Customer Reviews

Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World (Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks)

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"Following Muhammad," the way Ernst sees it, is a book that fills a special niche. Although solid scholarship on Islam is available, it is often rendered inaccessible by impenetrable prose and circulated in very narrow academic circles through specialized journals. On the other hand, commercial publications approach the topic from the sensationalist angles and too often betray ideological attack agendas. What Ernst tries to do in "Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World" is to offer the lay reader a balanced, unimpeachably scholarly but thoroughly accessible, fair-minded but critical introduction to the religion of roughly one fifth of the world's population. By extension, the book sheds light on many of the references, and some of the misperceptions, that have become common currency in the rhetoric of the clash of civilizations.
If September 11 influenced the presentation of the book, it is "to highlight how we have constructed the notion of religion in recent history around the ideas of competition and confrontation, since all too often this modern world-imperial concept of religion is allowed to pass unexamined." For too many people, confrontation is the only way they have heard Islam described, he points out, and the culture of mass media today tends to create the notion that the present is the only time worth considering. Ernst therefore devotes the first part of the book to the interplay between religion and history across the ages, and traces the evolution of the long relationship between Islam and the West from the Middle Ages through colonial times to the present. Ernst, who is not Muslim, does not engage in apologetics on behalf of any religion, but rather tries to examine images and their reverse, or negative: each civilization tends to project on the perceived rival its own prejudices and motivations.
Another section of the book examines Islam in terms of the modern concept of religion and gives an overview of the fundamental sources for Muslims: the Quran or scripture, and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. From this Ernst moves on to the concept of Islamic religious ethics deriving not only from these authoritative texts but also from philosophical inquiry, including the Greek tradition. In his exposition Ernst hopes to provide the reader with independent and appropriate tools to understand the contemporary, and often ill-informed and inflammatory, debate about Islam.
The book's outstanding readability lies in the choice of the interpretative essay as the basic form for each chapter. Despite, or perhaps because, of his stellar academic credentials, the author deliberately eschews the "blind them with science" approach many academics take to impress their ivory tower peers with the impenetrability of their prose. Footnotes and glossaries are kept to a minimum.
Tellingly, one of the goals Ernst sets for this book can seem deceptively modest, by his own admission: to restore full, three-dimensional human complexity to well over a billion people homogenized and caricaturized in the eyes of the West in a manner wholly unacceptable if it were applied to any other religion, race or ethnicity. The fact that this seemingly modest goal is considered so controversial reinforces the timeliness of this book.

I was recommended this book by a professor of comparitive religion from a respected private school near where I live. I had mentioned to him that I was nearly totally ignorant of Islam, but that I was extremely curious, given the recent history of the clash between east and west. While this book didn't delve deeply into the actual structure of Islam, it brought to light several things to consider before starting an indepth study. I'm very glad that I read this book before starting on my quest to understand Islam, because it helped me to understand the baggage that I'm bringing, just by being an American who watches western media and went to a western school.

Ernst's Following Muhammed is an excellent introduction to the history of the Islamic faith and where it is today. As one of the earlier reviewers points out, the book is aimed mainly at readers who have little to no prior knowledge of the religious tradition, and I certainly fell into this category at the time I read the book. The book definitely seems to be a response to the negative image that is frequently being cast upon Muslims in the recent years. Ernst goes through the centuries of Muslim history and describes how the way the world has seen the religion has been distorted by what he calls "political implications." He shows how the political agendas involving Islam, both from within and from its at times tumultuous relationship to Judaism and Christianity has shaped what the world sees as the single, monolithic "Islam." In doing so, he makes a thoughtful case for the religion's diversity without being an apologist.
All in all, I highly recommend this book as a starting point to the study of Islam. It is a very fast and interesting read, and provides a much more accurate and broad understanding of one of today's "hot issues" that is thankfully spin-free.

This is a "must read" for anyone approaching an understanding of Islam as religion, as "enemy", or as a topic in the news. Most journalists and politicians would vastly better understand themselves and Islam as well as have more MATURE thinking about the issues by reading this essay. Those who claim to be "well educated" are so often ignorantly reacting to caricatures (this includes nearly all leaders and 'experts'). This volume is unique, useful, and a compelling readable discussion of how to think about religion, Islam, and the issues in the news. It is easy to read and has much to say rather than being a catalog, description, history, or polemic. READ IT AND THINK!

