Conclusion: Towards a Future Imperfect

Summary

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,

it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,

it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,

we had everything before us, we had nothing before us

we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way –

in short, the period was so far like the present period,

that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its

being received, for good or evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only

(Dickens 1958 [1859], 1).

Charles Dickens's opening of A Tale of Two Cities strikes me as an appropriate way to understand the current moment in which Islamic studies, and its practitioners, finds itself. A quick perusal of the “Openings” page on the American Academy of Religion's website since 9/11 witnesses a massive number of positions for specialists in Islamic data, something that is extremely disproportionate when compared with the need for specialists in other religions or areas. On one hand, this has created unprecedented possibilities and opportunities for students of Islam.