{"product_id":"the-lives-of-muhammad-9780674659889","title":"The Lives of Muhammad","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecent outbursts sparked by a viral video and controversial cartoons powerfully illustrate the passions and sensitivities that continue to surround the depiction of the seventh-century founder of Islam. \u003ci\u003eThe Lives of Muhammad\u003c\/i\u003e delves into the many ways the Prophet's life story has been told from the earliest days of Islam to the present, by both Muslims and non-Muslims. Emphasizing the major transformations since the nineteenth century, Kecia Ali shows that far from being mutually opposed, these various perspectives have become increasingly interdependent. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSince the nineteenth century, two separate streams of writing, one hagiographic and the other polemical, have merged into a single, contentious story about the life of Muhammad. Protestant missionaries, European Orientalists, Indian and Egyptian modernists, and American voices across the spectrum, including preachers, scholars, Islamophobes, journalists, academics, and new-age gurus, debated Muhammad's character and the facts of his life. In the process, texts written symbolically came to be read literally. Muhammad's accomplishments as a religious and political leader, his military encounters with Meccans and Medinan Jews, and--a subject of perennial interest--his relationships with women, including his young wife Aisha, are among the key subjects writers engaged, repurposing early materials for new circumstances. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMany of the ideas about Muhammad that Muslims embrace today--Muhammad the social reformer, Muhammad the consummate leader, Muhammad the ideal husband--arose in tandem and in tension with Western depictions. These were in turn shaped by new ideas about religion, sexuality, and human accomplishments.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAli, Kecia:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Kecia Ali is Associate Professor of Religion at Boston University.","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50503623803154,"sku":"9780674659889","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_42316191-d878-44ca-a821-df268da0bbc7.jpg?v=1730794516","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-lives-of-muhammad-9780674659889","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}