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Essays on History, Religion, and Politics

Islamophobia

Why I Studied the Aisha Hadith for my PhD: Some Reflections on Religious Interpretation, Sunni Orthodoxy, and Islamophobia

October 28, 2022 by Joshua Little

In late September of 2022, I passed the final exam (viva/defence) for my PhD at Oxford University, pending minor corrections. The subject of my thesis was the famous and controversial hadith about the Islamic prophet Muḥammad’s marriage to his wife ʿĀʾišah bt. ʾabī Bakr at a young age: according to the dominant version of the … [Read more…]

Posted in: Current Affairs, Fiqh, Hadith, History, Islamophobia, Politics Tagged: Aisha, Aishah, Child Marriage, Hadith, history, Islam, Islamophobia, Joshua Little, Muhammad, Prophet

The Arab Destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria: An Analysis of a Another Popular Myth

October 19, 2022 by Joshua Little

In a recent article, I explored a popular myth about the destruction of pre-Islamic Persian books and knowledge during the great Arab conquests, based on an improbable story that can be found in certain extremely late Arabic sources. There is however another, similar myth, which is perhaps better known than the first: that it was … [Read more…]

Posted in: History, Islamophobia, Textual Analysis Tagged: Alexandria, Arab conquests, Great LIbrary, history, Islam, Islamophobia, Joshua Little

The Arab Destruction of Persian Books: An Analysis of a Popular Myth

October 19, 2022 by Joshua Little

There is an infamous story about the great Arab conquests and the destruction of books, which is popularly cited by Islamophobes to show that Muslims are intolerant zealots or philistines who hate science, etc. The story goes that, when the Arab armies conquered Persia, they found libraries of Persian books. The Arab commander, Saʿd b. … [Read more…]

Posted in: History, Islamophobia, Textual Analysis Tagged: Arab conquests, history, Islam, Islamophobia, Joshua Little, Persia, Science

Resources on Islamophobia

October 18, 2022 by Joshua Little

Anyone who spends time researching and discussing Islamic history whilst operating in online spaces will inevitably encounter Islamophobes: those who demonise Islam and harbour a seething hatred and resentment towards Muslims, spewing an endless torrent of ahistorical, bigoted, and xenophobic drivel. Sometimes these ideas and attitudes are expressed politely or in a mild tone (especially … [Read more…]

Posted in: Current Affairs, Islamophobia, Politics Tagged: immigration, Islam, Islamophobia, Joshua Little, terrorism

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