Introduction

Summary

This is a book written by infidels for infidels, and it is based on what from any Muslim perspective must appear an inordinate testimony of infidel sources. Our account is not merely unacceptable; it is also one which any Muslim whose faith is as a grain of mustard seed should find no difficulty in rejecting

(Crone and Cook 1977, viii).

What follows, and here I take my cue from Crone and Cook's caveat, is quite unabashedly a book written by an infidel, both religiously and academically, for those that I hope will be convinced of the merits of infidelity. My premise, initially stated in the baldest and most general terms, is that the regnant discourses both developed and borrowed by the academic study of Islam have largely proven to be ineffective and outmoded when it comes to explaining Islamic data. Although the academic study of Islam, in the aftermath of 9/11, is currently one of the most sought-after areas of expertise in universities and colleges throughout North America, the failure of nerve on the part of Islamicists to engage seriously reductionist and social-scientific approaches to the study of religion, their unwillingness to move beyond the safety of understanding to the messiness of explanation, has brought us to a critical crossroads.