Omid Safi

The Islamic calendar does not begin with the year of Muhammad's birth (as the Christian calendar begins with the birth of Christ), nor does it begin with the commencement of revelation to Muhammad. Rather, it begins with this purposeful move of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to what became known as Medina. This migration, the Muslim Exodus, established the model community under Muhammad's rule and care. This was the emigration to Yathrib, the city that would be renamed Madina al-nabi ("the City of the Prophet") and forever after known simply as Medina ("the City"). Like much of the Prophet's actions, this movement has been remembered both for itself, and also for the larger symbolism of the need to spiritually and politically move to a state of emancipation. There are other similar moves in other traditions, whether it is the Exodus of the Hebrews, or the Rastafarian tradition remembering, as Bob Marley put it, the Movement of Jah People. Muhammad's migration to Medina would be known as the Hijra, and it is the quintessential marking point of Islamic history.

The context was urgent, and timely: The pagans of Mecca were stepping up their persecution of Muhammad and his followers. Whereas in the beginning of Muhammad's prophetic career the persecution was directed at the marginalized members of the Prophet's community, now there were clear indications that Muhammad's own life was in grave danger. In fact, the Meccans were planning the imminent assassination of the Prophet. It was at this time that providential grace provided an opening: a community of people from Yathrib, a city two hundred miles away from Mecca came to Muhammad, offering their allegiance to him and asking him to come to their city to help them settle their tribal disputes. They had been long impressed by Muhammad's qualities as the Amin ("the Trustworthy") and saw him as having the Solomonic wisdom to arbitrate among them.

Greetings and salams to all,
My new book on the life of the Prophet Muhammad, titled Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters, was just published yesterday. There are a few events in the local area associated with the book that I thought maybe of interest to you.

1) Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
I will be discussing the life and legacy of the Prophet (S) on the local NPR station (91.5) at 12:20 pm, live on air.
12:20 pm ET interview WUNC (NPR affiliate) Website for the Program “State of Things”:  http://wunc.org/programs/tsot/  

2) Thursday, November 19th, 2009
The Raleigh News and Observer paper will have an article (religion section) on the Prophet, and this book.

And here are a few book readings in the local area:

3) Saturday, November 21st, 2009 - 11:00 am
Bookstore Event - Reading/Signing
McIntyre’s Fine Books & Bookends (Pittsboro)
2000 Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro, NC  27312

4) Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 - 7:00 pm
Bookstore Event - Reading/Signing
Regulator Bookshop (Durham)
720 9th Street, Durham, NC  27705

5) Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 - 3:30 pm ET
Bookstore Event - Reading/Signing
Bull’s Head Bookshop (UNC campus)
UNC Chapel Hill, CB 1530, Daniels Building

Several months ago I had sent out a note asking to see whether some of you may be interested in getting copies of my book on the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, and over a hundred of you had written back. This book has just been published by HarperCollins as Memories of Muhammad:  Why the Prophet Matters.  It is available this weekend at the AAR, and soon nationally (on Amazon, etc.)

It is definitely intended as a general introductory text, and hopefully will be suitable for courses on Islam, Islamic Civilization, and Sufism. In terms of style, I hope that it can be something that evokes several titles like Michael Sells’ Approaching the Qur’an, Schimmel’s And Muhammad is His Messenger, Martin Lings’ Muhammad, and Carl Ernst’s Following Muhammad. Of course those are the very archetypes of excellence, and one can only hope to aspire to them.

If you happen to be strolling through the book fair at the AAR, feel free to stop by the HarperCollins booth to have a look at it.     

Here is a chapter by chapter breakdown:

Chapter One:  The World Before Muhammad
Chapter two:  The Muhammadi Revolution
Chapter three:  Ascension of Muhammad:  Face-to-Face with God
Chapter Four:  Islam as an Abrahamic Tradition
Chapter Five:   Life after the Prophet, Death after Hossein
Chapter Six:   Echoes of Muhammadi Grace
Conclusion

It will offer a good introduction to the world of the Prophet, the message of the Qur’an, the life of the Prophet, the connection of Islamic spirituality to the being of the Prophet, the rise of Sunni/shi’i conflicts, and the devotion to the Prophet down to our own day.

Please click here to see the book at Amazon.

Historic.  Brilliant.  Nearly perfect.

The tone of President Obama’s speech in Cairo was most reminiscent of his masterful speech on race in America:  acknowledging open wounds on all sides, while laying out a hopeful vision for a shard future.   It was a masterful narrative rejecting the Neo-conservative nightmare of the past 8 years which perpetuated the fallacy of “Clash of Civilizations.”   Obama began by mapping his hope for a “new beginning between United States and Muslims around the world.”   Obama then offered “the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive…they overlap…”   He went on to identify the common principles between Islam and America:  “justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”