Teresa Bernheimer - Böcker

Insight into the origins and early development of Islam has become relevant not only to the specialist, but underlies a thorough understanding of debates relating to Islam and the Middle East in the contemporary period. Over the past decades, the field has seen the publication of some excellent in-depth studies on aspects of Islamic history 600–1000 CE, and has also undergone a revision of its own boundaries. Some studies have thus placed the origins of Islam in the wider context of Late Antiquity, and argued for an examination of the development of Islam as a religion and civilization in a broader monotheistic and Mediterranean context.Moreover, the historiographic debates of the 1970s are far from resolved: in the seventies a new critical approach to the study of early Islamic history emerged, often described as the sceptical or revisionist approach. Questioning the reliability of the Muslim tradition about Islamic origins, the ‘revisionists’ also at times suggested that it is impossible to recover any kernel of historical truth (what ‘actually happened’). Their assumptions and findings have been (and continue to be) criticized in numerous works, though not often in sustained or comprehensive manners. More recently, the field has witnessed a return to more ‘conventional’ approaches, where attempts are made to recover and reconstruct aspects of early Islamic history by analysis of the transmission history of hadith traditions and their chains of narrators. An understanding of the sources and the historiography thus remains pivotal to discussions of early Islamic history. This important issue is addressed particularly in the first volume, and in a thorough introduction which draws together the main themes and developments of the period. Early Years of Islam provides excellent reference work and very useful teaching material for a number of different university level courses, in subjects including History, Area Studies, Religious Studies, and Islamic Studies.

This first in-depth study of the 'Alids focuses on the crucial formative period from the Abbasid Revolution to the end of the Seljuq period. Exploring their rise from both a religious point of view and as a social phenomenon, Bernheimer investigates how they attained and extended the family’s status over the centuries. The 'Alids are the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, the elite family of Islam. The respect and veneration they are accorded is unparalleled in Islamic society, regardless of political or religious affiliation. And they have played a major role Islamic history, from famous early rebels to the founders and eponyms of major Islamic sects, and from 9th-century Moroccan and 10th-century Egyptian rulers to the current King of Jordan, the Ayatollah Khomeini and the Aga Khan.

In the past four decades, as the field of late antique studies has begun to gather real momentum, scholars have debated the place of early Islam within the late antique world, particularly in relation to the issue of where and when ‘Late Antiquity’ ends. Although the Sasanian empire (in what is now modern Iran) became as powerful as the Byzantine empire, and the two often forged their characters and practices on the basis of their relations with each other, that has rarely translated into equal coverage for the eastern part of the late antique world in studies of the period. Late Antiquity: Eastern Perspectives aims to redress this balance and situate Iran with the broader world of this era. Eight papers serve as case studies for considering narratives and perspectives other than those emanating from Byzantium or, more generally, ‘the West’. They demonstrate the potential of eastern source-material, particularly James Howard-Johnston’s double-length article which produces a detailed reconstruction of the Sasanian army.

Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices offers a survey of Islamic history and thought from the formative period of the religion to the contemporary period. It examines the unique elements which have combined to form Islam, in particular, the Qurʾān and perceptions of the Prophet Muḥammad, and traces the ways in which these ideas have interacted to influence Islam’s path to the present. Combining core source materials with coverage of current scholarship and of recent events in the Islamic world, Bernheimer and Rippin introduce this hugely significant religion, including alternative visions of Islam found in Shi’ism and Sufism, in a succinct, challenging, and refreshing way. The improved and expanded fifth edition is updated throughout and includes new textboxes. With detailed illustrations and a new companion website, Muslims is the ideal introduction for students who wish to explore the key issues of Muslims, from the Qurʾān to Islamic feminism, to issues of identity, Islamophobia, and modern visions of Islam.

Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices offers a survey of Islamic history and thought from the formative period of the religion to the contemporary period. It examines the unique elements which have combined to form Islam, in particular, the Qurʾān and perceptions of the Prophet Muḥammad, and traces the ways in which these ideas have interacted to influence Islam’s path to the present. Combining core source materials with coverage of current scholarship and of recent events in the Islamic world, Bernheimer and Rippin introduce this hugely significant religion, including alternative visions of Islam found in Shi’ism and Sufism, in a succinct, challenging, and refreshing way. The improved and expanded fifth edition is updated throughout and includes new textboxes. With detailed illustrations and a new companion website, Muslims is the ideal introduction for students who wish to explore the key issues of Muslims, from the Qurʾān to Islamic feminism, to issues of identity, Islamophobia, and modern visions of Islam.