Routledge Handbook on Early Islam

The history of early Islam or origins of Islam remains highly contested. From the beginning of modern scholarship on this formative period, scholars have questioned traditional Muslim accounts. Scholarly fixation on early Islam is mirrored by sectarian rivalries between Sunnis and Shi’is, both of whom trace their origins to this period and continue to engage in apologetics and polemics based on this period. Moreover, contemporary movements from Salafists to modernists (and even the New Atheists) point to Islam’s origins to justify their positions. In other words, almost every major debate in the study of Islam and among Muslims about Islam’s beliefs, practices, institutions, etc. look to the formative period of Islam.

As a result there is no shortage of specialized scholarly literature on this period, but there is no definitive overview of the whole subject area aimed at academics and intelligent non-specialists. Thus the Routledge Handbook on Early Islam presents an opportunity to fill an important gap and make a lasting contribution to Islamic Studies.

Herbert Berg is Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, and Director of International Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington