This anthology analyzes the crucial contemporary issues and challenges facing the Muslim minority in the West from a range of theological and sociological perspectives. Focusing on the recent London terrorist bombings in July 2005, it examines verses from the Koran used by terrorists to justify terrorist attacks and concludes with a comprehensive fatwa against suicide bombings and the targeting of civilians. Including a detailed glossary, this collection of essays from renowned Muslim scholars draws upon both the classic Islamic intellectual discourse and current social and cultural observations.
Yahya Birt is the editor of the Muslim World Book Review. Aftab Ahmad Malik is a research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Culure at the University of Birmingham and editor ofWith God on Our Side: Politics and Theology of the War on Terrorism. Hamza Yusuf Hansonfounded the Zaytuna Institute and Academy, which presents a classical picture of Islam in the West and is dedicated to the revival of traditional study methods and the sciences of Islam.David Dakake is a specialist in comparative religion and Islamic philosophy. He teaches in the religious studies department at George Mason University–Fairfax.Dr. Tahir Abbas is the editor of Muslim Britain: Communities Under Pressure and is a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Birmingham.