Studying Islam

The following list of both scholarly and popular resources was established by the Dominican Sisters of Peace “Peace and Nonviolence Committee.” We hope that you will find these sources beneficial in your personal studies.

Sojourners

Sojourners on the issues. Christians and Islam. This is a series of articles taken from a variety of magazines (primarily Sojourners) dating from 1998-2009. Included with the articles are discussion questions. The four Sessions are:

  1. A History Together
  2. Understanding Islam
  3. Islam’s American Face
  4. In Pursuit of Peace
    *You can download this packet for $9.95 from www.sojo.net.

Books/Articles:

  • Islam: A Short History, Karen Armstrong, Modern Library Edition. 2000
  • A History of God: The 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Karen Armstrong, Ballantine Books, 1994.
  • Muhammad: A biography of a prophet, Karen Armstrong, Harper Collins, 1991.
  • The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Karen Armstrong, Random House Publishing Group, 2000.
  • Muhammad: A prophet for our time, Karen Armstrong, Harper Perennial, 2006.
  • Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, Benazir Bhutto, Harper Perennial, 2008.
  • The Tent of Abraham: Stories of Hope and Peace for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Joan Chittister, OSB, Rabbi Arthur Waskow Murshid Saadi Shakur Chishti, Beacon Press, 2006.
  • The Essential Koran, Thomas Cleary, (English Version of Qur’an) Harper San Francisco, 1993.
  • Engaging the Muslim World, Juan Cole, Palgrave/Macmillan, 2009.
  • Do We Worship the Same God?: Comparing the Bible and the Qur’an, George Dardess, Saint Anthony Messenger Press, 2006.
  • Meeting Islam: A Guide for Christians, George Dardess, Paraclete Press, 2005. A good introduction.
  • In the Spirit of Saint Francis and the Sultan: Catholics and Muslims working together for the Common Good, George Dardess and Marvin L. Krier Mich. Orbis Books, 2011.
  • The Future of Islam, John Esposito, Oxford University Press, 2010.
  • Islam: The Straight Path, John Esposito, Fourth Edition. Oxford University Press, 2010.
  • A World Without Islam, Graham Fuller, Little, Brown & Co., 2010.
  • The Qur’an A New Translation (Qur’an written in English), M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew – Three Women Search for Understanding. Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner, Free Press, 2006.
  • Muslim, Christian and Jew: Finding a Path to Peace Our Faiths Can Share, David Liepert, Toronto, Canada: Faith of Life Publishing, 2010.
  • The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain, Maria Rosa Menocal, Little, Brown & Co., 2002.
  • A Christian View of Islam: Essays on Dialogue, Michael SJ, Thomas A. Edited by Irfan A. Omar. Maryknoll, NY Orbis Books, 2010.
  • The Saint and the Sultan, Paul Moses, Doubleday. 2009
  • The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for All Humanity, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Harper San Francisco, 2002.
  • Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters, Omid Safi, Harper Collins, 2009.
  • Islam: An Introduction, Annemarie Schimmel, State University of New York Press, 1992.
  • Includes a glossary of Arabic terms.
  • Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations, Michael Sells, 2nd Edition. White Cloud Press. 2006.
  • The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions, Huston Smith, Harper Collins. 1991. Chapter 7. Pages 221-270. A very good overview of Islam with a comparison to other great religions. An expanded version of this chapter also comes in a book.
  • Across the Great Divide Christians and Muslims in the post-9/11 world, Aaron D. Taylor, Sojourners Magazine. September/October 2011. You can download this from www.sojo.net.
  • Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination, John V. Tolan, Columbia University Press, 2002.
  • St. Francis and the Sultan: The Curious History of a Christian Muslim Encounter, John V. Tolan, Oxford University Press, 2009.
  • Additional reliable authors who have written articles/books about Islam: Mahmoud Ayoub, David Burrell, Thomas Michel, Faziur Rahman, John Renard

DVD/Videos: