Next on the Reading List: Good Muslim, Bad Muslim

The book Brian is talking about sounds fascinating. His last paragraph is important for understanding the transformation that is taking place in Islamic studies regarding the place of Shi’ism. Brian’s Coffeehouse: Tales of Ibn Saba. Anthony’s book, together with Najam Haider’s work showing that there were distinct Shi’ite practices in Kufa in the early 700’s, makes 2011 an important year in the growth of our understanding of what the sectarian landscape was like in Islam’s first century, as well as how it was articulated and how it slowly evolved into the more established Sunni and Shi’i Islam of the 800’s. …

Muslims in the Movies — Kristian Petersen | Harvard University Press. Muslims in the Movies provides a series of essays that explore the portrayal and reception of Muslims in Euro-American film, transnational productions, and global national cinemas. The volume brings together a group of internationally recognized experts to introduce Muslims in the films of Europe, North America, Australia, Iran, Egypt, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The interdisciplinary collection explores issues of identity, cultural production, and representation through the depiction of Muslims on screen and how audiences respond to these images. Together, the essays operate as…