"This concise book offers a nuanced introduction to Islam in the Middle East. It presents Islam as both a unified tradition of theological dogma and practices that transcends cultural differences and a dynamic tradition that is historically informed, locally shaped, and continually reinterpreted. Using numerous ethnographic examples from the Middle East and North Africa, Islam in the Middle East: A Living Tradition offers a succinct overview of the Islamic tradition as practiced."--BOOK JACKET.

The Islamic community through history -- The foundations of Islamic doctrine and the community of believers -- Authority and knowledge -- The five pillars -- Islamic mysticism -- Islamic reformism -- Islamism : a general overview -- Islamism at the local level.