Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives - Islamic Books ...

Chapter OneIslamHistorical Introduction and OverviewR. MI C H A E L F E E N E RFor many people in the United States, the dramatic and tragic events of andfollowing September 11, 2001, seem to have exploded into the world fromout of nowhere. Over the weeks and months that followed, a new awarenessof the roles of Islam in countries ranging from Afghanistan to the Philippinesbegan to emerge. However, in the process, phenomena that have only recentlycome into mainstream American public consciousness via mass mediacoverage are often presented there without the kind of background materialsthat are helpful in analyzing and understanding such developments. Popularmedia reportage can only go so far in providing contexts for understandingcurrent events in different societies around the world. The chapters in thisbook attempt to provide a deeper grounding for discussions of contemporaryMuslim societies.This short volume can provide only a critical selection of studies rather thancomprehensive coverage of all Muslim societies. Thus we have been unable toinclude, for example, chapters on western Africa or eastern Europe. Nevertheless,the in-depth explorations of the societies that are discussed here can serv eas introductions to the complexities of contemporary Islam as it is lived byMuslims in local as well as global contexts. In their discussions of race, language,politics, and piety in diverse Muslim societies, these chapters bring tolight some of the most consequential issues affecting the interpretations of Islamand the experiences of Muslims in the modern world. In this introductionI will present an overview of Islam that highlights earlier historical developmentsthat have shaped the tradition for centuries and that continue to informdebates and discussions in many Muslim societies today.1