New Release: Living Islam: Muslim Expressions of Faith

Living Islam invites readers to appreciate ways in which Muslims from diverse backgrounds and traditions interpret and experience their faith.

The story of Islam is not one story, but many stories involving peoples of different races, ethnicities, and cultures. Every religious tradition is marked by internal diversity, manifested through its various communities of interpretation. Islam likewise is multifaceted, as are Muslim life and faith. Living Islam invites readers to appreciate ways in which Muslims from diverse backgrounds and traditions interpret and experience their faith. Adopting a cultural studies approach, Ali Asani begins by posing questions such as ‘Which Islam?’ and ‘Whose Islam?’, and he considers different conceptions of being Muslim. He then illustrates multidimensional ways in which Muslims relate to the Prophet Muhammad, including as messenger, model, intercessor, and beloved. Drawing on Muslim devotional practices and exploring the Islamic ‘artscape’, he showcases how the beauty of the transcendent can be experienced through sonic, visual and poetic arts.

Professor Asani, a leading scholar of Islamic and Indo-Muslim literatures and cultures as well as a Member of the IIS Board of Governors and a long-standing faculty member of the Institute, offers in this volume a profound and accessible exploration of Islam as a lived, multisensory faith.

Drawing on decades of teaching and scholarship, Living Islam challenges reductive understandings of the Muslim tradition, presenting it instead as a dynamic and diverse tapestry of beliefs, practices, and artistic expressions. Written with clarity and appreciation for the Muslim tradition, the book invites readers to move beyond the familiar binaries and stereotypes that often dominate public discourse about Islam and Muslims. It examines how Muslims across cultures experience, and express their faith through poetry, architecture, calligraphy, song, ritual, and everyday life. In this way, it offers a holistic picture of Islam as it is lived rather than merely defined.

Professor Asani situates his analysis within a cultural studies approach, emphasising the importance of context, diversity, and sensory experience in understanding religion. This perspective reframes Islam as a living tradition, deeply intertwined with local cultures and histories, while also engaging universal human questions of meaning, beauty, and transcendence.
The book has already received praise from leading scholars.

“A beautifully written and theoretically rich study that reframes Islam through the senses, art, and everyday life. This book transforms how we think, teach, and feel religion. An essential text for anyone seeking to understand Islam beyond doctrine and law.”
Shenila Khoja-Moolji, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani Endowed Chair of Muslim Societies, Georgetown University, DC.

“In presenting Islam as it has been experienced by Muslims, and presenting it in an accessible and sympathetic way, Ali Asani has produced a book that will not only be useful to students embarking on the study of Islam, but will also help foster interreligious understanding.”
Fitzroy Morrissey, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Law, University of Oxford.

“Prof. Asani is one of our key scholars of Islam. In this marvellous book, he gets to the heart of what it means to be a Muslim in the world today.”
Amir Hussain, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, CA.

Richly illustrated and written in an engaging style, Living Islam speaks to academic and general readers interested in religion, culture, and the arts. Its blend of scholarship and storytelling makes it a valuable resource for educators and anyone curious about the lived realities of Muslim devotion worldwide. This book is published in the IIS World of Islam series, which presents engaging perspectives on Muslim faith, history, and cultures to both academic and general audiences.

About the Author

Ali Asani is Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures at Harvard University, US. At Harvard he has served as the Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Director of the Prince Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program. He is the author of Celebrating Muhammad (1995), The Harvard Collection of Ismaili Literatures in Indic Languages (1992) and Ecstasy and Enlightenment (2002).

Bibliographic Information

Title: Living Islam: Muslim Expressions of Faith

Author: Ali Asani

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

 Language: English

Length: 192 pages

ISBN: 9780755658862

Pub. Date: 30 Oct 2025