150 Questions About Islamic Culture

Author: Jin Yijiu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Islam, along with Buddhism and Christianity, is known as one of the world's three major religions. It is also a monotheistic religion, sharing this characteristic with Judaism and Christianity. However, Islam has its own distinct features. For example, as a relatively pure monotheistic religion, it opposes idolatry and polytheism, and its mosques never feature altars or images. This book, in determining its subject matter, takes into account the unique characteristics of Islam and focuses on introducing knowledge about Islamic culture. The content of this book includes not only the basic beliefs, rituals, festivals, and scriptures of Islam but also dedicates significant space to Islamic law, Islamic mysticism, traditional Islamic religious studies, and secular natural sciences. Additionally, it covers aspects such as Islamic philosophy, ethics, literature, art, painting, economics, architecture, and calligraphy. The book also discusses the influence of certain ethnic groups (e.g., Turks, Mongols) on the development of Islam, as well as Islam's impact on the self-development of these ethnic groups and their languages (e.g., Urdu, Persian). It also touches on the mutual influence between Islam and other religions (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, Hinduism, Sikhism) and philosophical schools (e.g., Neoplatonism's "Emanation Theory").
Since Islam is a worldly religion, it has a very close connection with people's social lives, especially in contemporary social and political contexts. In the Islamic world and regions, the relationship between Islam and social and politics is an unavoidable topic. Some scholars even refer to Islam as "revolutionary Islam" or "political Islam," while others label certain activities in these regions as "political Islamization" or "the politicization of Islam," and so on. To provide readers with a deeper understanding of Islam, this book also briefly introduces issues related to Islam and current international political life, as well as social trends and movements within the Islamic world.
Regarding regional Islam, this book places a stronger emphasis on South Asia and Central Asia. It is self-evident that it provides more in-depth coverage of Islam in China. Chinese Islam has its own unique characteristics and qualities that differ from those of Islam in other regions.