Being Muslim Today

Reclaiming the Faith from Orthodoxy and Islamophobia

Saqib Qureshi

07/07/2024 | Rowman & Littlefield | £18.99 | Paperback

What does it mean to be Muslim today?

Orthodoxy’s interpretation is idyllic and omniscient, simplistic to a fault. Islamophobes, at the opposite end of the spectrum, cultivate damaging stereotypes that present a religion that most Muslims cannot relate to.

In Being Muslim Today: Reclaiming the Faith from Orthodoxy and Islamophobia, Dr. Saqib Iqbal Qureshi provides an honest, accurate understanding of the faith’s beginning—and changes—throughout the last fourteen hundred years. He simplifies complicated language and reveals the heart and soul of a growing faith tradition that claims more than two billion adherents.

Chapters include a fascinating assessment of the origins of Islam, the Prophet Muhammed, and the changing sources of Islam through the ages. Qureshi also describes the twin perils of Orthodoxy and Islamophobia, both of which, he contends, ignore the few historical records to misinterpret the faith and its origins. Qureshi confronts the stereotype of Islam as an inherently violent religion and asks the West to consider its own appetite for conflict and colonisation. Throughout, he encourages Muslims to reject pious certitude and adopt an attitude of theological humility that acknowledges the diversity of approaches and principles in the Islamic tradition.

SAQIB QURESHI is a Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he received his PhD in International Relations and Epistemology. His work has been featured in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur. Qureshi has produced two films and, in 1996, the BBC One documentary, Al Dawaah, the first television documentary about the Muslim community in any Western country. His previous books include The Broken Contract and Reconstructing Strategy. He lives in Toronto.