Review

"This serious study of Islam leaves few stones unturned….This is a valuable reference work that needs to be turned to again and again."

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American Reference Books Annual

"Many social and cultural factors are imbedded in the practices of Islam belief and there's no better single place to understand all its ramifications than in the in-depth 5-volume setVoices of Islam, which gathers writings from across genres to explore all facets of Islamic culture. College-level collections with an interest in in-depth, definitive representation of Islamic belief will find Voices of Islam an essential addition to the collection: it covers Muslim spirituality, politics, sects, culture and gender relations, providing entire articles with bibliographic references rather than the usual A-Z encyclopedia collection one might expect from a 5-volume set. The result's an outstanding and well detailed exploration which deserves a premiere spot in any serious collection contending to hold Islamic studies titles."

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Midwest Book Review - California Bookwatch

"Insisting that a monolithic view of Islam is both wrong and dangerous and also believing that the full lived experience of being Muslim can only adequately be described by those who can bear witness to their own traditions from within, Cornell, Henry-Blakemore, and Safi present a five-volume work that is intended to provide non-Muslim general audiences at the senior high school and university undergraduate levels with as wide a depiction of Islamic doctrines, practices, and worldviews as possible. Some 50 articles by scholars that are also practicing Muslims representing a diverse range of places, traditions, cultures, and beliefs are presented in volumes that individually address the grand traditions and beliefs of the religion; the spiritual experience of Islam; everyday experiences of family, home, and society; Islamic cultures' art, aesthetics, and science; and Muslim progressives, modernists, and other reformers."

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Reference & Research Book News

"This wonderful collection of essays weaves together a brilliant tapestry of historical and modern Muslim experiences. It comprises five volumes: Voices of Tradition, Voices of the Spirit, Voices of Life: Family, Home, and Society, Voices of Art, Beauty, and Science, and Voices of Change. Each volume stands alone, but together they comprise a corpus of research that delves into areas of Islamic life that often confound Westerners. The essays humanize Muslims in a way that few other works have in recent memory. Authors are a respectable mix of academics and prominent Muslim intellectuals, providing varied and often intimate perspectives. The articles are well written, and most are approachable by those unfamiliar with the topics discussed. Others are robust enough to provide scholarly insights to advanced readers….Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers."

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Choice

"These books provide detailed, footnoted information on tradition, spirit, social practices, aesthetics, and voices of change….[b]y presenting multiple facets of mainstream Islam and its complex makeup, this set may be as useful to the Muslim community as to others."

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School Library Journal

"The uniqueness of this set is that the over fifty authors represented are all prominent Muslims who come from different geographical regions and from different scholarly backgrounds….These books are intended for both non-Muslims and Muslims who may not be fully familiar with their tradition, and the reading level is aimed at high school students and college undergraduates….Because of its uniqueness I think this would be a valuable set for many libraries to include in their collections."

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Catholic Library World

Book Description

Offers the authentic voices of those who live, teach, and learn Islam in its many contexts and variations in order to correct misperceptions and stereotypes and show the real face of Islam and what it means to be Muslim in today's world