What Do Muslims Believe? | Granta

  • Published: 03/10/2013
  • ISBN: 9781847084972
  • Granta Books
  • 100 pages

What Do Muslims Believe?

Ziauddin Sardar

‘The world is green and beautiful; and God has appointed you as His trustee over it’ The Prophet Muhammad

Islam is one of the great monotheistic religions of the world. It produced a magnificent civilization, envied for its science and learning, spanning over a thousand years. The teachings of Islam emphasize unity, humility, forgiveness and love of God. The Qur’an sings the virtues of knowledge and rationality. The life of Muhammad demonstrates the importance of tolerance, social justice and brotherhood. In Sufism, Islam presents a mystical system based on love and devotion. So why is Islam associated with hatred, violence, obstinacy and bigotry?

Ziauddin Sardar examines the true teachings of Islam and explores the reality of the Muslim world today. Emphasizing the diversity of Islam and its ideals, he assesses the role Islam plays in the lives of ordinary Muslims and how Islamic beliefs and practices help Muslims understand the modern world.

Ziauddin Sardar is arguably one of the best-known Muslim public intellectuals in the world today. He is an iconoclast, often a gadfly and undoubtedly one of the few Muslim intellectuals who span the proverbial Two Cultures

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The Author

Ziauddin Sardar was born in Pakistan in 1951 and grew up in east London. He has worked as Muslim and Middle East correspondent for Nature, New Scientist and the Independent and has made programmes for Channel 4, London Weekend Television and the BBC. He has published over forty books, including Desperately Seeking Paradise, and contributes to the Observer, New Statesman, Independent, Evening Standard and Daily Mail. He is Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies at City University, London.

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