About Muhammad

The Other Western Perspective on the Prophet of Islam

Few religious leaders have had a greater religious and global impact than Muhammad and yet few have been more maligned in the West. About Muhammad offers a corrective, presenting the reflections of a cross section of Western writers from the 18th century to the present that enable us to understand and appreciate Muhammad as the paradigm for Muslims: past, present and future.
John L. Esposito, Ph.D. University Professor, Georgetown University, author of The Future of Islam

Muhammad
Prophet of Islam
A Short Anthology of

About

The Other Western Perspective on the

Western Writings on
the Prophet Muhammad: From the 18th Century

to the Present
Edited with an Introduction by: Abdelwahab El-Affendi

Legacy
P u b l i s h i n g

Legacy Publishing Ltd, P.O. Box 782, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 2WA, U.K. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8948 9501 - Email: legacy@legacy-publishing.com

Edited by: Dr Abdelwahab El-Affendi, FRSA ESRC/AHRC Fellow in the RCUK Global Uncertainties Programme Reader in Politics Co-ordinator, Democracy and Islam Programme Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster, UK.

www.legacy-publishing.com

The Other Western Perspective on the Prophet of Islam

About Muhammad is a vital compilation of extracts, each by Western writers, which provides a well informed and beautiful insight into the mission, heritage and legacy of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. In recent years there have been many misunderstandings about the reactions of Muslims to public abuse and ridicule of Muhammad through the media. This book has arrived at an auspicious time and allows the reader to understand who Muhammad was, not just as a spiritual leader for Muslims, but as a diplomat and emissary for mankind in general. By understanding Muhammad, the reader can better understand the respect that Muslims have for him, and the Muslim mind in general. This book is essential reading for anyone in the media, education, politics, religious studies, history, and where they may interact with Muslims, contribute to Muslim projects, or work in Muslim countries or organisations. It will be equally beneficial to politicians, teachers, lecturers, historians, and the general reader. Were this book to contain only the selections from Carlyles essay on Muhammad, that would suffice. But there is much more. Excerpts from writings published in the 18th-20th centuries, plus the present, illustrate how non-Muslims have struggled to account for Muhammad and his prophetic mission and how judgments about both have developed over time. Any reader not blinded by prejudice will learn much from this collection.
Charles E. Butterworth, Ph.D. Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park CONTENTS Foreword by Yahya Birt Preface and Introduction by Abdelwahab El-Affendi The Koran: Commonly Called The Alkoran of Mohammed by George Sale The Hero As Prophet Mahomet by Thomas Carlyle Histoire de la Turquie by Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine Mohammed: The Man and His Faith by Tor Andrae Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman by W. Montgomery Watt History of the Arabs: From the Earliest Times to the Present by Philip K. Hitti Muhammad: Prophet of God by John L. Esposito Islam: Muhammad by Annemarie Schimmel In Search of Muhammad by Clinton Bennett The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography by Barnaby Rogerson Muhammad, Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong The Birth of the Prophet by Bayard Taylor, with an Introduction by Anas S. Al-Shaikh-Ali

About Muhammad

Dissent from received opinions, resistance to conditioned thinking, and the rebuttal of polemics and propaganda which perpetuate misrepresentation, crude stereotyping and unjust prejudice are integral to the pursuit of truth. This fascinating and timely anthology gives voice to some of those Western writers since the 18th century who have questioned and challenged perhaps the most ingrained and irrational prejudice in the Western psyche, the denigration of the Prophet Muhammad, the abuse of Islam, and the myth of perpetual hostility between Islam and the West.
Jeremy Henzell-Thomas, Ph.D Executive Committee, Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS UK)

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ISBN: 978-0-9557463-9-0 (PBK); 978-0-9557463-8-3 (HBK) - PRICE: 7.99 (PBK); 12.99 (HBK) BIC CODE: HRAM3, JFSR, HRAX - SUBJECT: Religion SPECIFICATIONS: Paperback, Hardback, 144pp, 156mm x 234mm, colour cover, no photos or illustrations