Product Description
Their clothing is often distinctive. Their values are strongly held. They love their families. They comprise nearly one-tenth of the world's population, and they live everywhere around the globe. These are women of Muslim background. Many still belong to Islam, but some now belong to Christ.In Daughters of Islam Miriam Adeney introduces you to women like Ladan, Khadija and Fatma. You'll learn about their lives, questions and hopes. You'll learn how they are both representative of and unique among their Arab, Iranian, Southeast Asian and African sisters. And you'll discover what has drawn them to Christ.Adeney explores the many interwoven threads that make up daily experience for Ladan, Khadija, Fatma and their sisters, including

• sexuality, singleness and marriage
• children and extended family
• finances
• religious tradition and practice
• teaching and learning styles

Customer Reviews (8)

Rare insight into Muslim Women Who Follow Jesus
I was introduced to this book by a speaker at a Harvard University class.What struck me was the compassion that the author, who is an anthropologist, has for these women whose stories she tells.These are women who hail from a bevy of countries, continents, and cultures, a veritable feast for the spiritually and culturally interested.

If you're a Christian or Jew or agnostic or missionary or atheist or anthropologist (or whomever) who wants to learn more about women with Muslim backgrounds, or a Muslim who wants to understand more about Muslims in other countries who look for meaning to Jesus, this book is a treasure.

Reflections on women and Islam from a missional Christian perspective
As of posting this, I see a lot of very polarized reviews on this book. There are Christians who want to understand Muslim women in order to share their religion, and there non-Christians who feel that a book directed towards Muslim conversion is disrespectful. I'll try to stay more in the middle here!

I enjoyed reading the stories in this book. There are dozens of life stories from women who have converted from Islam to Christianity in Africa, the USA, and the Arab world. In between these stories are reflections on the challenges of family, money, education, and culture as experienced by some women in the Arab world. Miriam Adeney, a Christian anthropologist, has interviewed these women over seven years by traveling all around the world, and as a trained anthropologist she tries to be sensitive to their perspectives and the context in which they live, while being open about her own views.

Most missional Christians will find this book sensitive and loving towards people that God would like them to invite into their religious community. And yet I understand how this can be upsetting to Muslims, written by an outsider with desires and goals contrary to their own -- a Muslim book about Christians who converted to the wonderful life of Islam would be similarly upsetting to many Christians.

However, I would remind prospective readers that Adeney's audience is Christians who want to form relationships with Muslims, and for them, she writes beautiful stories that humanize Muslims for those of us who live in the West, an environment often quite negative towards Islam. These stories draw us away from stereotypes of terrorists and victims, and lead us into insight on what it means to be a woman making decision about her life, what it means to convert, and the respect and care that any religious person needs if they hope to invite someone from another faith to learn more about their own.

A book very well done!

Heart-warming
I really enjoyed this book.The stories are heart-warming... and from my limited knowledge, characteristic of what Muslim ladies face.It treats them with honor and respect.Additionally, the author has decades of experience.

I recommend it.

Fair, compassionate, and honest.
I am not sure what book the critics below have been reading, but it is hard to believe it was this one.The most recent reviewer has nothing at all to say about the book.Another complains that Adeney has "cherry-picked" problems in Islamic societies: "I can also list all the ills in the Western society and blame it on Christianity . . . "But Adeney specifically admits that "Muslims are appalled at Western family life," with good reason, and that "millions" of Muslim women enjoy loving families.So who is this critic arguing with? (As for the critic's claim that Christianity had nothing to do with the high status of women in "Christendom," see my Jesus and the Religions of Man for detailed evidence to the contrary.)

A third critic calls Daughters of Islam "misleading and offensive because it "generalizes" Muslim women by telling "a few sad stories and makes it seem that all Muslim women are oppressed, stupid, and in need of God."This is ridiculous.Miriam Adeney has got to be about the last person on earth
to portray Muslim women as "stupid.""Oppressed?"Again, she explicitly denies this is true of "all" Muslim women; but who can honestly deny that it is true of many?A 1988 UN survey of the status of women around the world that made no explicit reference to religion, yet the countries it found had the lowest status for women were mostly Muslim.It is one thing to decry over-generalizations; another to pretend that generalizations have no force at all.

Daughters of Islam is an honest book written by a kind and personable anthropologist.It's primary audience is Christians who want to "reach Muslim women for Christ," as they put it. The book is well-written and engaging, full of lively stories.The author does not begin with ideology, but from the grass-roots, with stories, with people whose lives she describes.Miriam Adeney is the last thing in the world from an ideologue, but she does think Muslim women can profit from meeting Jesus.If that offends you, it may take a special effort to be sure the book you read is actually the one she wrote.

not another one of those!
Suprise suprise Author of this book. Incase you didnt know there is a huge difference between tradition and religion. An arab proverb doesnt make it an Islamic proverb. The indian culture of woman staying at home COOKING all day does not make it Islamic. Being a muslim women, in a western country i can give you an honest view of Islam and women. Infact ive ranted and raved about it before. Just one question, Are nuns oppressed? They proberbly are because of their conservitive dressing, just like us muslims!

Oh no, my mum, sisters, and litterally hundreds of other women I know wear the veil, because THEY WANT TO. They feel liberated, secure and tresured.

Im so tired of repeating myself ( my other reviews) but a muslim women treated in the way that ISLAM teaches you to teach her is anything but oppressed. Blame it on a misunderstanding or whatever you want to.

Why then do we learn that under the feet of a MOTHER lies paradise.

Why then does a hadeeth( saying) of the prophet quote " man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is more entitled to be
treated with the best companionship by me?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man
said. "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man further said, "Who is
next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is
next?" The Prophet said, "Your father."

This is an authentic unfabricated saying of the Prophet Muhammed (may peace be upon him)
And as you know we muslims havnt added or subtraced a single verse from the quraan ever since it was revealed, unlike the bible might i add. The same goes for the Hadeeth.

Why then did yvonne ridely ( the journilist) who after being held hostage by the taliban,the very same so called women abusers, realise that she was treated with such respect, and upon entering the "western" society, see the blatent truth about the treatment of women and the west? Its in her book, read it! Stockholm Syndrome? Neither she nor I thinks so!
... Read more

Product Description
"A furiously complex age; a powerful narrative."--New YorkTimes Book Review, Editor'sChoiceAt thebeginning of theeighth century, the Arabsbrought a momentous revolution in power, religion, and culture to DarkAges Europe. DavidLeveringLewis's masterful history begins withthe fall of the Persian and Romanempires, followed by therise of the prophet Muhammad andthe creation of Muslim Spain. Five centuries ofengagement between the Muslimimperium and anemergingEurope followed, from the Muslimconquest of Visigoth Hispania in 711 toLatinChristendom'sdeclaration of unconditional warfare on the Caliphate in 1215. Lewis's narrative, filled with accounts of some of the greatest battles in world history, reveals howcosmopolitan, Muslim al-Andalus flourished--a beacon ofcooperation andtolerancebetween Islam, Judaism, and Christianity--while proto-Europe,defining itself in opposition toIslam, made virtues out ofhereditary aristocracy, religious intolerance, perpetual war, and slavery. A cautionary tale, God'sCrucible provides a new interpretationofworld-altering events whose influence remains as current as today's headlines. 8 pages of illustrations; 4 maps ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

Deliberately Ignorant. The Worst Kind of Revisionism
It is deeply troubling to any educated reader to pick up a fresh new history book by a noted writer and professor of history only to realize after struggling mightily that it is a propaganda piece for current events. It is sad to realize that this person has entered a professionally sick period of his career which can only come from a troubled self. We see here stunningly willful ignorance and childish explanations of serious and violent historical events. All of this under the guise of taking a fresh look at this history. A fresh look, indeed!

Anachronistic terms for the politics and structures of the era are deliberately meant to sound as though we are talking about the modern era instead of history. There is a total lack of citations for the heavily critical viewpoints of the personal affairs of the European rulers. Equally we have no proof of the immaculate reputations of the invading Islamic armies either.

Essentially this reads as an attempt to portray the Islamic invaders of Europe as those with a morally superior agenda. They were just with God and therefore just in their actions. It is hundreds of pages of validation with no mentions of the typical and documented atrocities of war that these invading armies also perpetrated on Europe.

Instead of getting a different side of a known story, you get a no story at all as the fair reader can only come to the conclusion that this was a document purposefully written as a ra-ra Islam piece. It is the epitome of the adage that the conquerors write the history, only in this case it is hundreds of years later by a convert to Islam. This is just a mess. It's sad that people write like this; without principals or any commitment to the craft.

Interesting, yet extremely biased!
The author seems to be a convert to Islam. He constantly refers to Mohamed as the prophet and describes the Archangel Gabriel communicating with him as a clear fact. These bits are not quotes from other narrative just his pronouncements. Read closely and it is self evident. He is justifying the forced conquest / conversion of the Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian and Buddhist world.His Bias is ever-present throughout the book. From the earliest expansion of Mohamed throughout the Arabian Peninsula, to the spread of this religion, from continent to continent, the use of warfare is always justified in this book. Taking of slaves, killing of civilians and expansion on conquering by the sword seems to be a necessary progress of the peaceful religion as put by the author. When referring to the Persian, Greco-Roman, Western Roman or Visigothic Empires he uses every possible example of Machiavellian politics or warfare to show them to be deceitful, weak or impotent. There is a constant flow of the rightness of the Islamic expansion. As it was the only path for Islam to take by eliminating any competing ideology.He states that the Visigothic realm of Spain was a Proto Nazi state. When the Berber armies attacked the Iberian Peninsula they were hardly more cultured or peace loving than the people they where pillaging. The highly advanced Moslem culture that people rave about was still centuries in the future. What the attacking Islamic armies wanted was Religious conversion and booty. Any attempt to justify the spread of Islam any other way is either self deluding or ignorant. They expanded like every other empire did through constant warfare and political Machiavellism.
If you have already a thorough grounding inRoman, European and Middle Eastern history, this book is still very interesting. It has much detail, and if not for the unbridled bias would be a fine history. I would not recommend it as a stand alone for Islamic early history.

[...]

