficult to imagine a book that would better represent how most Muslims conceive their own religion. It is likely that Muslims will be most eager to read and quote from this book since it faithfully presents a perspective with which they can identify." — Carl W. Ernst, Pomona College

• Introduction Arabia Before Islam Muhammad The Expansion of Islam The Koran and Its Teachings The Tradition The Law Theology and Philosophy The Shia and Related Sects Mystical Islam and Sufi Brotherhoods Popular Piety and the Veneration of Saints Modern Developments Inside Islam Bibliography Index