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Audio/Video
This section contains video and audio materials, most of which have not appeared online before. While we have made an effort to keep the file sizes and running times small, some of the clips may take a long time to download, particularly from a dialup connection. Each clip comes with a text description, and many of the interviews have been transcribed. To view clips on our site, you will need the free QuickTime plugin
Collections of related audio and video materials are listed in tan. Items listed in grey are in the process of being digitized, and will be available soon.
QuickTime Audio and Video Clips
The Origins of Sunni and Shiite Islam
There are two major strands of Islam that exist in the modern world, Sunni and Shiite. While the Sunni tradtion represents the majority, both have partisans throughout the Muslim world. In this presentation Devin Stewart, from the Middle East Studies Department at Emory University, discusses the origins of the Sunni/Shiite split.
Interview with John L. Esposito
In this interview, John L. Esposito, Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and author of numerous book on Islam, discusses Western perceptions of Islam. He addresses what non-Muslims should know about Islam, how it interacts with Western religions, and the phenomenon popularly know as “Islamic fundamentalism.” Esposito objects to this term and in the last part of the interview he explains why. For more on these issues, consult the excerpt from his book What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam and his essay “Contemporary Islam: Reform or Revolution”.
Interview with Sherman Jackson
In the interview, Sherman Jackson, a specialist in Islamic law and theology, discusses the origins of Islam, the Shari'ah (Islamic law) and the obligations it entails for Muslims, the belief that Islam and the West are on a collision course, the meaning of the word jihad, and the Muslim community in America, in addition to other topics and concepts important to an understanding of Islam and Islamic practices. This interview will provide you with a good understanding of some basic concepts. For a detailed discussion of Islamic law, see "Law and Society: The Interplay of Revelation and Reason in the Shariah," by Mohammad Hashim Kamali, and for more on Muslims in the United States see the article by Yvonne Haddad in the unit on Arab Americans.
The Call to Prayer [Video Clip: 1.4 M]
This clip is from a video produced for Egyptian television on the compilation of the . In it you will learn some basic information about the
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The Rituals of Hajj [Video Clip: 1.4 M]
Pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam. These scenes are from the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. For more information on the Hajj, see John L. Esposito, "
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Clip from Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet [Video Clip: 5 K]
This remarkable documentary tells the life story fo the Prophet Muhammad through his legacy as manifested in the lives of American Muslims today. This opening sequence from the film begins with footage fo the pilgrimage to Mecca, followed by authors such
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![Musharaka [ Cooperation ] Calligraphy by Khaled Al-Saai](images/musharaka.gif "Musharaka [ Cooperation ] Calligraphy by Khaled Al-Saai")