Good overall picture, lousy details
This book provides a good basic overview of the birth and development of early Islam, the conquests that followed, and the impact on early Spain and Europe. The author however plays fast and loose with quite a few details which seriously detracts from the quality of the book. Specific examples: the author lists the Via Augusta as going from Cadiz all the way to Rome, having an astonishing length of 13,000 miles (that would be halfway around the equator). In fact, the Via Augusta went from Cadiz, crossed the Pyrenees and joined the Via Domitia and its overall length was a respectable 1000 miles (approximately). Another example - the legendary Berber queen Kahina who fought the Arabs in the 7th century is listed categorically as being Jewish. Maybe, maybe not. The Encyclopedia Judaica as well as a few other sources seem to be quite dismissive of this notion and at best, it is controversial. One would expect such a respected Historian and Pulitzer winner to be much more careful because I'm sure that the last thing he would want to do is perpetuate errors through sloppiness.

Overall - quite an enjoyable read.

These comments pertain to the Kindle edition.

A Broad Satisfying Survey with a Point of View
I spent a few weeks in Andalusia last spring and I am still trying to understand what I saw. The Roman bridge in Cordoba takes you within a few blocks of a vast ancient mosque into which some bishop inserted a perfectly ridiculous Rennaisance cathedral. A few blocks from there is the home of Maimonides.

I have read about the Romans, the Ottomans, the Franks, and the Jews. I have read histories of Spain and biographies of Charlemange. I am a curious reader who doesn't mind a little help in understanding how ancient parts of the world were inter-related. Mr. Lewis covers a lot of ground and if I were teaching a survey course in medieval history this might be one of books I would choose to help a student get the big picture. But this is more than a survey of some very interesting centuries in some very interesting parts of the world. Mr. Lewis covers this ground with a purpose and he makes a very fascinating argument that the post-Roman beginning of what became Europe was driven by pressures from the Islamic world. The Muslims didn't create Europe but Europe was created as a response to Muslims. Some of my fellow reviewers are grumpy because the author has a point of view. I don't mind that at all.

One of my favorite books on the conflict between Islam and Christianity is Roger Crowley'sEmpires of the Sea: The Final Battle for the Mediterranean, 1521-1580 It would make a good sequel to Mr. Lewis's book and the Siege of Malta is not to be believed.

Revisionist History
Prior to reading this book, I researched the author and read the Amazon.Com reviews.A little due diligence prepared me for Lewis'
version of European origins.Recently NYU, which happens to be the school where Lewis teaches, went through a considerable bit of trouble to accomodate Moslem students with their daily ablutions.
Meanwhile, NYU went to some lengths to expel any evidence of Christianity from that sad campus.Considering those points it's
almost expected of Lewis to write a slanted cliche ridden book, extolling the virtues of Islam and slamming Europeans as louse infested clods.There's a puzzling undercurrent of racism disguised
as a religious preference throughout the book.It is less of an issue of embracing Islam, than it is rejecting "euro-centric" white
Latin Christianity is where the writer actually comes from.

In two words, ho hum.So what else is new?The appeal of this book
lies in its incidental tid bits, rather than the larger historical picture, where Lewis bankrupts his credibility.To his credit, Lewis demonstrates his considerable writing skills, which may make
reading this work interesting. ... Read more

Product Description
Globalization, the war on terror, and Islamic fundamentalism-followed closely by a rise in Islamophobia-have escalated tensions between Western nations and the Muslim world. Yet, internationally renowned Islamic scholar Akbar Ahmed believes that through dialogue and understanding, these cultures can coexist peacefully and respectfully. That hope and belief result in an extraordinary journey. To learn what Muslims think and how they really view America, Ahmed traveled to the three major regions of the Muslim world the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. "Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization" is the riveting story of his search for common ground. His absorbing narrative and personal photos bring the reader on a tour of Islam and its peoples.Ahmed sought to understand the experiences and perceptions of ordinary Muslims. Visiting mosques, madrassahs, and universities, he met with people ranging from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to prime ministers, princes, sheikhs, professors, and students. He observed, listened, and asked them questions. For example, who inspires them? What are they reading? How do the Internet and international media impact their lives?How do they view America, the West, and changes in society? Ahmed's anthropological expedition enjoyed extensive access to women and youths, revealing unique information on large yet often misunderstood populations.Lamentably, he found high levels of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism and a widespread perception that Islam is under attack from the West. But he also brought back reason for hope. He returned from his groundbreaking travels both impressed with the concerned, kind nature of the individuals he encountered and invigorated with the vitality and passion they displayed. "Journey into Islam" makes a powerful plea for forming friendships across religion, race, and tradition to create lasting peace between Islam and the West. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Understanding other cultures...
Feeling totally ignorant about the Muslim world, I decided to read this book which was recommended by some magazine or TV interview...don't know which. I challenge you to read it. Reading it in its entirety is the best but if you read only two chapters, let them be Chapters One and Five: An Anthropological Excursion into the Muslim World and The Clash of Civilizations?

I came away with a new enlightment of the complex relationship between our culture and theirs.

Compelling read - Great job by Dr. Ahmed
This is book is the result of a tedious journey undertaken by Dr.Ahmed's team to get a pulse of the current Muslim reaction to globalization.
The author discusses the elements that contitute Muslim culture, tradition and pride. And then goes on to discuss how those elements have been impacted by the current crisis of globalization.

Once we understand the muslim culture and the way they think, we begin to understand why they act the way they do. Their actions have been mostly shaped by US foreign policies towards their country. The US policies shaped by the thoughts of neocons and other opportunists has led to the current state of affairs. The worst part is that it doesnt seem to be getting any better.

The book highlights the changes that could be adopted by the US government to ease tension with the middle-east. Surprsingly all that we need to do is to extend a hand of support and not be judgemental; that we be willing to keep our minds open to their cultural ideas and their way of life. It was interesting to see the author quote some of America's founding fathers and deriving inspiration from that. He is not biased in his views either. The mistakes made by the muslim nations have also been pointed out. This unbiased analysis of the situation makes for a very interesting read.

"Anything started in anger ends in shame" quotes the author. He stresses the need for all of us to shed our anger and misconception and the start process of dialogue with muslim countries so that we may all be spared of the bloody fights.
A very interesting read that I will recommend for anyone wishing to know to the other side of the story. The American media has been portraying the whole situation exactly the way politicians want it to be seen.
Anyone wishing peace and quite in the world will love this book and its ideas. Kudos to the author.

Hoping to drown the drums of war
An intelligent look at the different souls of contemporary Islam, or rather, at the different attitudes towards globalization within the muslim world. A great starting point to understand the 'other', for muslims and non-muslims alike, and a book that challenges the reader. Dr. Ahmed is especially skilled at pointing out the misunderstandings that feed the current atmosphere of hostility, and to tease out provocation from substantive message on both sides. In the end, if each side was really true to its values, there would not even be an opportunity for conflict. Will his message be loud enough to diffuse the 'conflict of civilizations'?

Comprehensive
Very well done and comprehensive but it would be better if you took Islam 101 and 102 first.

Solutions open new problems
This book was much needed. Unfortunately it is only a book, a drop of water in the desert, although we should never forget that single drops added up to dig the desert canyons. Much more must be done, and this requires confronting a problem not addressed by the Author.
Why are we, people of the western countries, making such a confusion between politics and religion and why, anyhow, religion appears to be the key to peace within the people referring to the three Abrahamic religions?
As modern people, living in a western democracy, we should be bound to separate Church and State. Which is not exactly achieved in too many of the western countries, USA included, and surely, despite the presence of Ahmed's Aligarh model, is not the case in the Islamic countries. Thus it appears that using a language to be appreciated by our Islamic travel mates means speaking a language that is not properly our own, although it is becoming increasingly popular in some countries having a Christian tradition.
There is a contradiction that needs been solved. I hope that our Author and other serious scholars show us how. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Complementary readings to this masterful book
Given that there are already two excellent reviews on this book, I will only add that, for a better understanding of Islam (neither flattering nor biased against it), I would suggest reading the following works, it is worth it:

A) ASSESSMENTS OF ISLAM: 1) The best, impartial, wise: "Islam. History, present, future" by Hans Küng . 2) Moderate Islam at its best: "The Great Theft : Wrestling Islam from the Extremists" by Khaled M. Abou El Fadl; and 3) Harsh but well argued: "Muslims in the West: Redefining the Separation of Church & State" by Sami Awad Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh;

B) WOMEN AND ISLAM. 4) A good reference book: "Women In Islam: An Anthology From The Qu'ran And Hadiths" by Nicholas Awde; and 5) Autobiography of a courageous woman: "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is a controversial thinker with a very interesting life.

C) HISTORY: 6) Turks: "The Turks in World History" by Carter Vaughn Findley; 7) Political theory: "God's Rule : Government and Islam" by Patricia Crone; and 8) Jihad: Understanding Jihad" by David Cook.

A must read for the understanding of modern Middle East
This is an extremely intricate and thus difficult book to truly internalize and comprehend in its totality.. not because it is not well written and clear. It is. However, the history or histories from the 15th century forward of Islamic society are themselves complex and intertwined so that in reading one must often step back to incorporate accurately Hodgeson's astoundingly detailed and broad vision of the period from the l5th century forward. Other books on the same subject and period are by comparison merely ghostly, monodimensional versions of Hodgeson's Ventures of Islam. This is the book or series of books to read on Islam in history.

deep, rich, well considered and comprehensive
This review really applies to all three volumes.Hodgson's work is not for those new to Islamic studies, and his writing style is complex.Few are the sentences that lack at least one subjunctive clause.But hisadoption of key Arabic terms in his narrative; his broad geographic sweep,from Andalusia and the Sahel through Nile and Oxus to India and Indonesia;and his comprehensive consideration of political, social, religious,cultural, and economic aspects of civilization make for a series as broadand deep as this student of history could want.It took me several yearsto read the whole set, as only recently did I have enough interest in theartistic and philisophic (falsafah) traditions. ... Read more

Product Description
Designed for general readers with little or no knowledge of Islam, this superb Oxford Dictionary provides more than 2,000 vividly written, up-to-date, and authoritative entries organized in an easy-to-use, A-to-Z format. The Dictionary focuses primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, stressing topics of most interest to Westerners. What emerges is a highly informative look at the religious, political, and social spheres of the modern Islamic world. Naturally, readers will find many entries on topics of intense current interest, such as terrorism and the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, the PLO and HAMAS. But the coverage goes well beyond recent headlines. There are biographical profiles, ranging from Naguib Mahfouz (the Nobel Prize winner from Egypt) to Malcolm X, including political leaders, influential thinkers, poets, scientists, and writers. Other entries cover major political movements, militant groups, and religious sects as well as terms from Islamic law, culture, and religion, key historical events, and important landmarks (such as Mecca and Medina). A series of entries looks at Islam in individual nations, such as Afghanistan, the West Bank and Gaza, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the United States, and there are discussions of Islamic views on such issues as abortion, birth control, the Internet, the Rushdie Affair, and the theory of evolution. Whether we are listening to the evening news, browsing through the op-ed pages, or reading a book on current events, references to Muslims and the Islamic world appear at every turn. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam offers a wealth of information for anyone curious about this burgeoning and increasingly important world religion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Use wiki
Wiki is faster, easier, more in-depth and well free. If its for a class, trust me wiki is all you need.

