Puritan Islam

What does the future hold for the secular West as it receives immigrants who embrace the fundamentalist beliefs of Islam's puritan community? Vann (geography, the U. of the Cumberlands) seeks to understand the thought processes of Islamic puritans by looking at the Qur'an. He applies the geotheological concepts coined by John K. Wright to Islam and adds new concepts to describe supernatural aspects of the divine within the Islamic worldview. He examines Islamic puritans' views of self and community, unbelievers, the state of Israel, and the sanctity of Allah's world, and describes American Islam's two communities. In addition to b&w maps, the book includes b&w photos of Muslim communities in the US. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Barry A. Vann is director of community and higher education and professor of geography at the University of the Cumberlands. He is the author of Rediscovering the South’s Celtic Heritage; In Search of Ulster-Scots Land: The Birth and Geotheological Imaginings of a Transatlantic People; and (with Ellsworth Huntington) Geography Toward History: Studies in the Mediterranean Basin and Mesopotamia.