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Today’s heightened—and often antagonistic—focus on Islam has underscored the need for credible and scholarly publications that explain the religion to those genuinely searching for a narrative about Islam other than the master narrative created by much of the Western media and many of the West’s leaders.
This summer, Zaytuna Institute plans to release a much-anticipated introductory work about Islam that is just such a publication. Entitled Submission, Faith, and Beauty and written by the Muslim scholar, Dr. Joseph Lumbard of Brandeis University, this thoughtful and well-written work beautifully and succinctly summarizes the core beliefs of the Muslim faith.
“The Western view of Islam is rooted in centuries of mistrust, ignorance, and stereotypical attitudes,” says Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, who, along with Imam Zaid Shakir, edited the book. “These attitudes are no longer viable given the immense interdependence shared between the West and the Muslims. It is to forward mutual understanding that Zaytuna commissioned this book.”
Much of Submission, Faith, and Beauty is based on the holistic view of Islam that results from the famous Hadith of Gabriel. The hadith, transmitted by the second caliph of Islam, Umar b. al-Khattab, came toward the end of the Prophet’s life and explained the three dimensions of Islam—submission (islam), belief (iman), and beautification (ihsan)—as well as the End of Time, to the Prophet’s companions.
“From one perspective,” writes Dr. Lumbard in the book’s Introduction, “submission, faith, and beautification are the three fundamental dimensions of the submitting way; they complement and complete each other. They are envisioned as three partially overlapping circles, and the place where all three circles overlap is the ideal that all Muslims strive to attain. One who embodies all three in their fullest depth and breadth is closer to living as a true human being in what the Qur’an refers to as the true nature (fitrah).”
The release of this newest Zaytuna publication would not have been possible without the generous donations and prayers of the San Francisco Bay Area Muslim community, which believed in the potential of the project several years ago and waited patiently for its fruition. “It’s thrilling that Western Muslim communities are recognizing the importance of funding projects such as this,” says Aftab Malik, who guided the publication of the book to its conclusion. “It will only be with generosity such as that displayed by the Bay Area Muslim community that Muslims will finally be able to tell their own stories in the West.”
One of the results of Muslims being able to tell their own stories is the creation of a narrative of Islam that appeals to fair-minded people of other faiths and perspectives. With the publication of books such as Submission, Faith, and Beauty, Zaytuna hopes to usher in a new era of discourse about Islam in the West. “This small book can do much to edify those concerned citizens in the West about the beauty and truth of Islam,” says Shaykh Hamza. “And, by doing so, help guide the Western understanding of the religion from one based upon distortions, to one rooted in authentic knowledge.”
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