Spotty
I bought this dictionary hoping that it would be a useful reference for a graduate course dealing with the relationship between Christianity and Islam during the early years of Islam. I have found it to be spotty and inconsistent.

For example, I wanted to know the dates of the Abbasid dynasty. I tried looking up "Abbasid." There is no such entry. I tried looking at the timeline at the end of the dictionary. There, the first reference to Abbasids is in the entry for 744-750 (p. 352): "Third Muslim civil war and defeat of Umayyads by Abbasids." There is no statement that this marks the beginning of the Abbasid Dynasty. However, the entry for the year 661 (p. 351) does include the information that "Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan founds Umayyad Dynasty." Why is there no comparable statement about the founding of the Abbasid Dynasty?

I decided to see if the dictionary had an entry for the Umayyads. Yes, it does (p. 326). This makes all the harder to understand why there is no entry for the Abbasids.

Returning to the timeline, the second entry that mentions the Abbasids (750-850) mentions three caliphs of this dynasty: al-Mahdi, Harun al-Rashid and al-Mamun. Does the body of the dictionary have entries for each of these men? No, yes (alphabetized under "Harun"), yes (alphabetized under "Mamun"). I tried looking for al-Mahdi under "al-" and "Mahdi." There are a few entries beginning with "al-," but not nearly as many as would be required were all of them listed consistently. I looked under "Mahdi." There I found an entry for Mahdi as an honorific applied to Muhammad and the first four caliphs; one for Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi (d. 1959); one for Sadiq al-Mahdi (b. 1936); and one for Mahdists which just has a cross-reference to the following entry, Mahdiyyah, which turns out to be a messianic movement founded in Sudan in the late 19th century. Obviously none of these was relevant to my search to the al-Mahdi mentioned in the timeline. I finally resorted to Wikipedia, where I learned that the full name of this caliph was Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi. I tried looking under "Muhammad" and "ibn Mansur" in the dictionary, but with no result.

I noticed that the name of one of the Prophet's wives is given as "Aisha" in the timeline (p. 351, years 656-661). When I looked her name up in the body of the dictionary, I found it spelled "Aishah" (p. 12).

Moving beyond people to things, I found an entry for "chador," the Persian term for the full-length veil worn for modesty by conservative Muslim women, but the Arabic term "abaya" is missing. There is an entry for "hijab" and it is defined as if it were an abaya. However, hijab is actually used as a more general term referring to various kinds of clothing and behavior intended to preserve the modesty of both women and men, not just the full-length veil.

In conclusion, this dictionary does have a large number of terms useful for understand Islamic culture and history. However, it lacks many terms that it should have and it shows editorial inconsistency. At the least, a reader will have to supplement this book with others. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

pseudo-multi-cultural societies
Ehsan on page 71 of Science & Islam compares al-Andalus with pseudo-multi-cultural society of his times. During his comparison he recalls several not so important structural similarities and differences between the present pseudo-multi-cultural society and al-Andalus, but somehow the structural core of the real-multi-cultural society; the right to practice their own laws, with their own legal institutions of Christians, Jews and Muslims which was a historic fact in al-Andalus, slips from Ehsan's intellectual mind. Based on that I don't think I can recommend this book to you, for I am not sure how many other ommissions of important historic facts are filled up with gossips and legends to save the secular-pseudo-multi-cultural, mono-law society.

Eminently readable survey of science in Islam
The synopsis of the book provided by the "Product Description" is fairly accurate. Therefore, I will only point out that it is difficult nowadays to get an objective, nuanced opinion on Islam, neither flattering nor biased against it (if I were to recommend a way to try and achieve this, I would suggest reading several good books on the matter, including this one among them).

So when I found this book I decide it to give it a chance, in despite of not finding previous comments on it. I was surprised that no one else had made a comment before to this interesting work, which, in my opinion, is an eminently readable survey of science in Islam. So I add my review (I would also suggest tofind and read in google Ziauddin Sardar's review of this book; he reviewed it together with "The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization" by Jonathan Lyons).

The book is short, less than 240 pages (plus bibliography), and is divided in the following way: Prologue.//1. The dark age myth. PART I: THE ISLAMIC QUEST. 2. The coming of the Prophet. 3. Building Islam. 4. Baghdad's splendour. 5. The Caliph of science. 6. The flowering of Andalusia. 7. Beyond the Abbasids. PART II: BRANCHES OF LEARNING. 8. The Best Gift from God. 9. Astronomy: the structured heaven. 10. Number: the living universe of Islam. 11. At home in the elements. 12. Ingenious devices. PART III: SECOND THOUGHTS. 13. An endless frontier. 14. One chapter closes, another begins. 15. Science and Islam: lessons from history.//Timeline. Acknowledgments. Bibliography. Index.

I was somehow worried it would be boring. However, the author manages to narrate the social and political context in which Islamic discoveries took place in such a way that I could not put it down, and read it in as couple of days' time. In any event I think that the professional historian and the educated layperson alike can savour it. So I add my review, my rate being between 4 (content) and 5 (pleasure).

Other interesting books dealing with the history of science that I would recommend would be "A People's History of Science: Miners, Midwives, and Low Mechanicks" by Clifford D. Conner, and "Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction" by James E. McClellan and Harold Dorn.

For a better understanding of Islam, I would suggest reading the following works, it is worth it:

A) ASSESSMENTS OF ISLAM: 1) The best, impartial, wise: "Islam. History, present, future" by Hans Küng. 2) The political point of view of 1.3 billion Muslim people today: " Who Speaks For Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think " by John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed; and 3) Harsh but well argued: "Muslims in the West: Redefining the Separation of Church & State" by Sami Awad Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh;

B) WOMEN AND ISLAM. 4) A good reference book: "Women In Islam: An Anthology From The Qu'ran And Hadiths" by Nicholas Awde; and 5) Autobiography of a courageous woman: "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is a controversial thinker with a very interesting life.

C) HISTORY: 6) General: "The Venture of Islam", by Marshall G. S. Hodgson (nowadays a classic included in any bibliography on Islam); 7) Turks: "The Turks in World History" by Carter Vaughn Findley; 8) Political theory: "God's Rule : Government and Islam" by Patricia Crone; and 9) Jihad: Understanding Jihad" by David Cook.


... Read more

Product Description
Mobilizing Islam explores how and why Islamic groups succeeded in galvanizing educated youth into politics under the shadow of Egypt's authoritarian state, offering important and surprising answers to a series of pressing questions. Under what conditions does mobilization by opposition groups become possible in authoritarian settings? Why did Islamist groups have more success attracting recruits and overcoming governmental restraints than their secular rivals? And finally, how can Islamist mobilization contribute to broader and more enduring forms of political change throughout the Muslim world? Moving beyond the simplistic accounts of "Islamic fundamentalism" offered by much of the Western media, Mobilizing Islam offers a balanced and persuasive explanation of the Islamic movement's dramatic growth in the world's largest Arab state. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Islamism from a different perspective
Too often Islam as a comprehensive systme of life is overshadowed by the comparatively few but dangerous terroriist individuals and organizations. Though I am not a Muslim, I do think that the Western perceptions toward Islam and Islamism is excessively biased and near-sighted. And more often than not, people are hung up on analyzing the radical extremist aspects of Islamism, or the politics of the movement.

This excellent book by Rosefsky Wickham does not provide answers to the whole notion of Islam being 'opposed' to the West, or the debate about whether Islamic countries can become democratized 'like us'.

It is more focused on the deeper, underlying social movements that propel Islamism in Egypt, the people/organization/methods through which the religious movement has gained ground. She also examines how this change takes place, via what she calls "transvaluation". It's a nice departure made from the conventional obsession with the violence and the need to 'save' the Muslims under Islamic autocrats.

The narrative she provides does not use the normal political science jargon and is an enjoyable academic read. I found it quite refreshing.

I concur
I concur with the other reviewers - a thorough and interesting book.

Fabulous book
This book is an excellent account of the rise of the most important opposition movement in Egypt since the 1952 revolution. While its discussion of the last 8 years is unfortunately a bit truncated, this is probably one of the best texts out there to study a major islamic political movement in its proper context. What the author successfully does is not only take the study of social movements outside of its standard western milieu, but also look at the critical role ideology plays in mobilizing particular segments of the population to support and join a (r)evolutionary movement.

While political economy explanations can show the context that leads to the creation of a potential audience for a message of social justice and transformation of society from below, it doesn't explain why people would do so when the costs of such action in an authoritarian country are so high. Usually survival is the paramount concern of most in society outside the coopted elite, unless an opportunity for change occurs. But such was not the case in Egypt in the 1970s and 80s, not one sufficiently great in and of itself anyway, to mobilize the disaffected semi elite who did join and became the backbone of the Brotherhood. What was needed also was a message of hope, social justice, and fairness, and that message was supplied by moderate political islam. The opportunity of course was facilitated by the traditional failure not only of the state's own neopopulist economic, social, and educational policies, but also of the main other opposition socialist movements. Moderate political islam provided the answer for many.

