Voices of Islam (63 page)
Authors: Vincent J. Cornell
V
OICES OF
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Volume 2 V
OICES OF THE
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PIRIT
Vincent J. Cornell, General Editor and Volume Editor
P
RAEGER
P
ERSPECTIVES
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Voices of Islam / Vincent J. Cornell, general editor.
cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–275–98732–9 (set : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98733–7 (vol 1 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98734–5 (vol 2 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98735–3 (vol 3 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0– 275–98736–1 (vol 4 : alk. paper)—ISBN 0–275–98737–X (vol 5 : alk. paper) 1. Islam— Appreciation. 2. Islam—Essence, genius, nature. I. Cornell, Vincent J.
BP163.V65 2007
297—dc22 2006031060
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright
©
2007 by Praeger PublishersAll rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006031060 ISBN: 0–275–98732–9 (set)
0–275–98733–7 (vol. 1)
0–275–98734–5 (vol. 2)
0–275–98735–3 (vol. 3)
0–275–98736–1 (vol. 4)
0–275–98737–X (vol. 5)
First published in 2007
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C
ONTENTS
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Vincent J. Cornell
Introduction: Voices of the
Spirit Vincent J. CornellAbraham’s Call: The Pilgrimage and the Call to
Prayer Virginia Gray Henry-BlakemoreDaniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
The Importance and Meaning of Prayer in
Islam Shaykh Muhammad Hisham KabbaniBarry C. McDonald
Dhikr
, a Door That When Knocked, Opens: An Essay on the Remembrance of GodDaniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
There Was No One Like
Him Daniel Abdal-Hayy MooreA Spiritual Tour of the Prophet’s City
(Medina) Daoud Stephen CasewitSparrow on the Prophet’s
Tomb Daniel Abdal-Hayy MooreIn the Realm of Mercy: A Visit to a Shiite
Shrine Karima Diane AlaviThe Passion of ‘Ashura in Shiite
Islam Kamran Scot Aghaie71
vi
ContentsThe Hidden and the Most Hidden: The Heart as a Source of Spiritual Guidance
Shaykh ‘Ali Jum‘a
Evil as the Absence of the
Good Seyyed Hossein NasrThe Blessed State of Fear: Reflections from Islam and
Christianity Virginia Gray Henry-BlakemoreThomas Merton and a Sufi
Saint Virginia Gray Henry-BlakemoreThe Sufi Way of Love and
Peace Nasrollah PourjavadySufi Women’s Spirituality: A Theology of
Servitude Rkia Elaroui CornellFatima al-Yashrutiyya: The Life and Practice of a Sufi Woman and Teacher
Leslie Cadavid
Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore
About the Editor and Contributors 279
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Vincent J. Cornell
It has long been a truism to say that Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the world. However, the situation expressed by this statement is more than a little ironic because Islam is also one of the most studied religions in the world, after Christianity and Judaism. In the quarter of a century since the 1978–1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, hundreds of books on Islam and the Islamic world have appeared in print, including more than a score of intro- ductions to Islam in various European languages. How is one to understand this paradox? Why is it that most Americans and Europeans are still largely uninformed about Islam after so many books about Islam have been pub- lished? Even more, how can people still claim to know so little about Islam when Muslims now live in virtually every medium-sized and major commu- nity in America and Europe? A visit to a local library or to a national book- store chain in any American city will reveal numerous titles on Islam and the Muslim world, ranging from journalistic potboilers to academic studies, translations of the Qur’an, and works advocating a variety of points of view from apologetics to predictions of the apocalypse.
The answer to this question is complex, and it would take a book itself to discuss it adequately. More than 28 years have passed since Edward Said wrote his classic study
Orientalism,
and it has been nearly as long since Said critiqued journalistic depictions of Islam in
Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World.
When these books first appeared in print, many thought that the ignorance about the Middle East and the Muslim world in the West would finally be dispelled. However, there is little evidence that the public consciousness of Islam and Muslims has been raised to a significant degree in Western countries. Scholars of Islam in American universities still feel the need to humanize Muslims in the eyes of their students. A basic objective of many introductory courses on Islam is to demonstrate that Muslims are rational human beings and that their beliefs are worthy of respect. As Carl W. Ernst observes in the preface to his recent work,
Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the