1. Understanding World Religions
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Challenge of Islam
© 2011 Irving Hexham
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Photo by Calib Nienkierken. Used with permission. © 2011 Irving Hexham

2. The Challenge of Islam
Diagram by Irving Hexham. © 2011 Irving Hexham
Like most religions, Islam represents a complex and varied tradition. The above diagram shows some of its main movements.

3. The Challenge of Islam
Source: Koran Oncken, Wilhelm, ed., Allgemeine Geschichte in Einzeldarstellungen, Berlin, G. Groteßche Verlagsbuchandlung, In the public domain. © 2011 Irving Hexham
A page from an ancient Koran. The poetry of the Koran is seen by many Muslims as proof of its divine origin.

4. The Challenge of Islam
Source: Syrian manuscript. Courtesy of Digitale Bibliothek-Yorck Project Meisterwerke. Used with permission. © 2011 Irving Hexham
Not only is Islam a “religion of the Book,” it is also a rich historical tradition that values scholarship. The above picture shows medieval Muslim scholars in discussion.

5. The Challenge of Islam
Photo: Irving Hexham 2007 (?). © 2011 Irving Hexham
Many Mosques and Muslim communities have their own bookstores like the one shown above. In attempting to understand contemporary Islam it is important to go to the sources as seen by Muslims.

6. The Challenge of Islam
Photo: Irving Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham
Although most Mosques follow a traditional design, today many Muslim communities are experimenting with new types of architecture like the Mosque shown above.

7. The Challenge of Islam
Source Wiki Commons – in the public domain. © 2011 Irving Hexham
The Indian shrine of Ali in Najaf Iraq. This is one of the most sacred sites in Shia Islam.

8. The Challenge of Islam
Source: Wiki Commons. In the public domain. © 2011 Irving Hexham
The main building of Egypt’s Al-Azar University one of the centres of Islamic learning world-wide.

9. The Challenge of Islam
Source: Gardiner, James, Faiths of the World, Edinburgh, A. Fullarton & Co., © 2011 Irving Hexham
Traditional Dervish dancers who use dance as a mean of experiencing the divine. Not all Muslims approve of such mystical practices. Dervishes formed the military elite of the Turkish Empire.

10. The Challenge of Islam Mecca as seen in the nineteenth century.
Source: Oncken, Wilhelm, ed., Allgemeine Geschichte in Einzeldarstellungen, Berlin, G. Groteßche Verlagsbuchandlung, © 2011 Irving Hexham
Mecca as seen in the nineteenth century.