It should be noted that this book, unlike many other studies of egyptian political islam by authors like Barry Rubin and Mary Anne Weaver, does not focus on the more violent offshoots of the Brotherhood, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and Al Qaeda. Ergo this is not a book about terrorism. But that's kind of the point, this shows the fact the even now (at least before 9/11) mainstream political Islam in most Moslem nations in the Middle East and beyond are quite moderate and while wanting to create a Moslem state in the long run (i.e. over decades) are willing to do so from below. Wickham quotes a female activist in the book who says precisely that, i.e. that by teaching children about the religion, its values, and goals, as well as their mothers and fathers, that over time this will help build support for the movement until it grows to a large enough popular majority to overtake the state peacefully. This could be called revolutionary in the sense that the long term goal is change of the state and society, but it is neither a top down, not militant movement, but rather one that seeks to achieve its goals at the ballot box, in the mosques, schools, health care centers, sports clubs, newstands, in professional associations, and such rather than with weapons. It therefore very much is a study of a movement in a major Moslem nation that joins a growing list of outstanding works in English on the subject from other countries such as Jenny White's "Islamist Mobilization in Turkey" about Turkey's AK party, which recently came to power and Robert W. Hefner's "Civil Islam" about Indonesia's Nhladatul Ulama of former President Abdurahman Wahid.

If you want to understand what mainstream political islam stands for and is seeking to achieve, in the most important Arab nation at that, this is probably the most important book you could read.

Reviewing "Mobilizing Islam"
I am an avid reader of books about religion and political science, and am most concerned with the impact of religion on a nation's policies and politics.Dr. Wickham's book is the most interesting and profound book on modern Islam I have read.She has the ability to allow the reader to understand Islam from the inside out and therefore to make sense of what we Westerners often feel is not logical.The author held my attention from beginning to end with a style that was both interesting and informative.I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about Islam and it's impact on the United States and the world today. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (98)

Said What Must Be Sid
This book must be requird reading for every school child in the nation. And it woul sure end all this confusion about Islam i adults would read it too.Radical Islam is evil an for yur own sakeyou bette knowit

Knowledge for our survival
An eye opener for our way of life.We are a soft takeover for the barbaric world.They have invaded our country more than most people know.We better speak up and stop this before it is too late.

Great Book!
98% of non Muslims are ignorant to the true purpose of radical Islam, Brigette's book is a sounding call for all to wake up before it's too late!

The Goal of Islam is to Conquer the World.
I've purchased 5 copies of this book which everyone should read.The goal of Islam is revealed here with passages from the Koran and other Islamic holy texts.Muslims await the coming of the Hidden Imam who will come to rule the world under the final caliphate.Islam is not just another religion, it is a Cult with an evil agenda which every American should become aware of.

Intersting Bias on the Truth
I have not gotten through the whole the book, yet, but I was curious about other's thoughts and read most of the reviews. One rather obvious note...the reviews that trash the book are interestingly written by people of Muslim faith. Hmm.
This would only further Ms. Gabreil points about the blatant deception and feeeling of superiority of these people. They do someting violent, but tell you it's "peacful". You're not seeing black, no, no, it's REALLY white, you don't understand color.
Frightening. ... Read more

Product Description
Jonathan Berkey surveys the religious history of the peoples of the Near East from approximately 600 to 1800 c.e.After examining the religious scene in the Near East in late antiquity, he investigates Islam's first century, the "classical" period from the accession of the Abbasids to the rise of the Buyid amirs. He then traces the emergence of new forms of Islam in the middle period, deftly showing how Islam emerged slowly as part of a prolonged process. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good read for enthusiastic newcomers to the subject
I'm a biology major who read this book as part of a history course I took to fulfill a history requirement. As such I found it to provide a great base of knowledge. It mixes in a healthy amount of narrative style that makes it easier reading than other books of similar subjects that I've read. I say its for the "enthusiastic newcomer to the subject" because though this book is easier reading than others it did come from academia, and thus can occasionally be slightly thick reading, but in my opinion is well worth it. In short, if you're really interested in the history of Islam, this is a great book, but if you're looking for some casual reading you might want to look elsewhere.

An Excellent Overview of Islam's Evolution
Jonathan Berkey's book describes the social and religious development of Islam from its inception to 1500.Berkey uses an analytical approach rather than a narrative one to portray the religion as being in a state of constant development during these years.His work highlights the diversity contained within Islam.Indeed, the book might have been entitled THE FORMATION OF ISLAMS.In describing Islam's formation, Berkey divides his book into four broad sections:"The Near East before Islam;" "The Emergence of Islam, 600--750;" "The Consolidation of Islam, 750--1000;" and "Medieval Islam, 1000--1500."

In the first section, Berkey describes the late antique milieu that produced Islam.The areas of the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula were politically unstable because of Byzantine and the Sassanid influences in these areas.Both in politics and religion, Berkey feels that Islam followed patterns of what came before it, while incorporating particularly Arabian elements such as an emphasis on tribal identity.

In the second section, Berkey analyzes the early years of the Islamic movement.He portrays the new religion's earliest years as a time of flux, and he asserts that the movement had a long process of maturation.Muhammad did not present the Arabs with a crystalline theology and polity; rather, the Islam developed in relationship to its political and religious context.Berkey portrays Islam as having a high level of religious indeterminacy during this period, while simultaneously being prone to sectarianism.

In his third section, Berkey explores the crystallizing that occurred in the Islamic traditions.Politically, the Abbasids adopted the trappings of an imperial court, demonstrating continuity with what came before.Berkey asserts, however, that the real force in Islam at the time was the urban middle class and that the Caliph failed to wield real religious power.Shia disappoint concerning the Abbasid caliphs caused that movement to further define itself, but in doing so also caused further fracturing.Berkey explains the fascinating development of Twelver Shiism, as well as the Ismaili Shiism of the Fatimids.During this period of Islamic history, the broader Muslim community began to define what it meant to be Muslim.This form of Islam would become known as Sunniism, based on sunna which means way of life.This branch of Islam relied heavily on the consensus of the community (umma).The Sharia became the manifestation of the community's will and its traditions, and the jurists (ulama) became the custodians of those traditions.This role of tradition, as well as that of the jurists, became a means to maintain unity in the Islamic world, in spite of the fractious nature of the successive political regimes that arrived in the Middle Period.

In the fourth section of this book, Berkey investigates what he apologetically calls "Medieval Islam."During this period, the Islamic areas were ruled by "alien" regimes, many of which were Turkic.Berkey suggests that these regimes relied heavily on the jurists and traditional Sunniism because of the "otherness" of the ruling class.This common bond proved beneficial in light of the area's political fragmentation.

Good for Professionals
Berkey states that his book is for students and those interested in Islamic history.However, one would need to read a real textbook in order to have the foundation necessary to understand his work.
His scholarship and attention to detail are above reproach, but the style of writing and content assume that the reader already knows quite a bit about Islamic history.That, and the plethora of words in Arabic, leave his history as very bland and confusing. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

A bold undertaking, but requires a thicker book
This book attempts to explain the main features and developments of the three monotheistic religions. Though it treats nothing in depth, it gives good summaries of some points and provides tantalizing details which might be new even for people with some knowledge of the subjects. It is copiously footnoted and readers are encouraged to examine the listed sources for more detail.

Of course, being a broad survey, it does contain errors and questionable simplifications, some more serious than others. This isn't the place to get into all of those, but a couple points could be mentioned.

First Esposito noted the timeliness of this book in its foreword: inter-religious understanding is now more important than ever. Regrettably some opportunities to clear up misunderstandings were missed. Pp. 114-115, for example discusses martyrs, noting that Husayn, grandson of Mohammed, is the prototypical martyr of Islam.The Shiites see it that way, but do Sunnis also recognize Husayn as the prototype of a martyr? That's new for me. But when I read of Islamic martyrs, I think of Yasser Arafat , who called suicide bombings martyrdom operations. Peters had a good chance here to clarify the notion of martyrdom in Islam, but he didn't. So the question remains, at least for me: How do real Muslim scholars define a martyr?

Perhaps the most flagrant evasion of an issue is the discussion of Muslim asceticism, which follows a rebuke of Christian mortifications, esp. pp. 118 and 121. When the subject turns to Mohammed, he is seen as being more balanced. "He seems neither excessive nor particularly abstemious in his behavior. ... Nor did he preach to others any discernible degree of voluntary self-restraint or self-denial with respect to the legitimate pleasures in life (p. 121)."

I don't think one can fairly discuss Christian asceticism without mentioning the virtue of chastity. Christians are taught that their bodies are God's temple, God's spirit dwells in them, they are members of Christ's body, and non-marital sex is a sin against one's body (I Cor. 3:16, 6:13-20). Jesus also states that sexual sins can be committed in the heart, just by lusting for a woman (Matt. 5:28). This kind of asceticism or self-restraint is expected of all Christians.

But back to Mohammed. What were these "legitimate pleasures in life" which he allowed? Well, Muslim men could have sex with their slaves (Quran, 33:50-52, wrongly given by Peters (p. 121) as 35:50-52), and by extension with their female prisoners of war. Thus Bukhari 005:059:459, Muslim 008:3371 and numerous other ahadith show that Mohammed's men practiced coitus interruptus on their prisoners because a pregnancy would lower their value on the slave market. Mohammed mildly rebuked the interruptus, but not the coitus. Of course nearly all sex with war captives was non-consensual, or put another way, what Peters calls "the legitimate pleasures in life" included the rape of women at the mercy of Mohammed and his troops.

So, when Peters talks about the "self-abasement" of overzealous monks in the desert (p. 118), probably due to a strong Manichaean influence, he is ducking a larger issue. Christian chastity makes it possible for us to treat ourselves and all people, regardless of their background or circumstances, as created in the image of God. In the eyes of a Christian, Mohammed's troops not only degraded their victims, they also defiled themselves. This is not a mere difference of degree, with Mohammed being more easy-going than Jesus in matters of sexuality. Radically opposing viewpoints on human dignity and personal sanctity come to the surface in this and in other incidents.

My question about this book, therefore, is whether certain facts are being ignored to spare people the pain of having to confront some unpleasant truths. Admittedly this works both ways. I was happy to read a book on this period without having my face rubbed in the atrocities of the First Crusade again. But if we are to make progress in understanding one another, and bettering ourselves, we must also undergo the afflictive process of confronting the crimes which are sadly part of our heritage.

Don't forget there is a Glossary!
Very interesting, but even though the TOC and preface indicates there is a glossary, the point missed me until halfway through the book.The glossary is there and is needed. Some of the words being from foreign or dead languages make it a challange.Being a christain the portions dealing with islam were the most edifying for me.Not sure the book will lead to world peace or the greater tolorance of different religions, but will definitly give all followers of all three a better grasp of why each religion is the way it is.

