Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophets Legacy (Islam in the TwentyFirst Century)

A much needed and timely work on the contentious issues of Islamic thought in the modern world Brown possesses formidable knowledge of premodern Muslim scholars who sought to preserve accounts of Muhammads teachings and practices MISQUOTING MUHAMMAD sheds light on the considerable dynamism and sophistication within the Sunni tradition. Washington Post Misquoting Muhammad makes the important point that what many Muslims believe to be essential tenets of their faith are often nothing of the sort Independent, best books of the year.An Independent Best Books on Religion 2014 PickFew things provoke controversy in the modern world like the religion brought by Prophet Muhammad. Modern media are replete with alarm over jihad, underage marriage and the threat of amputation or stoning under Shariah law. Sometimes rumor, sometimes based on fact and often misunderstood, the tenets of Islamic law and dogma were not set in the religions founding moments. They were developed, like in other world religions, over centuries by the clerical class of Muslim scholars.Misquoting Muhammad takes the reader back in time through Islamic civilization and traces how and why such controversies developed, offering an inside view into how key and controversial aspects of Islam took shape. From the protests of the Arab Spring to Istanbul at the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and from the ochre red walls of Delhis great mosques to the trade routes of the Indian Ocean world, Misquoting uhammad lays out how Muslim intellectuals have sought to balance reason and revelation, weigh science and religion, and negotiate the eternal truths of scripture amid shifting values.- A unique account of how the Quran has been interpreted through the centuries- Offers a fascinating and fresh look into the development of Islamic laws, with a focus on the topics of most concern to modern readers, including issues of violence and gender- Author is a leading academic in the field of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University