NELC Professor of Islamic Studies, Dr. Sean Anthony, has had a new book published, Muhammad and the Empires of Faith The Making of the Prophet of Islam (University of California Press, April 2020).

In Muhammad and the Empires of Faith, Sean W. Anthony demonstrates how critical readings of non-Muslim and Muslim sources in tandem can breathe new life into the historical study of Muhammad and how his message transformed the world. By placing these sources within the intellectual and cultural world of Late Antiquity, Anthony offers a fresh assessment of the earliest sources for Muhammad’s life, taking readers on a grand tour of the available evidence, and suggests what new insights stand to be gained from the techniques and methods pioneered by countless scholars over the decades in a variety of fields. Muhammad and the Empires of Faith offers both an authoritative introduction to the multilayered traditions surrounding the life of Muhammad and a compelling exploration of how these traditions interacted with the broader landscape of Late Antiquity. (Book description from University of California Press: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520340411/muhammad-and-the-empires-of-faith)