Mediocre
This is not one of the best books I have ever read. It does a sub-par job of explaining christianity, Islam and Judaism. The style of reading is rather plain and can get very dry and drag on at times. I would say this is a mediocre book and that is about it.

A grand introduction to the 3 Abrahamic religions
I had to read this book for a course I'm taking, and I surprisingly found this book very interesting. I've read it three times in a few months now, and hence have found great use for it. Peters has a very good ability to not write only on the terms of one of the 3 religions, but always slides elegantly over to the other two, when comparisons are in order. Say he is talking about law, and suddenly he's covered all three religion's take on law, in about 20 pages, which is the average length of the few chapters.

He is additionally quite objective, staying away from both the Islam bashing and Philo-Semitism that is so common in parts of "Western" Academia. I must admit I sometimes doubt his claims, (Jesus Christ as a Jew, and some other issues) but then again, I'm not very "mainstream", so naturally most people will swallow this book whole. That being so, I did quite enjoy the book, and have learned a great deal from it. That he touches on some of the more esoteric sides of the religions, Sufism and whatnot, was also an additional bonus for me. As an introduction to these 3 religions, it serves excellently, and the binding is very sturdy, along with the glossy high quality dust jacket. It is heavily footnoted, and has a large and useful bibliography, that together makes up about 25 % of the book, but entirely justified, given their thorough nature.

So all in all, I found it hard to decide whether to give it 4 or 5 stars,but the only reason I wouldn't give it 5 is because I'm not really that interested in this subject, and that wouldn't really be fair to the author, so 5 stars to this excellent introduction book.

Academic Review
This book is actually a little dissappointing for the background of the author, but she approaches it from a general academic point of view, very general and almost dry. She covers the Jews, Christian and Muslim point of history but in a more modern way. She doesn't really cover Abraham's history deeply as well with these three religons as her communication is more from a more academic, discussion type of approach. This is compared to some other books I have looked at that apply and guide one from Abraham's story to how their individual religon applies to it.F.E Peter never really gets that detailed it's more of a top of the water type of approach. If you want more of an opinion or article like discussion of this history, then this is what I believe this is. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first of very few English books to treat Islam from its own point of view, from within the tradition. It is written for the Western reader interested in Islam, and also for the Western-educated Muslim. Here, the author seeks to answer from the Islamic standpoint, many of the criticisms brought against the Islamic tradition by the modern West. This book explains, in contemporary language, the truths of Islam as revealed in the Quran, and as followed by generations of devout Muslims. The major aspects of the Islamic tradition are discussed in detail, whilst the traditional Islamic doctrines and beliefs are explained in response to criticisms of modern thought, with frequent comparisons to other world religions. This revised edition of Seyyed Hossein Nasr's seminal work includes an updated, extensive, annotated bibliography for each chapter by both Muslim and Western scholars as welll as a Preface by Titus Burckhardt and a Foreword by Huston Smith. This classical book has been rendered into numerous languages including Indonesian, translated by the present President of Indonesia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

An introduction to Islam
Professor Nasr presents here a very readable introduction to Islam.What is especially interesting about this book is that Professor Nasr attempts to introduce to the reader all aspects of Islam.Not just Sunni and Shia but also Ismaili tradition.The book also includes a list for further reading.Covered in the book are set chapters concerning the Quran, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the early history of Islam, jurisprudence and Sufism.

An excellent read but this book is nothing more than an introduction, further reading is required.

A classic for understanding the heart of Islam
Some twenty-five years ago, I had my first real exposure to the teachings of Islam, through the gentle teachings of my professor Victor Danner and this text by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. As the introduction states, there are few books in English which treat Islam from its own point of view. The two primary audiences are Westerners who wish to know something about Islam, both in ideal and in practice, as well as the Muslim who has received Western education.

The chapters of this book each derive from lectures delivered at the American University in Beruit back in the 1960s; while one might think that this makes the text dated, this would be incorrect. Much in the way that the basic core of Christianity remains remarkably constant despite the progress of culture, so too does the heart of Islam. One of the interesting observations of the author is that Islam faces the same kind of modern crisis as Christianity, in that the younger generation has lost touch with the religion and faith of their ancestors; while this is particularly true in Muslim countries with Western educational models, it is increasingly true in other parts of the world, as many become 'cultural Muslims', but not religious Muslims.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr does a good job at showing Islam in comparative terms, in a manner that those more familiar with other religious constructs (particularly Judaism and Christianity) will find intelligible. There are six major sections -- the first addresses Islam in general, placing it historically and philosophically as a universal religion as well as a particular religion, a primordial religion as well as the 'last' of the religions. The second explores the Quran (Koran), its development and place in Islam, the difficulties inherent in translation and interpretation, and the three main types of literature contained within the Quran. The third addresses the prophet himself, Mohammad, his life and history, as well as the development of his image and legacy beyond his life time. The fourth section is on the Shariah, or divine law, its derivation from the Quran and development over time. The fifth looks at Tariqah, Sufiism and the mystical side of Islam. Finally, the author looks at the major division of the Sunnite and Shiite groupings, some of the major contrasts as well as the similarities.

The book has a wonderful spirit about it -- perhaps ironically for me, given my mystic and spirituality interests, the chapter that touched me most was that on the Shariah, the divine law, and made me for a time wish to study very deeply into the complexities and schools of Shariah, and develop the author's parallel he draws with the Talmud.

This might be a bit difficult to come by, but in a time when it really pays to understand the major points and ideals of Islam, this is a book that deserves to be read and studied.

A classic for understanding the heart of Islam
Some twenty-five years ago, I had my first real exposure to the teachings of Islam, through the gentle teachings of my professor Victor Danner and this text by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.As the introduction states, there are few books in English which treat Islam from its own point of view.The two primary audiences are Westerners who wish to know something about Islam, both in ideal and in practice, as well as the Muslim who has received Western education.

The chapters of this book each derive from lectures delivered at the American University in Beruit back in the 1960s; while one might think that this makes the text dated, this would be incorrect.Much in the way that the basic core of Christianity remains remarkably constant despite the progress of culture, so too does the heart of Islam.One of the interesting observations of the author is that Islam faces the same kind of modern crisis as Christianity, in that the younger generation has lost touch with the religion and faith of their ancestors; while this is particularly true in Muslim countries with Western educational models, it is increasingly true in other parts of the world, as many become 'cultural Muslims', but not religious Muslims.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr does a good job at showing Islam in comparative terms, in a manner that those more familiar with other religious constructs (particularly Judaism and Christianity) will find intelligible.There are six major sections -- the first addresses Islam in general, placing it historically and philosophically as a universal religion as well as a particular religion, a primordial religion as well as the 'last' of the religions.The second explores the Quran (Koran), its development and place in Islam, the difficulties inherent in translation and interpretation, and the three main types of literature contained within the Quran.The third addresses the prophet himself, Mohammad, his life and history, as well as the development of his image and legacy beyond his life time.The fourth section is on the Shariah, or divine law, its derivation from the Quran and development over time.The fifth looks at Tariqah, Sufiism and the mystical side of Islam.Finally, the author looks at the major division of the Sunnite and Shiite groupings, some of the major contrasts as well as the similarities.

The book has a wonderful spirit about it -- perhaps ironically for me, given my mystic and spirituality interests, the chapter that touched me most was that on the Shariah, the divine law, and made me for a time wish to study very deeply into the complexities and schools of Shariah, and develop the author's parallel he draws with the Talmud.

This might be a bit difficult to come by, but in a time when it really pays to understand the major points and ideals of Islam, this is a book that deserves to be read and studied.

Reality is the only thing that counts
To me it is the reality that counts and not the ideals that look good on the paper. There has been a number of religions and idealogies who promised the Utopia to Man but all failed miserably and Islam is no exception. The reality of Islam is very much similar to that of Commonism, with their promise of universal brotherhood, peace, prosperity, equality, justice, unity, spiritual growth etc etc etc, but what we got instead was just the opposite. No one can argue with historical facts and realities can they? Usually we moslem tell others how Islam tranformed Arabia and built an empire, as if building empire is something unique to Islam. Many other cultures built empires, perhaps even more spectacular that the Islamic one, does that mean that they were backed by divine wisdom and divine approval? What is it about the Islamic empire that makes it unique as compared to other empires and sets it aside as a "Divine empire" vs. an evil empire that rulled by sword and finally collappsed by sword?The reality of Islam is that right from start it created conflicts and fanaticism and caused much bloodshed. Quran, which was supposed to be a book of guidance became a book of confusion, Islam became just another religion, as if we needed one more. This is the reality, what about the ideals? Ideals are easy to come up with, I can come up with a million of ideals that would make our world a "Heaven" on earth, as they say "talk is cheap". What plans do you have to implement these ideals? How are you going to accomplish them?Past 1400 years Islam has failed repeatedly over and over again. Even among our scholars there isn't an agreement of what these ideals are or how they should be implemented and Quran is of no help either.Each group is dancing to a different tune, they have been for almost 14 centuries and there is no end at sight either. Even at the time of Muhammad or right after his death, moslems began their dispute about Quran and Islam and drew sword on each other and many fell vicitim, each group delaring Jihad on the other ones. If Quran and Islam was incapable of acoomplishing a promised Utopia and unity among a few thousand first generation moslems, how do you think it is going to acoomplish it later? Has it been able to? What does history tell us? what is the reality? Some people, like the author who is a Shii, tell us that soemthing went wrong from the very beginning, which denied Islam the chance to prove itslef and its capabilites. Perhaps this claim of Shiism is true. That may very well be an explanation for Islam's failure. There other people who actually don't see anything wrong with the realites of Islam and consider the reality of Islam throughout the hsitory a perfect example, not even God could do better. These folks have the lowest standard of all people and when one is that low, one is just that Low and not much can be done or said. There are yet others, like me, who hold the idea that Islam was a sincere but human attempt to better humanity and our life. The mistake was to make it a "divine" attempt. There is nothing divine about Quran or Islam, if there was, the result would have been much better than what it turned out to be. It should have been classified as a philosphy among many other philosophies, an attempt by human mind to make sense of universe and his own existence. Everyone knows a philosophy is just that, a philosophy, and many people have different views and opinions, most of which are probably wrong, but then no one will die for it and no one will kill for it either. But once you call it a divine religion with absolute truth embeded in it, now you begin to sound frightening.

