Introduction

This book is not a traditional text book on Islam. Rather, it is suggested that you read this book together with a good introduction to Islam as a religion. This book focuses on contemporary aspects of Muslim lives and practices of Islam as researched and experienced by scholars. In other words, the aim is not to widen your knowledge in theory and analysis, but rather to share experiences with you: experiences of conducting research with Muslims. The authors of the following chapters are anthropologists, sociologists, and religious studies experts. Although among the authors are both Muslims and non-Muslims, the methodology and discussions that follow are exclusively social scientific.