Religions of a Single God - A Critical Introduction to Monotheisms from Judaism to Baha'i - Zeba A. Crook

Religions of a Single God - A Critical Introduction to Monotheisms from Judaism to Baha'i - Zeba A. Crook

Chapter 4: History of Islam

Religions of a Single God - A Critical Introduction to Monotheisms from Judaism to Baha'i - Zeba A. Crook

Zeba A. Crook [+-]
Carleton University
Zeba A. Crook is Professor of Religious Studies at Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada. He is a specialist in early Christianity and Graeco-Roman culture, but was drawn to the study of religion more broadly, and the study of these three religions in particular by teaching it. That his course on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam at Carleton University has attracted an average of six hundred students per year since he arrived there in 2003 shows the enduring interest in this material among young adults.

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Islamic history begins, arguably, in Medina with the establishment of a religio-political charter and a discrete community. From there, we can trace the expansion and spread of the movement to form, eventually, the Islamicate. But establishing an empire and leading an empire are different enterprises, so much of this chapter focuses on the challenges Muslims faced when it came to leadership. The history of the Islamicate reveals little agreement concerning the nature and qualifications for leadership. Although some Arab features will likely always remain in Islam because of its Arab origins, we will see that Islamic history (and in a later chapter, Islamic culture) have been shaped even more profoundly by Persians, Berbers, and Turks, but also by interactions with Jews, Christians, and Hindus.

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Citation

Crook, Zeba. Chapter 4: History of Islam. Religions of a Single God - A Critical Introduction to Monotheisms from Judaism to Baha'i. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 87-118 May 2019. ISBN 9781781798065. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=36413. Date accessed: 11 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.36413. May 2019

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