Excellent
This is a great introduction to Islam by a professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University.It's written for Western readers and relates pretty well to the kinds of questions and preconconceptions the Western reader has about Islam.It's not as easy to read as, say, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam" (which is also not a bad starting place, actually) and it does require some concentration, but it is an in-depth analysis of Islamic principles without being so scholarly that it's totally inaccessible.

One thing to note:this is more a book on the academic and theoretical aspects of Islam, such as divine law, the Qur'an, Sunni vs. Shi'i Islam, etc.It doesn't cover the day to day beliefs and practices of your average Muslim.So for someone who wants to learn about the 2nd largest religion in the world, this is definitely one of the books to get.But it might be good to get another one to read in conjunction, one that covers what Muslims themselves are like, such as "American Muslims" or "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam." ... Read more

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In the face of overwhelming attention to extremist movements and the fundamentalist Islam they often espouse, exploration of peacemaking and conflict resolution in Muslim communities is especially timely. Crescent and Dove looks at the relationship between contemporary Islam and peacemaking by tackling the diverse interpretations, concepts, and problems in the field of Islamic peacemaking. Although Islamic law requires followers to preserve and protect life, and peacemaking efforts arise in Muslim communities everywhere, those who advocate for Islamic principles of nonviolence and peacebuilding, as well as traditional methods of conflict resolution, face serious challenges. Writing from their perspective as Muslim scholars and peacebuilding practitioners, the contributors offer critical perspectives on what works, what opportunities exist, and what areas are fertile for effective peacebuilding efforts. Their experience and analysis demonstrate that fostering a culture of peace in Muslim communities and building effective conflict resolution practices must occur within an Islamic framework and must engage Muslim leaders. Crescent and Dove addresses both theory and practice by delving into the intellectual heritage of Islam to discuss historical examples of addressing conflict in Islam and exploring the practical challenges of contemporary peacemaking in Arab countries, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Indonesia. These groundbreaking essays offer possibilities for nonviolent interventions, peacemaking, the implementation of human rights, the reinterpretation of texts, peace education instruction, and employing successful mediation, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills in an Islamic context. ... Read more

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What did it mean to be a wife, woman, or slave in a society in which a land-owning woman was forbidden to lay with her male slave but the same slave might be allowed to take concubines? Jurists of the nascent Maliki, Hanafi, and Shafi‘i legal schools frequently compared marriage to purchase and divorce to manumission. Juggling scripture, precedent, and custom on one hand, and the requirements of logical consistency on the other, legal scholars engaged in vigorous debate. The emerging consensus demonstrated a self-perpetuating analogy between a husband’s status as master and a wife’s as slave, even as jurists insisted on the dignity of free women and, increasingly, the masculine rights of enslaved husbands.

Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam presents the first systematic analysis of how these jurists conceptualized marriage—its rights and obligations—using the same rhetoric of ownership used to describe slavery. Kecia Ali explores parallels between marriage and concubinage that legitimized sex and legitimated offspring using eighth- through tenth-century legal texts. As the jurists discussed claims spouses could make on each other—including dower, sex, obedience, and companionship–they returned repeatedly to issues of legal status: wife and concubine, slave and free, male and female.

Complementing the growing body of scholarship on Islamic marital and family law, Ali boldly contributes to the ongoing debates over feminism, sexuality, and reform in Islam.

Product Description
The late twentieth century has witnessed the emergence of an unexpected and extraordinary phenomenon: Islamist political movements. Beginning in the early 1970s, militants revolted against the regimes in power throughout the Muslim world and exacerbated political conflicts everywhere. Their jihad, or "Holy Struggle," aimed to establish a global Islamic state based solely on a strict interpretation of the Koran. Religious ideology proved a cohesive force, gathering followers ranging from students and the young urban poor to middle-class professionals.

After an initial triumph with the Islamic revolution in Iran, the movement waged jihad against the USSR in Afghanistan, proclaiming for the first time a doctrine of extreme violence. By the end of the 1990s, the failure to seize political power elsewhere led to a split: movement moderates developed new concepts of "Muslim democracy" while extremists resorted to large-scale terrorist attacks around the world.

Jihad is the first extensive, in-depth attempt to follow the history and geography of this disturbing political-religious phenomenon. Fluent in Arabic, Kepel has traveled throughout the Muslim world gathering documents, interviews, and archival materials inaccessible to most scholars, in order to give us a comprehensive understanding of the scope of Islamist movements, their past, and their present. As we confront the threat of terrorism to our lives and liberties, Gilles Kepel helps us make sense of the ominous reality of jihad today.Amazon.com Review
Gilles Kepel's Jihad is an intense, detailed examination of the militant Islamist movement over the last quarter-century. Kepel divides his book into two parts--"Expansion" and "Decline"--and posits that the September 11, 2001, attacks, rather than demonstrating "strength and irrepressible might," highlighted the "isolation" and "fragmentation" of a "faltering" and probably doomed extremist ideology. Kepel follows Islamism from its theoretical underpinnings in the late 1960s and its rapid expansion into Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Central, South, and Southeast Asia, through the Taliban's ascendancy in Afghanistan and beyond. He explains Islamism's attractions, and outlines its severe shortcomings. With consummate skill, he illuminates the bewilderingly intricate effects global events (oil prices, the fall of Communism) have had on internal politics of individual countries, and vice versa. Kepel, wisely, refuses to prognosticate. Instead, his achievement is in providing--for the determined reader--a deeply authoritative context for the seemingly inexplicable events of the recent past. --H. O'Billovich ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

A French look at Islamism
Written by one of France's premiere experts on political Islam, Jihad is a comprehensive history of its modern resurgence within the Islamic world. As a descriptive historical explanation of the phenomenon, it succeeds. As a guide to Islamism's future (Kepel thought it was declining, insofar as repeated economic competition between the devout poor and devout middle class doomed it), the jury is still out.

Jihad: Murderers, Not Martyrs!
Kepel's book is a brilliant analysis of events in the Islamic World from the second half of the twentieth century, covering all of the momentous disturbances throughout Islamic society and registering Western reactions and involvement. Below is the contents page that shows at a glance just how comprehensive a study this is:

Part 1 Expansion

1. A Cultural Revolution
2. Islam in the Late 1960's
3. Building Petro-Islam on the Ruins of Arab Nationalism
4. Islamism in Egypt, Malaysia, and Pakistan
5. Kohmeini's Revolution and Its Legacy
6. Jihad in Afghanistan and Intifada in Palestine
7. Islamisation in Algeria and Sudan
8. The Fatwa and the Veil in Europe

Part 2 Decline

9. From the Gulf War to the Taliban Jihad
10. The Failure to Graft Jihad onto Bosnia's Civil War
11. The Logic of Massacre in the Second Algerian War
12. The Threat of Terrorism in Egypt
13. Osama Bin Laden and the War Against the West
14. Hamas, Israel, Arafat, and Jordan
15. The Forced Secularisation of Turkish Islamists

In short, Kepel leaves no stone unturned but makes all of this comprehensible by explaining the historical, political and social environments out of which came the ideological blue print for indiscriminate murder.

Kepel's contentious conclusion is that Political Islam reached its high water mark with the Iranian revolution in 1979 and has since been in decline; a decline paralleled by desperate acts of murder or terrorist activity.

In his introduction, Kepel outlines the strategy of "Provocation" and claims September 11 was an act of "provocation on a grand scale" that was calculated to bring the wrath of America down upon a civilian population. The original aggressor, in this case Al Qaeda, then turns passive and incredulous over any retaliatory measures brought against it, hoping to reap resentment against those who were first attacked and claim moral indignation for itself. This has been a recurring pattern we have seen with morbid, monotonous regularity.

It seems like an axiom of Political Islam to constantly foster the fear of an external foe as a means of deflecting attention away from its own political failure. Kepel claims Ayatollah Kohmeini understood this which is why, after the Iran-Iraq war; he issued a fatwah against Salmon Rushdie to deflect attention away from Iran's depressed state. He makes a good point when mentioning the frustration and anger of Iranian youth who experienced nothing of the Shah's rule but have only experienced oppression by the Mullah's. This seems to me a strong argument for leaving Iran to itself as internal dissatisfaction will mount against the regime without external interference. Fundamentalist regimes like Iran, Hamas, and the Taliban need an enemy on the horizon to justify their own impotency, if not; the strategy of "provocation" becomes an integral part of foreign policy.

Aside from the loss of life from all the different cultures of the World, the real victim of this bare faced cynicism is Islam.

Kepel's book is an antidote to over reaction which is exactly what murderous networks like Al Qaeda feed upon. For those of us who admire the unique vision Islamic culture has given to the world, these are sad days indeed. We can only hope Kepel's optimism will bear positive fruit with regard to those Muslims who have experienced open societies and are willing to leaven the traditional bread; exert pressure and openly criticise rule by the Mullah's as unacceptable.

This is no excuse but let's not forget it took Europe hundreds of years before religion was forced to concede and bowed out of its bloody contest with politics.

Even then, democracy still needs to be established to prevent exploitation from secular tyrants like Saddam Hussein.

Kepel's book is astonishing and indispensable, mandatory reading for any politician in the White House!

Political Islam: Doomed to Failure?
Kepel knows his subject. You can't ask for a more comprehensive sweep of Islamist history. That said, the author's fundamental thesis (that Salafism is on the wane, and will die out under its own weight) seems to read as slightly optimistic. Particularly violent brands of Islam, such as Wahhabi Islam, will come and go, but the intrinsic moral and emotional flaws (they are not solely socio-economic) that give ground to such movements will always exist. We will see sea changes, waxing and waning trends, as well as the rise and fall of more positive groups, but groups that advocate a political jihad will always find a voice and an audience. (Just as those who advocate Judeo-Christian, Maoist, and/or Secular crusades will always find a voice and an audience.)

That said, anyone wishing to better understand the figures and ideas behind Salafist political movements will enjoy this work immensely. The translation is dry, but the information is robust.

Unreal
As Walter Laqueur observed in The Atlantic in his March 2002 review of this Gilles Kepel book, his "obituary of Islamism was written before September 11."

