Books

Islam is in the local and national headlines every day. Barely a news cycle goes by without some reference to Islam. Immigration bans. Domestic terrorism. Syrian refugees. Incidents of Islamophobia.

It’s no longer just foreign correspondents who need to know something about Muslims and their religion. So do domestic reporters in large cities and small towns – and everyone who reads or watches the news.

Top academic experts on Islam and reporters who know the story intimately contributed to this basic primer on the religion and culture of Islam and Muslim communities at home and abroad. We cover basic beliefs, the cultural differences of Muslims around the world, facts about Muslim communities in the U.S., and provide insights into the extremists who have caused such pain and suffering.

The editors, two experienced foreign correspondents who have covered Islam for decades, have no ax to grind. The book, part of a larger project to bring academic knowledge about Islam into the public sphere, was funded by grants from the Social Science Research Council, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Proteus Fund.

That’s why we are able to offer it at minimal download cost. Join the more than 7,000 reporters and editors who downloaded an earlier, free edition and gain new insights into a religion that is likely to be in the news for years to come.

Contributors include: Karam Dana, the University of Washington; Bryan Denson, former Oregonian reporter; Andrea Elliott, The New York Times; Carl Ernst, University of North Carolina; Shereen El Feki, author and scholar; Robert W. Hefner, Boston University; Philip N. Howard, Oxford; Jonathan Lyons, author and former Reuters correspondent; Charles Kurzman, University of North Carolina; Syed Javed Nazir, Lahore University of Management Sciences; Bob Smietana, Religion News Service; Jason Samuels, NYU; William McCants, Brookings Institution; and Reshma Memon Yaqub, writer and author.