About this item
Recent outbursts sparked by a viral video and controversial cartoons powerfully illustrate the passions and sensitivities that continue to surround the depiction of the seventh-century founder of Islam. The Lives of Muhammad delves into the many ways the Prophet's life story has been told from the earliest days of Islam to the present, by both Muslims and non-Muslims. Emphasizing the major transformations since the nineteenth century, Kecia Ali shows that far from being mutually opposed, these various perspectives have become increasingly interdependent.Since the nineteenth century, two separate streams of writing, one hagiographic and the other polemical, have merged into a single, contentious story about the life of Muhammad. Protestant missionaries, European Orientalists, Indian and Egyptian modernists, and American voices across the spectrum, including preachers, scholars, Islamophobes, journalists, academics, and new-age gurus, debated Muhammad's character and the facts of his life.
About the Author
Kecia Ali is Professor of Religion at Boston University. Her most recent book, "Human in Death," explores J.D. Robb's futuristic police procedurals, exploring the series' largely compelling model of human flourishing as well as its critical silences and omissions. Most of her writing focuses on gender and the Islamic tradition. Her groundbreaking "Sexual Ethics and Islam" is now available in an expanded and updated edition. Her other books include "Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam," "Imam Shafi'i: Scholar and Saint," and "The Lives of Muhammad." She co-edited the revised edition of "A Guide for Women in Religion," which provides practical guidance for careers in religious studies and theology. She is currently at work on "Women in Muslim Traditions," geared toward students and general readers. Ali is active in the American Academy of Religion, and is a past president of the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics. Visit her website at www.keciaali.com.