What seemed truly astounding when I read this book four years ago was the extent of Kepel's knowledge --- and his fundamental ignorance. I hadn't realized, as I read, that the original French edition of this book came out in 2000. Still, it is extraordinary to think a scholar as widely read as Kepel could be so wrong, as he is here, as to pronounce radical Islam and jihad on the wane.

As the intervening years have proved, nothing could have been further from the truth, and of all people, Kepel should have known it. But Kepel's lack of knowledge on the origins of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt of the 1920s, or the writings of Hassan al-Banna and his heir, Sayyed Qutb (whom Nasser hanged in 1966) did NOT lead to the author's blindness.

What caused it was most likely Kepel's lack of understanding of the fundamentals of Islam itself. Like so many writers before and after, Kepel blamed the rise of radical Islam on the backwardness of Middle Eastern society, and the lack of political power of the rising middle class.

As Laqueur noted in The Atlantic, Kepel laid the attractiveness of Qutb's radical "message and in particular his appeal to violence" to broad swaths of Egyptian society to several mostly economic and intellectual factors. Qutb resonated for "students who could not find jobs; the religiously observant lower middle class, distrustful of modernity; and, generally speaking, all those disaffected by the state of affairs in the Muslim world who had become intellectually homeless after the failure of Arab nationalist ideology and of Marxism."

Actually, however, both Qutb's philosophy and its attractiveness to Egyptians and other middle eastern Muslims were powered by the same force --- the fact that Qutb based his thinking and writings on the classical jurisprudence of Islamic scholars across the centuries. And in this respect, Qutb was no different than many other radicals whom Kepel covers, including the violent Iranian religious revolutionary, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Pakistan's Mawlana Mawdudi, among others.

To understand the rootedness of these "radicals" in Islamic religious precepts and Islamic history, Kepel ought to read Dr. Andrew Bostom's Legacy of Jihad.

Certainly, Kepel is right about some factors that encouraged Islamic radicals to pursue their goals at the specific times that they did: In the 1980s and early 1990s, Khomeinist fanatics terrorized Iran unchallenged, Islamists seized power in Sudan and their cohorts had attempted coups in Algeria and Egypt as well. But more importantly, ragtag Afghan Islamist armies eventually defeated the Soviet Union there, and built a very successful propaganda campaign (though undoubtedly not entirely truthful) as a result.

But Kepel did not understand how Islamists saw their defeat and alienation from the Algerian majority, Egypt's mass arrests of terrorists or Sudan's surrender of Carlos the Jackal to the French, for criminal trial. To radicals, these were merely temporary setbacks, not the heralds of permanent defeat. Nor were they at all discouraged by the rise of Iran's so-called moderate, Mohammad Khatami (who was never moderate) or the protests of Saudi women for the right to drive cars independently.

Worse, Kepel did not understand that many Islamic scholars --- whom he and many foolhardy others presume to be "reformist" thinkers --- are themselves reputedly central figures in the Muslim Brotherhood, and in any case, fundamentalists in their own right.

Take Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of MB founder Hassan al-Banna, whose visa application the U.S. State Department twice, correctly, rejected [before finally caving in early January 2010.] Kepel accepts him as the "reformer" he pretends to be. But this is utter nonsense.

As J.C. Brissard recently noted on the Terror Finance Blog, ample evidence suggests Ramadan has links to terror. A 1999 Spanish police General Directorate memo, for example, stated that Ahmed Brahim --- who last April received a 10 year sentence for incitement to terrorism --- maintained "regular contacts with important figures of radical Islam such as Tariq Ramadan."

Likewise, Djamel Beghal --- sentenced to 10 years in March 2005 for participating in a foiled attack on the US Embassy in Paris --- in September 2001 aligned his religious "engagement" to the 1994 time when "he was in charge of writing the statements of Tariq Ramadan." Beghal later said he had also "attended the courses given by Tarek Ramadan." And "brothers Hani and Tariq Ramadan," according to a 2001 Swiss intelligence memo, together planned a 1991 Geneva meeting between Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri and Omar Abdel Rahman, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center attack. This was confirmed by the member of a Geneva mosque, who heard Hani Ramadan announce the upcoming meeting.

While Kepel conducted extensive and sometimes useful research, his conclusions are unreal.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

optimistic theory?
Kepel's book is well formed, serious and weighty. He used variety of sources in different languages; articles and books in French, German, Arabic, Turkish and English, as well as websites, newspapers, and interviews. Kepel analyzes the Islamist movement of the last five decades and focuses on the recent events in Muslim world.In the first part of his book he could have made parallelism with similar movements in Islamic world in early years especially in the Cultural Revolution Chapter. Kepel also makes hasty judgement about the decline of Islamist movement. Based on the events of the last couple of years in Europe and the Middle East, the decline of Islamism makes Kepel's theory only optimistic. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (29)

A very good introduction to the history of Islam
This book gives a very good account of the quick spread of Islam in a very concise and coherent manner. I really liked the fact that he cited primary historical documents throughout the book. It gave me the feeling that I was receiving solid historical fact, rather than religious dogma. It was surprisingly easy to read too.

I was actually very surprised that there didn't exist many primary sources documenting the origins of Islam. Those that were written were recorded at least 3 generations after the death of Mohammad. With sources so far removed from the people who actually performed the history, it is hard to believe that anyone can say anything definitive about Islam. Despite these difficulties, the author really provided a good historical account. There were times, however, that I felt that he was reading too much into certain documents.

Enjoyable and Informative
An excellent introduction and summary of the early Islamic conquests. Although the sources for the era are lacking, prof. Kennedy produced a readable and enjoyable synthesis. Very illuminating look into Islam and much relevant to today's politics.

Great Account of the Early Arab Conquests
'The Great Arab Conquests' by Hugh Kennedy is a delightful book to read, full of interesting facts and great stories. I have read numerous books on the Roman Empire, Byzantium and the Crusades, this book fills in the gaps between those periods.

`The Great Arab Conquests' covers the period from death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 to the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750. We follow the victorious Arab armies as they spread from Mecca and Medina out through the Middle East into Afghanistan, into Morocco and the countries in-between and then across the straights into Andalusia. I wanted to share this quote from the chapter `Into the Maghreb' with other lovers of history:

"It was at the end of his raid in the Sus that Uqba reached the Atlantic. The moment has passed into legend. He is said to have ridden his horse into the sea until the water came up to its belly. He shouted out, `O Lord, if the sea did not stop me, I would go through the lands like Alexander the Great [Dhul-Qarnayn:], defending your faith and fighting the unbelievers.' The image of the Arab warrior whose progress in conquering in the name of God was halted only by the ocean remains one of the most arresting and memorable in the whole history of the conquests."

The stories from the historians, Christian and Muslim, the participants and the conquered are layed throughout the book offering interesting first-hand accounts within the narrative. I found the book to flow easily from one place to the next although the many different Arabic names caused me to slow down sometimes and re-check my notes this didn't detract from the story.

This is a well-researched and well-presented story, which was easy and enjoyable to read. I learnt quite a few things on the way and had a good time doing so. Recommended to anyone who enjoys a good history book or who has an interest in this region.

The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World we Live In
Hugh Kennedy provides a fresh approach to historiography in this masterful study. In addition to his vivid description of the formative establishment of the early Islamic caliphate, Kennedy goes beyond a simple narrative of the main events; he investigates the "permanence of the effect" the Arab Muslim conquest had on the language and faith of the conquered territories.In his last chapter entitled "Voices of the Comquered," Kennedy addresses the impact and reactions of the people subjugated by the conquerors.Chritians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are given voices, the most striking of which is the variety of responses to the advent of the Arab Muslim rule.

history of Moslem conquest in mid-east in 600's & 700's
Very thorough history of Moslem conquest of the middle east in the approx 200 years after death of Muhammad in 632 AD.Can be slow reading but is very informative.Full records of events are scant and author acknowledges this.Explains the rapid conquest of a hige area and population as a unique historical fluke which caught the Byzantines, Persians, and other established powers at a weak time. ... Read more

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My Year Inside Radical Islam is a memoir of first a spiritual and then a political seduction. Raised in liberal Ashland, Oregon, by parents who were Jewish by birth but dismissive of strict dogma, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross converted to Islam in college-a process that began with a desire to connect with both a religious community and a spiritual practice, and eventually led him to sympathize with the most extreme interpretations of the faith with the most radical political implications.

In the year following graduation, Gartenstein-Ross went to work for the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, a charity dedicated to fostering Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's austere form of Islam-a theological inspiration for many terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda. Shortly after he left Al Haramain-when his own fanaticism had waned-the foundation was charged by the U.S. government for a money-laundering scheme that was seemingly designed to finance terrorist organizations.

Gartenstein-Ross, by this time a lawyer at a prominent firm, volunteered for questioning by the FBI. They already knew who he was.

The story of how a good faith can be distorted and a decent soul can be seduced away from his principles, My Year Inside Radical Islam provides a rare glimpse into the personal interface between religion and politics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

a spooky cult environment
Daveed's conversion to Islam and slow radicalization is a classic scenario of cult absorption. He's attracted to Islam by a Left wing friend at Wake Forest, and paradoxically his faith reinforces his campus agitation for equal and humar rights. Daveed makes great use of a conversation he had with his friend about homosexuality, and it illustrates well the desire to surrender to faith, even if it doesn't jive with what we believe, because it imbues one with certitude.

For example: if the Koran says homosexuality is a sin and should be punished by death, a fundamentalist Muslim accepts this without question, whereas nonbelievers with a more nuanced view (such as homosexuality is deviant from normal human behavior and should be discouraged, although not outlawed under penalty of death) reach their conclusions through personal soul-searching, reason, and argument. There is no debate, however, about what is written in the Koran.

Bit by bit Daveed's Muslim brothers at Al Haramain in Ashland, Oregon, take him further out of his comfort zone. First they tell him he can't wear shorts at the gym, then he has to grow out his beard, then he can't listen to music, and before he knows it his life is completely transformed.

Daveed's insights about radical Islam are dead-on accurate. He understands that fundamentalist Islam is THE pure form of Islam and the form to which all converts are pulled toward like gravity. The fundamentalist Islamic community is anti-Israeli, anti-American, and anti-West in general, to the point of hysteria. He also understands that making jihad on infidels is condoned by fundamentalist Islam, which explains why so few Muslims speak out against the atrocities their brothers commit.

