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The picture of Islam as a violent, backward, and insular tradition should be laid to rest, says Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of Muhammad and A History of God. Delving deep into Islamic history, Armstrong sketches the arc of a story that begins with the stirring of revelation in an Arab businessman named Muhammad. His concern with the poor who were being left behind in the blush of his society's new prosperity sets the tone for the tale of a culture that values community as a manifestation of God. Muhammad's ideas catch fire, quickly blossoming into a political empire. As the empire expands and the once fractured Arabs subdue and overtake the vast Persian domain, the story of a community becomes a panoramic drama. With great dexterity, Armstrong narrates the Sunni-Shi'ite schism, the rise of Persian influence, the clashes with Western crusaders and Mongolian conquerors, and the spiritual explorations that traced the route to God. Armstrong brings us through the debacle of European colonialism right up to the present day, putting Islamic fundamentalism into context as part of a worldwide phenomenon. Islam: A Short History, like Bruce Lawrence's Shattering the Myth and Mark Huband's Warriors of the Prophet, introduces us to a faith that beckons like a minaret to those who dare to venture beyond the headlines. --Brian Bruya
Product Details
| Publisher | Modern Library |
| ISBN | 081296618X |
| Features |
|
| Format | Paperback |
| Author | Karen Armstrong |
| EAN | 9780812966183 |
| Label | Modern Library |
| Edition | Rev Upd Su |
| Dewey Decimal Number | 297.09 |
| Studio | Modern Library |
| Number Of Pages | 272 |
| Title | Islam: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles) |
| Release Date | 2002-08-06 |
| Publication Date | 2002-08-06 |
| Manufacturer | Modern Library |
Customer Reviews
Half The StoryReview by M. Tadross, 2010-07-23
The history of Islam is of much debate due to the ambiguity which surrounds it. Many Muslims destroyed non-Muslim libraries and forbade a critical analysis of their cultures. Zoroastrians, Pagans and Bosnians were subjugated to incredibly harsh discriminatory laws which very quickly coerced their conversion (conversion-for-gain) and of course made it impossible to leave the faith.
However, there are also many portions of Islamic history which are entirely peaceful and tolerant. Some of the greatest caliphates took it upon themselves to allow Jews and Christians to worship, work, earn money and even debate amongst the intellectual elite (where most flourished). Omar The Great was an honest example of this tolerance, and allowed the Jews, for the first time since their expulsion - to practice their own faith.
However Armstrongs book covers only half of the story. She is a cultural relativist in the true sense - she sees no reason to historically analyze the authenticity of Islamic history, and the atrocities it has committed, yet intentionally and perhaps unscrupulously chooses to focus on the more peaceful parts of the Koran (the Meccan verses) yet ignore the more brutal Medinan verses, the what they brought about - an intellectual shame.
Meh ...
Review by Jonathan Nacionales, 2010-04-28
This is a decent book for anyone seeking an overall picture of Islamic history. I have one problem with the book, however: The author doesn't cite any external sources within the text to justify the history. While I am sure that everything she says is correct, proper citations would have given me a sense of academic rigor. In the back of the book, she does have a list of suggested readings. I suppose that is where she gathered her information.
A pseudo-specialist in matters religious
Review by Jaysonrex, 2010-01-05
Karen Armstrong claims to be a specialist in religious matters, mainly because as an ex Catholic nun she abandoned her vows to lead a secular life and try to make money in the process. As it happens, she knows little if anything at all about the subject of religion but covers up quite well by inundating the market with all kind of pseudo-studies that are "selectively inspired" by many other and by far more serious and competent studies.
She is known to nurture an obsessive passion for Arabs (on camel back or not, but usually dressed in the white bed sheets as their desert custom dictates) and, by extension, for Islam. In this respect, she suffers from what is known as "Lawrence of Arabia syndrome". This makes her books a highly unreliable source whenever Islamists are in any way involved. Anyone interested in the subject (which is very much en vogue due to the preponderance of extremists and terrorists in their midst) should consult serious scholars, like Bernard Lewis among many others.
If one is curious about all the brouhaha surrounding her name (not the quality of her books - God forbid), avoid "A History of God" (in reality a history of the '2 + 1 Abrahamic religions') where she presented Muhammad as equal to Jesus, in moral and theological terms, rather than the pedophile, the enslaver of women and the promoter of Jihad he truly was.
Also to be avoided is "Jerusalem" where Ms. Armstrong gives Muslim lie, about the fastest return trip on a flying carpet, from Mecca to Jerusalem and back, in the history of travel, equal currency with history and truth. She thus promotes Muslim 'rights' to Jerusalem while diminishing the value of Jewish and Christian history, tradition and honest 'claims' in relation to the Holy City, capital of the Holy Land.
All in all, a notorious politically correct revisionist of history, without credentials.
Apologetics is not Objective History
Review by Avital Pilpel, 2009-10-18
Religious apologetics have a long history: from defense of, say, Judaism against Christianity, to Protestants against Catholics and the other way around, to (today) Wiccans -- or witches -- against mainstream religion.
Armstrong's book is an apologia for Islam in the same sense: that is, not to convert anybody to Islam, but to deny what she considers to be unjust accusations or stereotypes about it. Jews (or Wiccans) don't drink the blood of babies, contrary rumors notwithstanding -- and, no, Ajeeb the tire salesman down the street does not have secret plans to slit your throat, just because Abu Bakr's second cousin's brother's son said something about hating non-Muslims in 714 AD.
Inasmuch as she tries to alert the reader to Islamic civilization, Islamic science, Islamic achievements, etc., her work is commendable. The problem is when the apologetics become absurd. The crusades, for instance, are seen as nothing more than christian aggression for no reason -- ignoring the hundreds of years of similarly-violent Islamic expansion.
Showing Islam's good side while hiding and excusing its bad side and calling this "history" instead of "apologetics" does the reader no favors. It gives him a distorted picture, as distorted (in the opposite way) as the "Americans wake up, Islam is taking over your country!" books.
Superb and masterfully written book
Review by Carol Kurt, 2009-10-11
This is a superb and masterfully written book that thoroughly describes the history of Islam from Muhammed to the 911 Twin Towers. This is written at a collegiate or graduate student level.
Those that are looking for the simplied, 8th grade level of less inclusive writing need to look elsewhere, but will lose a wonderful and almost minimally necessary description of Islam's
unfolding in history. After reading this book, I ordered additional copies to give to my friends.
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
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