Approaching Islam

Contents: 1. Introduction/Rattanlal Hangloo. 2. Universalism in Islam/Aliaa R. Rafea. 3. Sectarianism in Islam/S.N. Eisenstadt. 4. Liberation theology in Islam/Asghar Ali Engineer. 5. Human rights and Islam/Rattanlal Hangloo. 6. United States and radical Islam/Bahram M. Rajaee. 7. Islam and Indian Muslims today/Salil Kader. 8. Islam on the periphery: a case study of Tibetan Muslims/M.N. Rajesh. Bibliography. Index. "This book was conceived at a very crucial moment in the post 9/11 period and therefore it takes into account a wide range of themes cutting across time periods and regions that reflect the dynamism and diversity of Islam. Essays on aspects of universalism in Islam followed by an essay on the question of sectarianism read like a debate espousing two different viewpoints. Issues that are part of the current engagements at the scholarly and popular level are radical Islam and the US followed by the question of human rights and Islam. Aspects of liberation theology is an essay that draws on many years of activism coupled with scholarship. There are case studies on the status of Indian Muslims who constitute the world's second largest Muslim community and the Tibetan Muslims, a microscopic minority.