The story doesn't end after Daveed leaves Islam. There's one account he tells of his interactions with NYU students after 9/11 that is particularly instructive of those who continue to delude themselves about the causes of radical Islamic terrorism.

The book is a short and easy read. It is written in a straightforward style. Highly recommended.

"Guide us to the Straight Path"
The author was brought up in the hippie enclave of Ashland, Oregon, by liberal Jewish parents who followed the New Age philosophy of Joel Goldsmith.His search for a personal relationship with God led him into Islam and later into the Christian faith.This last step took courage as many Jews perceives Jews who become Christians as traitors,and Muslims who become Christians are frequently targeted and killed, and this can happen even in the USA.

I found it impossible to put this book down, completing it in less than a record 2 days.But even more remarkable is the author's ability to take you into his own thoughts.At each stage of the author's progress, I could feel the author's attitudes and responses from the inside.One reviewer suggested that the author was merely on the "fringes" of radical Islam.But he had been a Muslim for some time before being radicalized.It is true that this radical phase lasted no more than a year.However, it is not time that counts, but how deeply something penetrates your soul.The extent of that penetration is revealed by the ease with which the author draws the reader into his worldview.

The issue at the heart of this book is whether God is to be approached impersonally through mechanical obedience to commands, or whether God is seeking a personal relationship with human beings.Which is uppermost in God's priorities?And this comes down to the fact that it is possible to worship the One God in different images.The question is which image is most faithful to God's true character.That is the issue that Jews, Christians and Muslims must all face at some stage.

The image of God embraced by radical Islam is, as the author points out, "a theology rooted in rules divorced from morality" (p.130).Essentially it is legalism.A question which Muslims must face is whether the Qur'aan, Ahadeeth, Seerah, and Tafseer, really do present God in this impersonal legalistic way, or whether they present God as a Being who desires a true, intimate, personal, father-child relationship with them.

Certainly this account describes the personal journal of one man, as the subtitle "a memoir" tells us clearly.But it is a personal journey which is also informative and instructive for the world-at-large.It deserves the widest possible readership.

My Year Inside Radical Islam
The author, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, mentioned in "My Year Inside
Radical Islam"that, at one point, he was mildly embarrassed when
he had to explain his religious conversion: born Jewish, he converted
first to Islam, then to Christianity eventually.

When it comes to religion, I believe it is a natural progression for
most people to grow up in one faith, only to go through an intensive
intellectual struggle with multiple faiths and philosophies prior to
having their faith crystallized in later years.

What enabled the author to ascend from radicalism was his reluctance
(and courage) to accept answers or beliefs blindly.

In other words, what separates the author and the John Phillip Walker
Lindh's of the world is his propensity to constantly intellectualize,
probe and question Islamic principles which contradicts with what one
believes Islam to be: peace and submission.With regard to the
latter, Islam does not want its followers to accept anything without
question.

Islamic extremists are seduced by the moral injunctions, rules and
restrictions of radical Islam, even (or should I say ESPECIALLY?)
when the Qur'an is interpreted out of context to justify the
extremists' transgressions.Maybe they are seeking the structure
that radical Islam imposes.

"My Year Inside Radical Islam" is an insightful book into how seductive
radicalism can be when one is "lost."The book doesn't dumb down to
the readers nor is it too technical for one to understand.

Regards,
Kelly Yip
December 29, 2008

A Disservice
After having painfully made my way through this book, I'd like to share a few thoughts on it.First of all, I don't understand at all the other reviews here that claim this is a "must read", or that it's a great book.The author, Mr. Ross, was clearly confused about his faith (whatever it happens to be at any given point in time), and about Islam in general, and that confusion shows in his writing.This book is certainly not any type of objective essay on Islam, in America or otherwise.It's more of a diary of his miscommunication and misconception of the people and events that he experienced during those years he writes about.If the dear reader wants a truly fair, objective, and accurate portrait of Islam and Muslims in this country, I suggest that they read "American Islam" by Paul M. Barrett.It baffles me, and many other readers, how Mr. Ross could have come to Islam via a Sufi organization, the Naqshbandi's, who's interpretation and practice of Islam is the pole opposite of that of the fundamentalist Wahabis, and yet end up in the radical "gutter" of Islam.I think that says something about him and his intentions.As to his style of writing, mediocre at best.

a must read if you want to know what's really going on
Not that this book (or any other single book, for that matter) will give you the whole picture of what radical Islam is about.But it's very informative in regard to what's going on right under our noses. It was interesting that as Gartenstien became more and more deeply intrenched in the fundamentalist belief, his disdain and intolerance increased for anyone less devoted than he, first toward non-Muslims and then even to fellow Muslims.It made me see how the most radial Muslims justify their behavior toward anyone outside their tight circle of equally strict practitioners. Pretty sobering when you hear the proclamations that Islam is a peacful religion.Yes, it can be, depending on which individuals you are talking about.While, no, it isn't when you are talking about people like the ones Gartenstien was associating with.His conversion to Christianity was not covered in great detail but certainly played a big part in the outcome of the story.All I can say is he's got a brilliant mind and a good heart and I'm glad he's on the other side of it all now.I'm glad I read this book and I am reassured when I hear his name on the news because he's working on counter-terrorism.I gave it 4 stars only because the though the content was excellent, the style was good but not as riveting as other memoirs I've read. ... Read more

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In the Middle Ages, while Europe was mired in superstition and feudal chaos, Baghdad was the intellectual center of the world. It was there that an army of translators and scholars took the wisdom of the Greeks and combined it with their own cultural traditions to create a scientific, mathematical and philosophical golden age. Their accomplishments were staggering, including the development of modern medicine, chemistry, and algebra. Muslim scientists correctly calculated the circumference of the globe in the tenth century. Muslim musicians introduced the guitar and musical notation to the Europe. And Muslim philosophers invented the scientific method and paved the way for the Enlightenment.At the dawn of the Renaissance, Christian Europe was wearing Persian clothes, singing Arab songs, reading Spanish Muslim philosophy and eating off Mamluk Turkish brassware. This is the story of how Muslims taught Europe to live well and think clearly. It is the story of how Islam created the Modern World. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

REGIONAL CULTURES SOLD WITH RELIGIOUS TITLLES ,ISLAMIC,CHRISTIAN etc
It was a real educational pleasure to read this open minded and informative book;A massive amount of material in very lucid friendly language and concise volume;It certainly will remove prevalent
bigotry about " islamic civilization; and hope fully brige gaps. BUT bridges are political hurdles to political ends;So politicians benefiting from racism and its varieties now sold as " Abrahamic",Aryans/semites/hamites of NOAH will hate to see remove these hurdles.
I wish Mr GRAHAM could have shown the shared roots of greece,india,mideast in Mesopotamian farmers/cradle, that was plagiarized/hijacked and now sold as "BIBLICAL CREATIONISM" and biblical
Abrahamic nationalism which Mr GRAHAM too has alluded to;Thisaparently became possible because Aramaic and Cunieform scripts were abandoned and whole civilization had to waite some 2000 years to be rediscovered; Meanwhile Biblical racism had already divided the world as jewish,hinduic,christian and islamic civilization;Noah's Aryans had claimed indo-euro-hinduic-christian civilization,Semetic
kids of Noah have their mideast and poor " African-HAM'S Kid" have their slavery legitimized; IS that not racism of worst order;
Mr Graham thus help perpetuate/defend ( indirectly-innocently) the BIBLICAL racial civilization.As a matter of fact religious titles for Regional entities need to be abandoned; America is not christian
civilization;it is a regional entity;Mesopotamian mideast was a regional entity;How a 6000 years old civilization can get new title " islamic", and a sub regional entity "palestine-kanaan"parade
itself as jewish and India a hinduic ?; all based on "Race creationism" a myth and NOT HISTORY.
THus by tying the loose ends and linking Mesopotamia and out of african evolution with modern " fictional titles" islamic etc the book could advance the cause of "universalism " based on
evolution and shared origin of " sciences,litratures,medicine" from mideast farmers, the GOD FATHERS of muslims,jews,christians,hindus etc. I have a sort of hinted on this in my book on linguistics which also discredits " lslamic hinduic " titles for regional entities;AND
which also
exposes the " fictional races-aryan,semite,hamites" jumping out of NOAH's ARK; ALL proven as priestly fraud after 1870s; at the discovery of ancient iraq/sumeria.

Enlightening and Informative!
Graham has done a great job of synthesizing the great Islamic works and their effect upon our modern understanding of science, philosophy, astrology etc... For those seeking an in depth analysis of the exact works and their effects, will not find it here, as the book is very concise and passes over each subject matter briskly. The author has gone for an approach by which he can mention many great Islamic works rather than do an indepth analysis of each. I think this was the purpose of the book, to highlight to the Westernised reader, such as myself, the great variety and influence of works composed by Muslim scholars. It is for this reason I chose to give the book 4 stars, more information about the works themselves would have been nice. However, Graham does provide a comprehensive reading list at the end of the book about each subject he covers for those interested in greater detail.

All in all a finely researched and written book, where I personally found the last chapter to be a great short commentary on the rise and fall of empires and the need for superseding empires to assert superiority over preceding empires any way possible.

Good book
This is a good book. One of the very rare that dares to acknowledge the significant contributions that Muslim scientists have made to modern day science and technology. While Christians were burning Greek books, Muslims translated them, analyzed them and added their own. The result was a new product that was handed in to Europe. The enlightenment would not have been possible without Muslim contributions. The book clearly shows that there were no "dark ages". Muslim science filled the gap. I was relieved to read a book from someone who was fair and courteous.

Well Researched
I read this book and was excited that someone did all the work when he did not had too.Once you start reading this book, facts open up on you and you realize that what one see and hear in media preaches to the image rather then the facts.

Thank you Dr.Graham for writing this book.

How Islam Created The Modern World
This is a wonderful piece of work done by Dr.Graham, illustrating the historic and cultural facts in a beautiful manner. Sad part is that Modern History tends to ignore these important and true facts pertaining to the Muslim's contributions to modernity and advancement of sciences, philosophy, art and culture.
Bravo Dr.Graham, very well done and I would like to see these facts added to our history syllabus taught in the schools only if we want to be truthful and fair. ... Read more