Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam (The Complete Idiot's Guide)

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

As a practicing Muslim with limited knowledge of Islamic sciences I noticed some glaring errors in this book, for example in the story of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) it wrongly states that Abraham was a polytheist and then became a Prophet. According to traditional Islamic scholars this is incorrect and there is at least one explicit verse in the Qur'an that states 'Ibrahim was NEVER amongst the polytheists', and the way the verses where Ibrahim appears to worship the moon, stars and sun are written is in such a way that it is apparant that he is trying to prove such things are disbelief by asking rhetorical questions. Only a few modern scholars ignorant of the explicit verses stating Ibrahim and other Prophets never dabbled in polytheism make such claims. Throughout the book Yahya Emerick seems to be getting his information from modern fringe scholars who are not representive of the majority in Islam. Many of the 'reformers' he mentioned and praised were founders of extremist movements and many people believe these men caused a lot of damage to Islam. I personally do not think Mr Emerick is qualified to say many of the things he does, I think he should have co-authored the book with a recognised mainstream scholar. There are also many other things, and then some of the information about shias is very incorrect, I am not shia but I found the ignorance about the shia side of Islam offensive. I personally could not give this book to a non muslim because of the errors and minority views it contains; which is a shame as otherwise its a very good informative book.

I read this book for two reasons. First, I've appointed myself the task of learning about the various world religions. Secondly, I have an Arabic friend (stay away Homeland Security) who is Muslim, and I wanted to understand where he was coming from a little better.

I wanted to give this book 3 and half stars, but that is not an option. I gave it four because the author fulfilled his primary mission of teaching the reader the basics of Islam. He also threw in a brief history Islam and Arabs that was interesting. When they talk about Sunnis and Shiites on the news, now I understand the difference. I now feel that at least I have a basic understanding of this religion, and new respect for its primary concepts.

I wanted to give it 3 stars for the following reason. I do not expect great scholarly works from the Idiot series, but I do expect an object treatment of the subject. This author was anything but objective. If his editorializing was eliminated the book would have shorten up by 50 or so pages. Islam is an evangelic religion like Christianity, and I definitely felt the missionary zeal of the author. If you skip through those sections it is a worthwhile read.

I am a proud Muslim. I loved this book for its SIMPLICITY and FORTHRIGHTEOUSNOESS. It did not beat about the bush in any matter. Over the years I have forgotten the indepth nuances of certain aspects of my faith and this was a great refresher course. The contemporary style of the book differentiates it from more rigid and polarized versions of books on faith. It is written for people living in todays complex world, and being pulled in all directions at the same time, as I find myself as a Muslim in the US. Great Read!

This book has its flaws but it is an outstanding introduction to Islam. The author indulges in far too many polemics and too much of the book is spent defending the image of Islam and Muslims (both are viewed as being misunderstood victims). It is NOT an objective book, was never intended to be, but it is an informative one. However, the author makes an honest effort to reveal the nooks and crannies of Islam in a very open way. I learned a lot by reading this book. The defensiveness and apologetics get a bit old but it is packed with information. If you are looking for a book to help educate yourself on Islam I don't think you could do much better than this one. I do want to mention one particular dispute I have with this book regarding Jews and Islam. The author perpetuates the old myth of Islam "protecting" Jews as the two lived hand-in-hand in loving harmony. I think that can be vigorously disputed, and that Jews faired no better under Islam than they did under Christianity. But, ... that is another story. Overall, this book helped me to better understand Islam and provided insight into many of the misunderstandings and disputes that plague our modern world. That alone was worth the price of admission.

Many reviews have been negative due to the subjectiveness of the author's views which, I will admit, are common throughout the text. However, how does one write about his or her faith without being "for it". Any Christian book about Christianity follows the same suit.

This book is an overview of a beautiful faith that is closer to the basics of Christianity then I ever knew. It won't tell you everything but enough to begin to understand Islam and it's followers and that's really the point.

I've read both the on-line reviews and the book and would like to comment on some of the negative comments I've read here. Basically, the author was laying out what the religion of Islam teaches and how religious minded Muslim in the mainstream view their faith. This is how any honest author trying to explain a subject would proceed. I find it strange that some people are telling us to look at the terrible governments of the Muslim world and to judge Islam by that. Well then, let's judge Christianity by some very terrible governments in the Christian world. For example, the Nazis were all Christians, as were the Soviets (despite the veneer of Communism), the Conquistadores that killed millions in Latin America were all Christians and the dictatorships of southern Africa, Latin America (as they come and go) and also of eastern Europe are all Christian as well. Christians have persecuted and murdered Jews for over a thousand years in a brutal and systematic way. Should we judge Jesus and his teachings? The British and French looted half the world on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, do we say that wasa Christian act? Half the people in Libya look white because under Italian occupation, the "Christians" raped every Arab woman they came across. Is this Jesus' fault? A person writing a book about Christianity would rightly overlook all these instances and merely say that those acts of brutality are not consistent with the religion.
Why should we not give Islam the same slack? Look, before Sept. 11 no one gave half a peanut about Islam. Now because of fifty guys who were angry about the U.S. army in Arabia, now suddenly the whole world is villifying Islam as if it were a demonic religion of baby-eaters.
In actual fact, and I have studied Islam extensively, this religion is basically the combination of Judaism and Christianity. The morals are the same, the practices are essentially on the same philosophical plain and the Qur'an is no more a violent book than the Bible, Old or New Testament.
If you want to read about Islam as it is, not about the sorry SECULAR governments in the Middle East or fringe religious extremist elements that twist the teachings of Islam just like McVeigh or Koresh twist Christinity, then this book is for you. It is about Islam as it is supposed to be followed and presents the worldview of the mainstream Muslim community which is a welcome breath of fresh air showing that Islam is compatible with the modern world. Don't let the religious extremists, and the Western hate-mongers win and make you think Islam is something else besides a respectable and tolerant faith. Where did Jews go for the last thousand years to be safe from Christians in Europe? To Muslim lands. The proof is in that. It's only because European Jews, fresh from the Holocaust, forced the establishment of homeland in a land that had not belonged to them for a long time that Arabs and Jews have come to fight.

