Blurb:

This chapter explores and then interrogates four popular perspectives on Islam. We begin with a focus on Islam as a prophetic tradition that teaches compassion and hospitality, relating the general narrative of Muhammad and the emphasis on caring for the widow and orphan within portions of the Qur’an. The second representation emphasizes how Islam promotes submission to God, following practices defined in the Five Pillars and interpretations of Sharia. Here we focus on how people who identify with Islam generate a range of interpretations of what is required and what is not. The third representation highlights the significance of experience within Islamic mystical practices, focusing on Sufi understandings of Islam. The fourth representation discusses the cultural influence attributed to Islam, analyzing different ways that that influence has been described within and outside of Muslim communities.