[ Buchtipp von Tarik Bary ] This book is a good read for those interested in Islam, especially after 9/11 attacks.
It's an analytical book.
Currently, there are roughly 1,000 undergraduate departments and programs in the study of religion in North America. Many of these 1,000 offer courses on Islam. In part, this interest in Islam is historical and conceptual, based on the close relationship of Islam to Judaism and Christianity. This interest in Islam is also due to the growing presence of Islam in Europe, North America, and its perceived role in international affairs. Islam is now the second largest religion in the United States, with the number of Muslims surpassing that of Jews, and it remains the fastest growing religion both in the United States and worldwide. Despite the growing interest in and importance of Islam in the undergraduate curricula in religion, there are currently only about 100 scholars trained in Islamic Studies and Religious Studies in North America. One consequence of this imbalance between the interest in Islam and the number of positions in Islamic Studies is a paucity of resources for the teaching of Islam in the context of Religious Studies. On the other hand, those relatively few scholars with primary expertise in Islamic Studies face significant obstacles in the teaching of Islam as a religion. This book originated with the recognition of this situation by a small group of scholars concerned with their own position and that of others attempting to teach Islamic Studies in religion curricula. The book is divided into three sections, roughly corresponding to different types of pedagogical concerns. Section one addresses theoretical and pedagogical frames for presenting Islam in the Religious Studies classroom. The essays raise salient issues regarding the teaching of Islam in the context of Religious Studies, questioning the pedagogical underpinnings of such an enterprise. Section two deals with the teaching of different dimensions of Muslim faith, community, and order. It focuses on four discrete topical courses, showing both how these courses might be taught and how they can be used to formulate larger issues within liberal arts curricula. Section three presents contemporary issues and challenges in the teaching of Islam as a religion. The essays there discuss both teaching about contemporary Islam and the considerations of looking at Islam as a religion from a modern and postmodern perspective. It is also hoped that the applied and reflective aspects of this book can benefit nonspecialists, who teach or are interested in incorporating Islamic Studies into their teaching of religion. The vitality of teaching and the continued growth of the discipline depend upon the careful but also creative work of scholars thinking not only about technical matters but also how specialized research is to be communicated with non-experts. To what end is the study of religion? This book is meant as a heuristic device, an experimental and temporary step on the road to further developments. Our own ideas have evolved working with one another; new generations of scholars are emerging (and new graduate programs); and the general institutional support for Islamic Studies is improving. We aim to encourage others not to adopt our approaches but to consider for themselves how it is that their continued research and teaching can cultivate more interesting approaches and better understandings of the human activity we call religion.

[ Info ] Brannon M. Wheeler – editor, : Teaching Islam. Oxford University Press., New York. 2003 .