The Muslim Difference

Finalist for the Excellence in the Study of Religion Book Award, Textual Studies category, sponsored by the American Academy of Religion (AAR)

Finalist for the Best First Book in the History of Religions Award, sponsored by the American Academy of Religion (AAR)

“Bodily difference is critical to defining culture, society and religion. The Muslim ‘difference’ has now been reimagined by Youshaa Patel in this lively, must read for all inquirers into embodied identity within and beyond Islam.”—Bruce Lawrence, author of Islamicate Cosmopolitan Spirit

“Youshaa Patel demonstrates the diversity among Islamic conceptions of the distinctions between Muslims and others—and, more importantly, shows why these differences matter.”—David Freidenreich, author of Jewish Muslims: How Christians Imagined Islam as the Enemy

“How have Muslims drawn the line between themselves and others? This question was formative for Islam in its early days, and it’s no exaggeration to say that it remains crucial today. Clearly and engagingly, Youshaa Patel guides the reader through this hugely consequential history.”—Jonathan A. C. Brown, Georgetown University

“Few studies can compete with the depth and subtlety that Youshaa Patel has brought to the complex theological and religio-cultural subject of the need to display ‘Muslim difference’ from rival faiths and traditions. This will be required reading in the study of religion and Islamic studies.”—Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame

Youshaa Patel is associate professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Lafayette College. His research explores how Islam shaped and was shaped by Muslim encounters with Christians, Jews, and others in the Middle East and beyond.

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