With all recent tragedies affecting our world I chose to be an informed citizen and started reading everything I could on the Middle East, Islam, and terrorism, wondering what kind of religion spurred such hatred and violence? Emerick's book was an eye-opener and I found it an interesting and informative read.
It's basic, easy to follow format made the subject understandable and graspable and I came away with a good understanding of why this religion founded by Muhammad so many years ago has found such a devoted following the world over. I can see why Islam is one of the world's most followed religions and understand that at its heart it is a religion of peace. Fanatism and violence is no more at the heart of Islam than it is at the heart of Buddhism or Hinduism. Good book.

What a wonderful piece of historical facts, consice and unambiguous BOOK "The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Understanding Islam" IS!!! As a confused soul trying to understand What Islam is about, after the devastation of 11th Sept., I found this book extremely helpful in getting me aquainted with the Islamic world, their beliefs, and their culture. Mr. Emerick does a indescribable job in taking the reader from page to page, topic to topic and unveling the so called "myths" about Islam. As I read the other readers response, I was shocked to see and frankly coundn't comprehend why people didn't take as much from the book as I did. The author has a lot to say and relates it in a way that ANYONE can understand. Even a 4th grader! This book was exaclty what I was looking for as far as shedding brief, yet comprehensive light on every subject of Islam, from the Middle east conflict, to the "media bias" against Islam, and the history of the religion. It's my go to referece that I often use in my bookshelf, whenever I encounter a specific topic in the newspapers about Islam. So if you're like me who want to learn about Islam and don't have the free time to read volumes and volumes about this topic, I suggest and HIGLY RECOMMEND this book!!

I have read a number of these reviews, and I would like to recommend "Taliban" by Ahmed Rashid Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition to the folks who want to understand the root of Islamic extremism. Just as Christian extremists do not act in accorance with the teachings of Christ when they act with hate or violence, the answers to the behaviors of Islamic extremists are not going to come from an examination of Islam. Islamic extremism rises out of poverty, violence, oppression, a lack of education, political and financial maneuvering, and a number of other factors that exist (partly due to botched Western foreign policy) in the Middle East and central Asia. Just because they say they are acting in the name of Islam, and just because that is what you see on TV, doesn't make it so.

This is one of those books that doesnt have an attractive name or look to it, but it is rich with information on Islam's basic beliefs and its history. This book is not a scholarly work, but meant for the average reader to be able to understand it. The people who have bashed this book are really bashing the religion and not the book. The reviewer who says that the author was sympathetic to the Taliban. He says on page 257," None of the Talibans decrees are rooted in Islamic law." That means they were following culture or whatever you want to call it, but not Islam. How is that sympathetic?

As for the question concerning women and their roles and rights, The Qur'an thus states:
"And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them, but men are a degree above them." (Qur'an 2:228)

Women and men are made different, with men having more strength and responsibility. According to Islamic law, no women is ever required to work. She has the right to go to school, and the right to work if she fulfills her duties in the home, but she does not have to. The men of their family(Father, Brother) or her Husband must financialy take care of the women. In comparison with the U.S. where we find a ratio of 1 in 5 single mothers raising three or more of their own children! How sad is it that these women will never have the chance to experience the freedom of not having to work as Islam dictates.

There are people who say that woman are not treated equally in Islam when they are told to go to the back to pray. As a man who ,like all other men, has sexual desires, I prefer not to be around women when praying. Women are to pray in the back of a mosque not to show superiority, but to show respect. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) granted permission to Muslim women to attend mosques and pray standing behind the rows of men. Remember that the ritual Prayer involves bowing and prostrating. The wisdom of separating men and women during Prayers is to protect the hearts of the Muslims, both men and women, from any distracting ideas or evil suggestions that the devil may whisper into their hearts. This is especially between men and women, in order to keep their hearts pure and sincere and busy only with Prayer. For the same reason, the mixing between men and women in general has special rules in Islam.
Men are supposed to control or behave themselves as one reviewer said, But men are humans and they have desires and the covering up of womens body parts and hair is the best way of preventing anything bad from happening. To say that the American woman has more freedom since she can dress any way she can is like saying she has more freedom to be raped.

Lets now talk about violence. First off, I want to quote what another reviewer said,"...violence by Muslims against peoples of all other religions.Conquering one nation after another, in the name of God, or any other reason, leads to violence beyond the human imagination." Is this person is talking about Muslims or the US? From 1945 to the end of the century, the United States has attempted to overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30 movements of people struggling against intolerable regimes. In the process, the US caused the death of millions of people, and condemned many millions more to a life of hell. The US is in Iraq for what reason?

I know that there are some so-called Muslims out there who are killing innocent people in the name of Islam. There are about 50 of them and they are the only muslims that get on TV. I believe they are going to hell for the Quran states: Those who invoke not with God any other god, [nor slay such life as God has made sacred] except for just cause - and any that does this will meet punishment and the Penalty on the Day Of Judgement will be doubled, and he will dwell Therein in forever. (25:68-69) Just because some Muslims do certain things does not mean all Muslims do them. Any Muslim who kills an innocent person is my enemey, and it is the duty of all true Muslims to identify wrong from right.

Please check these sites out for more info on Islam

http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/
http://www.islamonline.net/english/introducingislam/index.shtml