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In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, there has been an overwhelming demand for information about Islam. As a leading expert, John Esposito has found himself called upon to speak to a wide range of audiences, including members of Congress, the Bush administration, government agencies, the military, and the media. Out of this experience, he has identified the most pressing questions people consistently ask about Islam. In What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, Esposito presents in question-and-answer format the information that most people want to know. Esposito provides succinct, accessible, sensitive, and even-handed answers to questions that range from the general--"What do Muslims believe?" and "Who was Muhammad?"--to more specific issues like Is Islam compatible with modernization, capitalism and democracy? How do Muslims view Judaism and Christianity? Are women second-class citizens in Islam? What is jihad? Does the Quran condone terrorism? What does Islam say about homosexuality, birth control, abortion, and slavery? The editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Modern Islam and The Oxford History of Islam, and author of Unholy War and many other acclaimed works, John Esposito is one of America's leading authorities on Islam. This brief and readable book is the first place to look for information on the faith, customs, and political beliefs of the more than one billion people who call themselves Muslims.
Informative but biased and misleadingly apologeticReviewed by Spurry Moses, 2010-01-02
Esposito's writing is clear and well-informed, and the Q&A
format is highly readable.
However, there is a clear and overwhelming bias for the reader to
approve of Islam. A bias that runs so thick at times that I wonder
if the author is deliberately dishonest or deluded.
If this were the the only book I had read on Islam, I would see no
problems with it at all. The recent spate of books, interviews and
debates that discuss problems with Islam, must all be wasting their
time. For Esposito, it seems, Islam is fine: it's compatible with
democracy and modernization and contains fine examples of morality
and ethical society. Most of the problems are just
misunderstandings, or culturally specific issues and not religious.
Phew, that's a relief.
Esposito is so desperate to paint Islam in a favorable light, that
he fails to mention any damning information and canvases important
questions with statements following this pattern: "in fact, it's
not Islam, it's due to X" - without any justification or supporting
evidence and certainly never a stray thought that Islam might have
something to do with it.
One feels that the possibility of Islam being criticized in any
way, is a no-go zone. Here's some quotes that fit the mold that we
are not to worry about alternative possibilities to:
"The answer to this question lies more in history and politics
rather than in religion."
"lack of development in the Muslim world, as elsewhere, is in fact
primarily due to issues of economy, limited resources, and
education rather than religion".
"These restrictions original not from Islam but rather from
cultural customs..."
Esposito even fails to lay any blame on Islam or religion,
whatsoever, for the loss of life in the conflict between Hindus and
Muslims - the blame is quickly attributed to the British who
divided India. Nothing more said.
On the question of "Did Muhammad have multiple wives?" - there is
no mention of 9-year-old Aisha and a long emphasis on Muhammad
having only 1 wife for many years. This is like editing crying kids
out of a holiday photo. Read any other book for the sordid
details.
Esposito should question whether religion is to blame (or partially
to blame) for various problems more seriously. His
get-out-of-jail-free cards seem to be issued on the idea that
because Muslim societies are different, then Islam is not to blame
for any specific problems. Some don't let women drive (Saudi
Arabia) but some do, so obviously Islam has nothing to do with it,
and there's no reason to dig any further.
Suspiciously, Esposito does not address the question of whether
Muslims have the freedom to change their religion - I guess this
would be difficult to paint in a faultless light.
You probably do need this book in a serious investigation of Islam
because this is the "apologetic" viewpoint that you will often
encounter. Then you buy 4 other books on Islam, with very different
answers and apply some critical thinking.
Knowledgable and InformativeReviewed by Hani Ascha, 2009-05-30
I immensely enjoyed this book. The question and answer format in which it was written enabled me to look up specific questions i had about Islam and to clear up former misconceptions.
Pretty decentReviewed by Sami Salameh, 2008-04-17
This was a pretty decent book and I commend the authors efforts at trying to give a less hate filled exploration into Islam like Robert Spencer does so I found it refreshing. I viewed all the other ratings and noticed the one star reviews seemed pretty upset that the author didnt take the path that Spencer takes and kinda found it typical in the time when Islam is challenged by intolerant people. I mean, if you read books say for instance on Judaism, do you find where the author tries to impose his bias against the rleigion and exploit when Moses was commanded by god to kill and rip out newborn babies from mothers wombs? And if you wanted to learn about Christianity as a religion, would you look towards the inquisition as a proper representation of Christianity? Probably not. Nonetheless, I found it to be a pretty decent book. I recommend this book for people who want to approach Islam and not be swayed by an authors word trickery. Also, an important note, many people quote and source violent hadiths in order to use them to represent Islam as inherently "evil and intolerant". However, if you look at what a hadith is, which is an assumed prophetic narration of the prophet Muhammed, many dont know that there are hundreds of hadiths disregarded as false or inconsistent with Islamic belief. There are even sects of Islam which disregard the hadith al together and only use the Quran as a supplement to their religion. What many authors make the mistake of doing is painting Islam with one broad stroke of the brush and view it as this monolithic entity with one mind, one agenda, and one mission. Not true.
good introductionReviewed by Raphael Wegmann, 2008-03-29
I like this book, because it provides a very good introduction and
answers many questions in a large-minded way. Unfortunately it
doesn't cover topics like aniconism and religious conversion.
Excellent Reference for LaypeopleReviewed by Justin Parrott, 2007-05-22
John Esposito has written an excellent reference on Islam and
Muslim culture for laypeople. He has organized his book into an
easy question-and-answer format so readers can skip to whatever
topic they want to know about. Very important questions people have
about Islam are answered directly and concisely.
His writing reflects his deep knowledge of Islam and engagement
with Muslims. He is very respectful of Islam and tries to place
controversial issues within their proper context. As a result, this
work is a much-needed attempt to build bridges of understanding
between Muslims and non-Muslims. Too often have some Western
writers written about Islam with the sole intention of damning or
criticizing it. Esposito, on the other hand, approaches Islam in a
neutral and objective way. He seeks to explain Islam and Muslims
rather than condemn them.
Overall, I recommend this book to both Muslims and non-Muslims. For
non-Muslims, this book will explain what they must know about Islam
in order to avoid falling into ignorant bigotry against Muslims. On
the other hand, Muslims will appreciate Esposito's expert
articulation of many issues in the Muslim world today.
The title says it all. This is what everyone must know about Islam,
both Muslims and non-Muslims. So if you really want to learn about
Islam, this is a great book to start with.
