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Muslim Voices and Lives in the Contemporary World tells the stories of eleven remarkable people in the Islamic world, with each account written by an American scholar who came to know that person well. From a religious musician in Pakistan who sings the sufferings of the saints and hopes to bring reconciliation to his country, to a visual artist from a traditional family in Egypt who wants her work to speak to the whole world, to the son of one of the greatest Shi‘ite scholars of Iraq who was murdered trying to restore peace in his city, to an Afghan aid agency manager who works to help her people in unstable times, these stories counter some of the misconceptions of Muslim women and men that exist in the Western world. These lively and memorable accounts are distinguished by their immediacy, depth, variety, and breadth and are sure to resonate.
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Muslim Voices and Lives in the Contemporary World Pr ev ious P ubl ic ations Frances Trix Spiritual Discourse: Learning with an Islamic Master (1993) Albanians in Michigan: A Proud People of Southeast Europe (2001) “Kosovar Albanians between a Rock and a Hard Place,” in Ramet and Pavlakovic (eds.). Serbia Since 1989: Politics and Society Under Milosevic And After (2005) John Walbridge The Science of Mystic Lights: Qutb al-Din Shirazi and the Illuminationist Tradition in Islamic Philosophy (1992) Sacred Acts, Sacred Time, Sacred Space: Essays on Bahá’í Law and History (1996) The Philosophy of Illumination of Shihab al-Din Yahya Suhrawardi (with Hossein Ziai) (1999) The Leaven of the Ancients: Suhrawardi and the Heritage of the Greeks (2000) The Wisdom of the Mystic East: Suhrawardi and Platonic Orientalism (2001) Linda Walbridge Without Forgetting the Imam: Lebanese Shi‘ism in an American Community (1997) The Most Learned of the Shi‘a: The Institution of the Marja‘ Taqlid (2001) The Christians of Pakistan: The Passion of Bishop John Joseph (2002) Personal Encounters: A Reader in Cultural Anthropology (with April K. Sievert) (2002) Muslim Voices and Lives in the Contemporary World Edited by Frances Trix, John Walbridge, and Linda Walbridge MUSLIM VOICES AND LIVES IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD Copyright © Frances Trix, John Walbridge, and Linda Walbridge, 2008. Photo by John Walbridge Iranian woman restoring Safavid mural, Isfahan, Iran, 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–0–230–60536–7 ISBN-10: 0–230–60536–2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Muslim voices and lives in the contemporary world / edited by Frances Trix, John Walbridge, Linda Walbridge. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–230–60536–2 1. Muslims—Social conditions—21st century. I. Trix, Frances. II. Walbridge, John. III. Walbridge, Linda S. BP163.M9363 2008 305.6997—dc22 2007035890 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: May 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. For Linda Strickland Walbridge (1946–2002) who studied Muslims newly at home in America Thi