Current Affairs
Book Details

Inside Muslim Minds

Riaz Hassan

If you want to know what Muslims think about blasphemy, jihad, the hijab and the clash of civilisations, this is the book for you.

Opinion

'This is an excellent book and will make a welcome and major contribution to the hottest topic of the day -- Islam. . . The book is well written, giving evidence of the deep scholarship from which it springs, but with an open style that is readily available to the reader.'
-- Professor Gary Bouma

About this Title

A ground-breaking comparative study of contemporary Islamic consciousness, Inside Muslim Minds is an important insight into aspects of the Muslim faith, and its place in the twenty-first century.

Using data gathered from more than six thousand Muslim respondents from Southeast, South and Central Asia and the Middle East, Raiz Hassan examines attitudes to issues such as religious commitment; the status of women; the concept of jihad and its alleged links to terrorism; Islamic philanthropy; attitudes towards blasphemy; and Muslim perceptions of the 'other'.

Hassan offers a theory of Islamic consciousness by examining its evolution over several centuries. His findings demonstrate the diversity of the Muslim world: the many variations of social, political and religious views.

Inside Muslim Minds argues for a new intellectual commitment that honours Islamic heritage yet simultaneously confronts Islamic reassertion and the sense of powerlessness felt by Muslims as they strive to reaffirm their faith in the twenty-first century.

Table of Contents

Tables
Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Exploring Islamic consciousness
2. Patterns of religious commitment
3. Jihad and conflict resolution in Muslim societies
4. Political order and religious institutions
5. Expressions of religiosity and blasphemy
6. Veiling, patriarchy and honour killing
7. Globalization and the Islamic ummah
8. Philanthropy and social justice
9. Islam and civil society
10. Mutual suspicions
Epilogue
Appendix 1: Methodology
Appendix 2: Qur'anic foundations of the doctrine of jihad
Appendix 3: The call the jihad by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Notes
References
Index

About the Author

Professor Riaz Hassan has published extensively on Muslim societies in an academic career that has spanned more than 40 years. He is the author of Faithlines: Muslim Conceptions of Islam and Society, and co-editor of the Cambridge Handbook of Social Sciences in Australia and Local and Global: Social Transformation in Southeast Asia.

978-0-522-85481-7