It has often been stated that the tragedy of 9/11 has forced Muslims of both scholarly and devotional backgrounds to deal with the profound issues in their communities with an unprecedented openness, courage, and criticism. A not dissimilar challenge has also been presented to more liminal voices, non-Muslim scholars of Islam who have spent their entire career studying Islam and Muslims from a humanistic perspective, scholars whose outlook has often been shaped through extended periods of living in Muslim countries and profound contact, relationships, and friendships with Muslim scholars, artists, and spiritual leaders. Carl Ernst is widely considered one of the leading scholars of Islam. The excellent volume Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World is Ernst's learned, profound reflection on the situation of the Islam, Muslims, and the world at large.

Conventional discussions of Islam today begin with two vastly divergent points: There is the mushrooming and uneven body of political writings about Islam that focus on the Middle East, collapsing the 1400 years of Islamic history into the last two generations, particularly since the creation of the state of Israel. The other discourse about Islam is philological in nature, focusing on "classical" (i.e., pre-modern) legal, Qur'anic, and philosophical texts usually in Arabic. Carl Ernst posits a different starting point, one so radically brilliant and simple that one has to ask why more scholars have not adopted this perspective. Ernst starts by examining Islam as a religious tradition, one shaped and understood through the human lens of practitioners of this tradition. As such, he approaches Islam not in a transcendent timeless fashion, or as one fixed eternally in the 7th century, nor yet as a variable only of interest for understanding the post-colonial trauma of the last 40 years. Instead, Ernst moves with ease and grace through the 1400 years of practices, rituals, institutions, and ideas that have been marked as Muslim. He does not focus on the Arab world exclusively, but recognizes that 82% of all Muslims are non-Arab, with the majority being South and South East Asians. He judiciously avoids the many traps and pitfalls that mar conversation about contemporary Islam. He refuses to yield the discussion of Islam to Salafis who insist that all of Islam must be collapsed to Qur'an and hadith. While probing the crucial sources of Islam, Ernst also engages Islamic ethics, spirituality, music, literature, philosophy, and piety. It is this holistic and humanistic approach that few scholars of Islam can undertake with such mastery, and here is where Ernst truly shines. No less than this is expected of Ernst, who most today regard as the leading Western scholar of Sufism, the true heir to the incomparable Annemarie Schimmel, to whom the volume is dedicated.

Nor does Ernst restrict his challenge only to Muslim blind spots: He also takes on dominant Western triumphalist notions. Here again Ernst breaks with the crowd in documenting that it is not simply a result of simple Western misunderstanding that Muslims comes across as inhuman or subhuman. He carefully documents that the blind spots are directly tied to the shameful period of colonialism, a period to which many -particularly in America - seem to have an allergic or amnesic reaction. His discussions of European colonialism, American imperialism, the impact of Zionism, and the political debates over Orientalism are a model of depth, balance, and insight. In the writings of lesser scholars, these analyses are filled with polemics and apologetics. Commendably, Ernst manages to steer away from these pitfalls.

The book is set out in six succinct and highly readable chapters: Islam in the Eyes of the West, Approaching Islam in Terms of Religion, The Sacred Sources of Islam, Ethics and Life in the World, Spirituality in Practice, and a postscript. Ernst's mastery of the spiritual, ethical, and aesthetic realms of Islam stands out clearly in having devoted two chapters to these crucial topics. Far too often in introductory volumes, the picture of Islam that emerges is that of a purely legalistic, ritualistic tradition completely bereft of beauty, art, and love. Ernst's work nicely reflects the historical understanding of many Muslims, one that is shaped as much by the spiritual teachings of Sufi masters and ethicists as it is by Qur'anic virtues.

UNC Press has positioned this text as the leading volume in their forthcoming series Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks, and has done a superb job in its production. The book is beautifully illustrated, containing eight pictures and six luminous calligraphy pieces by the contemporary South Asian calligrapher, Rasheed Butt.

This timely volume is recommended enthusiastically to anyone who wants to gain a nuanced and balanced understanding of the contested position of Islam in the modern world. It fully deserves to be recognized as the single best choice for academic courses dealing with Islam and Middle Eastern studies, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. While one cannot recommend it strongly enough to students and scholars of Islam, hopefully political scientists and historians of the Middle East and beyond, not to mention policy makers, will also avail themselves of it. Ernst's volume breaks new theoretical ground while remaining completely accessible to the intelligent lay reader. This is the rare work that only a scholar at the very zenith of his/her field can write, an even more daunting task given all the polemics about Islam today. There is no better, more profound place to begin - or end - a sophisticated discussion about contemporary Islam than Ernst's masterpiece.

