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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Aslan has done an good job of condensing the 14 centuries of Islamic origins, history, and current place on the world stage into a single, easy to digest, book.
The background into Muhammad was succinct and while it didn't go into Mohammad's life in as great detail as other books, it explained a lot more of the historical context, which is absolutely essential when reading about history. There are still certainly unsavory aspects of Muhammad's life that Aslan attempts to sweep away (for example: marriage to Zaynab - his first cousin, but also adopted son's wife; consummation of another marriage with his wife Aisha, age 9; slaughter and enslavement of the [traitorous] Banu Qurayza tribe, caravan raiding being completely acceptable, etc.), but it was far, far less apologetic than say, Karen Armstrong's biography on the Prophet.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the evolution of the Sunnis, Shi'ites and the Sufis, as well as the smaller more radical sects that have spurred more of the religious intolerance that we often hear about today. The history and fallout between the Sunni and Shi'ites is something that I'd like to learn more about, but I feel that this book did a good job of setting a basic understanding of that tension.
In the end he tries to be a bit to prophetic by arguing that there is hope for an Islamic democracy, but an indigenous one, not one forced on it from the outside. Similar to his "How to Win a Cosmic War", he mentions the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Turkey, and Iran as areas where this could take place. Mind you, this was written prior to the Arab Spring, but this is where I'd argue that Aslan is lost way up in the clouds of his ivory tower. Realpolitik dictates that this likely will not be happening anytime in the next few decades.
Overall, I would recommend this book (over other books) to readers who are interested in an introduction to the history Islam. As for the latter chapters, they're a bit more theoretical (and in some cases even more apologetic as to the reasons for why there is serious unrest within the broader religion), which I don't necessarily agree with and (as the past 15 years have shown) Aslan's assumptions are not in sync with reality, but the end wraps things up in a coherent fashion.
The background into Muhammad was succinct and while it didn't go into Mohammad's life in as great detail as other books, it explained a lot more of the historical context, which is absolutely essential when reading about history. There are still certainly unsavory aspects of Muhammad's life that Aslan attempts to sweep away (for example: marriage to Zaynab - his first cousin, but also adopted son's wife; consummation of another marriage with his wife Aisha, age 9; slaughter and enslavement of the [traitorous] Banu Qurayza tribe, caravan raiding being completely acceptable, etc.), but it was far, far less apologetic than say, Karen Armstrong's biography on the Prophet.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the evolution of the Sunnis, Shi'ites and the Sufis, as well as the smaller more radical sects that have spurred more of the religious intolerance that we often hear about today. The history and fallout between the Sunni and Shi'ites is something that I'd like to learn more about, but I feel that this book did a good job of setting a basic understanding of that tension.
In the end he tries to be a bit to prophetic by arguing that there is hope for an Islamic democracy, but an indigenous one, not one forced on it from the outside. Similar to his "How to Win a Cosmic War", he mentions the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Turkey, and Iran as areas where this could take place. Mind you, this was written prior to the Arab Spring, but this is where I'd argue that Aslan is lost way up in the clouds of his ivory tower. Realpolitik dictates that this likely will not be happening anytime in the next few decades.
Overall, I would recommend this book (over other books) to readers who are interested in an introduction to the history Islam. As for the latter chapters, they're a bit more theoretical (and in some cases even more apologetic as to the reasons for why there is serious unrest within the broader religion), which I don't necessarily agree with and (as the past 15 years have shown) Aslan's assumptions are not in sync with reality, but the end wraps things up in a coherent fashion.
I did enjoy the historical aspect of this book, and it reads like something that would have fit in well with my curriculum in college studying Islamic history. However, this book is filled to the brim with his own opinions that surprisingly lean very strongly towards anti-intellectualism. Particularly in the section on the development of Sunni Islam, he denigrates "the ulama," who apparently are all evil, misogynistic "Traditionalists" who hate even the idea of anyone thinking for themselves. Of course this does happen but to act like there is no nuance, no disagreements among scholars, and no value at all in studying tradition, history, or fiqh at all is ridiculous imo. Shia Islam is treated in a much more balanced way, and any issues that he has with modern day Shiism are directed explicitly at Khomeini, and are not presented as issues with Shia Islam as a whole (unlike Sunni Islam). The section on Sufism read like he was trying to convert the reader but didn't realize how crazy he sounded, and Sufis who claimed to be God are just "too enlightened" for (evil Traditionalist) Muslims to understand.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I didn't know much about Islam before reading this book. I think it's an excellent primer. Covers a huge amount of important history in a short number of pages. Very readable. I lent it to a muslim co-worker and he was impressed with how much history and info Aslan covers. He also felt the info was presented from a typical progressive, modern Islamic point of view.
My second experience reading Reza Aslan, and I’m ready for more. His prose is lucid and intelligent, and the research thorough and important. In both books I’ve read, I had no doubt that I was being taught by an expert — a polymath — a global citizen. I am grateful for his ability to navigate what was (for me) a new and challenging topic.
Somehow I ended up with the young adult version of this book because it was the only one in my library's ebook collection. But no matter... It was probably a good thing anyway because it gave me a (presumably) condensed, easy-to-understand introduction to Islam, something about which I didn't realize how ignorant I was. I learned many, many things I didn't know before, both about the Prophet Muhammad and the subsequent history of Islam. I'm interested in reading the Quran now, simply because from the quotations in this book I clearly have no idea what's actually in it. Aslan clearly understood that he was writing for a predominantly Christian audience by the frequent comparing and contrasting of aspects of Islam to aspects of Christianity, which I personally found helpful as a Christian. It was enlightening for me to see just how many parallels there were, particularly in the evolution of Islam over time and the arguments over translations, interpretations, and the relationship between religion and culture. I highly recommend this book (the young adult version is short!) if you want to gain a foundational knowledge of Islam.
I found this book captivating. I thought I knew a lot about Islam, but I learned so much more from this book. Reza Aslan is a wonderful writer, so clear and interesting Many of my high school freshmen have read it, as well. They enjoyed it a lot, too.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A competent and well-written overview of Islamic history written for a western audience. Most of the argument is in the final chapter, while most of the history is in all the rest of the book. It’s tough to write about such a large area and such a long time period without glossing over a lot, so it makes sense that the early chapters about Muhammad’s life were more detailed, and then only a few countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran) got much airtime. I would have liked a more detailed breakdown of the different thinkers and movements within Islam, but there were simply wasn’t space in the book, so highly influential individuals from Ali shariati to sayid qutb would get a few scant paragraphs and then never really be revisited.