anthropology of islam

The links you find here are authored by members of the faith represented or objective third parties.. These are provided as a resource for use in conjunction with the study of the Anthropology of Religions or with cultural or social anthropology. Inclusion of a link in no way reflects the endorsement or judgment of Archaeolink.com as to a philosophical or spiritual truth. While I have tried to avoid those resources which represent an attack by one faith on another, by the very nature of the subject, some may slip through as otherwise excellent websites may contain a degree of comparison in order to explain their own positions more clearly.

In the annotations, I will let the site speak for itself as much as possible.

This page could not begin to list the thousands of resources available. It is designed as a place to 'start.'

The Anthropology of Injustice __ "...challenges the legitimacy of the Saudi monarchy as well as attempts to draw attention to the unjust activities of the regime. Ehsanullah does not just attack the present forms of government throughout the Muslim world but rather proposes an alternative model of governance which calls for the unification of the Islamic community in adherence to the Qur'an. The author hypothesizes that the Ummah, or Muslim community, is in a state of crisis and that the main problem is the poor quality of leadership." - By Ehsan Ehsanullah. Published by the Hajra Sanaullah Trust - http://www.muslimedia.com/archives/book98/siyasabk.htm

Are You Ready To Accept Islam Now __ A series of frequently asked questions about conversion to Islam. - from Al-Sunna.com - http://www.al-sunnah.com/onlyforyou.htm

An Introduction to Islam __ "In 610 CE, Allah ordained the final Prophet He would send to earth. Over five centuries had passed since the previous Prophet He sent, Jesus the son of Mary. This final Prophet was Muhammad ibn Abdillah (saas). Though Muhammad (saas) was born in the Arabian peninsula, he was sent to all of humanity. He was commissioned to deliver a message from Allah to Arabs and non-Arabs alike." Learn about the beliefs and creed. - From USC - http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/introduction/

Iran - Shia Islam __ "Although Shias have lived in Iran since the earliest days of Islam, and there was one Shia dynasty in part of Iran during the tenth and eleventh centuries, it is believed that most Iranians were Sunnis until the seventeenth century. The Safavid dynasty made Shia Islam the official state religion in the sixteenth century and aggressively proselytized on its behalf. It is also believed that by the mid-seventeenth century most people in what is now Iran had become Shias, an affiliation that has continued." - From Library of Congress - http://countrystudies.us/iran/55.htm

Islam 101 __ "Islam 101 is an educational site on Islam, its way of life, civilization and culture. It includes an introductory course on Islam and presents Islamic views on contemporary issues." - From islam101.com - http://www.islam101.com/

Islam.com - Home __ All purpose website about Islam, Islamic news and a wide variety of articles. - From Islam.com - http://www.islam.com/

Islam Guide: A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Muslims, & the Quran __ "This Islamic guide is for non-Muslims who would like to understand Islam, Muslims (Moslems), and the Holy Quran (Koran). It is rich in information, references, bibliography, and illustrations." - illustrated - from islam-guide.com - http://www.islam-guide.com/

Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic, Religion: Resources for Studying __ "Information for the study of Islam, religion, Qur'an, hadith, the Sunnah, Shi'ism, Sufism, Islam in the modern world, Muslim women, Islamic art, architecture, music, history, and Arabic." - By Professor Alan Godlas - http://www.uga.edu/islam/

Q&A Library- Islam __ You will find hundreds of questions and answers about Islam. - From Islam Q&A - http://63.175.194.25/
Islam - A Religion of Terror? __ "One of the many short comings which has arisen in the West, is judging Islam by the conduct of a minority of its people. By doing this, segments of Western society have deliberately played off the desperate actions of many Muslims, and have given it the name of Islam. Such behaviour is clearly not objective and seeks to distort the reality of Islam." An excellent article. - From Thetruereligion.org - http://www.thetruereligion.org/terror.htm

Islam-Online Web Site - Your Source To The World Of Islam! Communication Center __ An excellent general resource where you will find numerous links, articles and guest interviews and lectures. For example, a current guest CV reads: "Professor Muhammad Talib is fellow of anthropology of Muslim societies, Oxford Center for Islamic Studies and Islamic Center lecturer in anthropology, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford." Islamic anthropology is one of their concerns and with this guest there is an exchange and dialogue in place. - illustrated - From Islamonline.net - http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Guestcv.asp?hGuestID=QOA4v1

Islam Spread by the Sword ? The Myth and the Reality __ "Among the most widely believed myths about Islam in the West today is the myth of forcible conversion to Islam." Read about the reality of Islamic conversion and expansion. - By Dr. Sharif Mohammed - http://thetruereligion.org/swordspread.htm

The Koran __ "This is an electronic version of The Holy Qur'an, translated by M.H. Shakir and published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc., in 1983." There are search features which make it simple to access any section of the scriptures. - From University of Michigan - http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/

The Moral Economy of Islam __ A study in Islamic anthropology. "Not unlike the non-Muslim Third World, developing countries with significant Muslim populations have experimented with a large variety of economic systems. In general, these experiments have followed patterns common to the developing world and reflect persistent tensions between equity and growth, import substitution and export-led industrialization, and agricultural and industrial investment. Due to the close ties between some Muslim countries and the global economic and financial system, however, these tensions have expressed themselves in particularly stark form in much of the Muslim world. For example, oil wealth and the resulting flow of labor remittances and bilateral aid has dramatically influenced the course of development in many Muslim countries, stretching from Tunisia to Malaysia." While this website deals with seminars, the content of the paper is quite informative. - From University of California. - http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/Islam/

The Origins of the Sunni/Shia Split in Islam __ "If you are already familiar with standard Sunni beliefs, you will immediately notice the addition to the shahadah regarding Imam Ali (ra), cousin of the Prophet (pbuh), husband of his daughter Fatima, father of Hassan and Hussein and the second person ever to embrace Islam. The term Shia or Shi'ite derives from a shortening of Shiat Ali or partisans of Ali." You will find a good explanation of the split, its history and what it means today. - By Hussein Abdulwaheed Amin, Editor of IslamForToday.com - http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm

The Shi'a Homepage __ Here you will find an introduction and several articles about Shi'a Islam including history and teachings. - From Shia.org - http://www.shia.org/

Understanding Islam and the Muslims __ "Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events which have come to be associated with their faith." You will find several sections, each dealing with a different common question. - From USC - http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/introduction/understandingislam.html

Welcome to A Shi'ite Encyclopedia __ An online Islamic encyclopedia of religion which presents views from both Shi'ite and Sunni perspectives. - From Al-islam.org - http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/

Western Historians on The Islamic Conquests __ "...Omar Ibn Al-Khattab did not inflict harm on the Christians when he entered Jerusalem as a conqueror. The Crusaders, however, did slay Moslems and burn the Jews when they entered the city" - From The University of Northumbria Islamic Society - http://thetruereligion.org/conquests.htm