Omid Safi, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Colgate University
Co-chair for the Study of Islam Section at the American Academy of Religion
Editor, Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism (Oxford: Oneworld, 2003).

Carl Ernst is widely considered one of the very leading scholars of Islam in the world today, and the excellent volume Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World is his learned, profound reflection on the situation of the Islam, Muslims, and the world at large today.

The book is beautifully illustrated by eight pictures and six luminous calligraphy pieces by the contemporary South Asian calligrapher, Rasheed Butt.

This timely volume should be recommended enthusiastically to anyone who wants to gain a nuanced and balanced understanding of the contested position of Islam in the modern world. It fully deserves to be recognized as the single best choice for academic courses dealing with Islam and Middle Eastern studies, in both the undergraduate and graduate levels. While one can not recommend it strongly enough to students and scholars of Islam, here is hoping that political scientists and historians of the Middle East and beyond, not to mention policy makers, will also avail themselves of it. Ernst's volume breaks new theoretical ground while remaining completely accessible to the intelligent lay reader. This is the rare work that only a scholar at the very zenith of his/her field can write, an even more daunting task given all the polemics about Islam today. There is no better, more profound place to begin-or end-a sophisticated discussion about contemporary Islam than Ernst's masterpiece.

Simply put, this is a well written and informative book that I would whole-heartedly recommend to anyone interested in Islam, especially someone approaching the subject for the first time. Ernst begins the book by looking at how Islam has been misunderstood, sometimes very deliberately, in the "Western" (essentially Christian) world for the last 1400 years. In doing so, which, at least to me, accounted for some of the most interesting reading in the book, some will no doubt accuse Ernst of acting as an apologist, but the evidence he brings to the bear on the issue, in an attempt to set the record straight, is so well presented, both in terms of writing style and in the appropriateness of historical examples etc., that such a line of argumentation is exposed as amateurish and specious. Ernst clearly knows what he's talking about and one certainly gets the sense that he is merely scratching the surface in marshaling evidence to support his various arguments and points.

This last issue dove-tails into the only significant critique I have of the book - namely, that I wanted MORE detail, MORE examples etc. As I mentioned, Ernst is a great reservoir of information on Islam and one cannot therefore help but want to hear more from him. However, I certainly understand the need to limit the scope of any one portion of the book, and there is a good deal ahead after these opening issues. The remainder of the book looks very much like a somewhat unconventional, though still very good, introductory text on Islam - with sections on Muhammad, the Qur'an, Sufism, ethics etc.

To conclude, one of the reasons I like Ernst's book is because he challenges us to think twice about how we look at the world - he asks us to reflect critically on certain issues (colonialism, Western scholarship, Christianity etc.) that, for some, might be difficult or awkward. But, asking us to do this does not make him an apologist for radical Islamists - it simply means he's painting a more complex picture and, if there is anything we should admit about Islam and its study, it's that 1400 years of history demands such complexity.

This is a splendid book for anyone who is trying to understand Islam. No other book situates Muslim concerns in global contexts and thoughout history. The author is a master at clear writing. In my experience when I have recommended this book to people, they come back with smiles on their faces and a new view of today's world. It does not get any better than this for students and the open minds outside the academy. Clean your glasses and read it again, fellow reviewers.

A very objective analysis by an American, this read should be a compulsory part of curriculum so that students (read future leaders) have a very balanced view of Islam.

I liked Carl Ernst's book "Following Muhammad" because it provided a clear, simple introduction to the basic principles of Islam, and did not necessarily try and defend it from all of the criticsim that it receives, but just presented it as how he views and understands it.

This book was very easy to follow and understand, even for someone who does not know much about Islam or the beliefs which surround it. It starts from the very beginning and discusses Muhammad's role, the different parts of the text, the significance of the Qur'an, and more. I also enjoyed the intricate pieces of art that were included in the chapters. Instead of already jumping into the subject of Islam, and assuming that readers understand much about its history and origin, Ernst, unlike other authors I have recently read, uses simple language and easy to understand descriptions of the religion and its traditions.

The only part of the book that I did not like was that sometimes I had wished that Ernst include possibly some more comparisons to difference between Islam and other faiths, so that people who understand or follow those might be able to better recognize differences or similarities to what they understand or believe.