Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A difficult read, but informative for the committed reader, October 30, 2001
This review is from: Islam in the World (Paperback)
In the preface, the author, who has experience in both worlds, explains the difficulty of balancing between the academic and the journalistic. Well, it doesn't read like a journalist wrote it. If you are comfortable with terms like ontology and teleological, you should do fine with this one, but it would have been possible to write a descriptive book about religion and culture without having to use the word 'discourse' so often. It reads much more like a textbook than is necessary for a book that is not necessarily aimed at a university audience. A typical sentence reads "Extreme or antinomian religious positions can often be related to socio-economic factors, although the traditions to which they give rise may eventually acquire an autonomous existence." It is difficult to use Arabic names and terms without losing a reader who is not familiar with that language, and I found it somewhat confusing remembering the significance of certain Islamic thought leaders when their names reappeared several chapters after their intial introduction. It is my belief that many of those looking for a quick understanding of the Taliban and the forces that motivate them, will find this book heavy going. Casual readers beware. Although I have done a lot of reading in comparative religion, I do not know enough about Islam to provide a judgement on the book's accuracy. In comparison with other 'religion' texts, I found it informative and at times inciteful. The subject is highly complex, and most outsiders have only a superficial understanding of Islamic culture. Towards bridging that gap, I found this a comprehensive guide, providing both historical and social prospectives on the dynamics of the middle-eastern and other islamic peoples. The author has both personal experience in the Middle East, and has studied and taught the subject, so his credentials are excellent. The maps, suggestions for further reading, and timeline are all useful references. Those who want to take a serious look at the subject will find this an appropriate text.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Malise Ruthven's Work is a Superb Resource, September 17, 2005
This review is from: Islam in the World (Paperback)
It is disappointing to see that Malise Ruthven's "Islam I the World" has had only the small amount of commentary that it has received here. I would hate to see people discouraged from buying this book because of the comments of one reviewer (which, to be fair, were not all negative) four years ago. While I don't disagree terribly with the substance of the comments, I do think the tone might prevent someone from discovering the great treasure of thoughtfulness and, I believe, understanding, the book possesses. I think Ruthven's book has much to offer, even (especially!) to those who know nothing about the Islamic world. So, I want to sing the book's praises for a moment. The first point I want to make is that the depth and complexity of the subject matter - still journalistically treated, though at the level of, say, pieces in the "New York Times Magazine" or the "New Yorker" - are exactly what Americans need when it comes to Islam. I believe more of us must get beyond "The Introduction to ...[this or that]" and get to some substance in our understanding of Islam and Muslims, including those who would take the terrorist route to redressing their grievances. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are showing us that so much is at stake, and that perhaps we have needed to dig deeply into, and do some wrestling with, what some might call "the otherness" of Islam and the Middle East. This book is a superb place to start. If George W. Bush had read this book, he might not have announced - and then had to retract and re-characterize - the "crusade" against terror in the wake of 9-11, that episode itself iconic for the ignorance people in the US evince when it comes to Islam. If body bags containing Americans and the rising toll of Iraqi dead, uncounted and euphemized as "collateral damage," bother you, you won't mind spending a little effort on this book, and may find it, as I did, enormously rewarding. Secondly, there is a nice long chapter, "The Challenge from the West" (pp. 282-350), that shows that long before anyone struck out with terror, at least on the scale of 9-11, thinkers, political leaders, journalists, and others in the Islamic world have been seeking a way to deal with the West. Although the complaints of some Muslims may have suddenly become "news" to Americans on September 11, 2001, the Iranian revolution from 1979 should have screamed at us that we needed to understand "Islam in the World" a lot sooner that many of us started, and certainly a lot sooner that the first time we heard Ayatollah Khomeini lecturing the world about the Great Satan. The stories of Muslims wrestling with the West - and there are certainly many more than are recounted here - are a clue to the depth of their frustration in this unequal confrontation between East and West. We have neglected the Islamic world (at best), even as we have let our leaders (at worst) pursue exploitive policies there. It's not too late to begin un-neglecting the Islamic world, and this book is an excellent place (if not to start, at least) to explore on the way to developing an understanding. Another chapter that I think many would eagerly devour is "The Quranic World View" (pp. 80-121), though for my money the whole book is rewarding. Finally, I concede, along with the first reviewer, that it's annoying to have to keep looking up terms the author too often uses without translating after first introducing them, but even that can serve as a reminder of why we're reading the book: we don't know nearly as much as we need to know. This book is rich with detail and thoughtfulness. It also contains a glossary of those pesky Arabic words and religious and philosophical concepts (approximately 175 terms), a chronology, a detailed index, a list of further readings, and end notes documenting the author's statements. There is something substantive here to chew on, and on top of that, it's well written. I believe it was well worth the $19.95 cover price for the paperback version. I do not know enough about Islam to speak absolutely about the writer's treatment of many aspects of Islam. But then, I recently read Edward Said, who in "Orientalism," branded Bernard Lewis an "Orientalist," with all the critical connotations that entails for Said (and Lewis!). There are authorities, and then there are authorities. If you have questions about Ruthven's understanding of Islam, "bracket" what he says and test it against the understanding of authorities you respect, but don't deprive yourself of a terrific resource by being dissuaded from reading this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring, September 11, 2010
This review is from: Islam in the World (Paperback)
This is very serious book for the mature audience. Yes it is dense, yes there are many terms that one needs to become familiar with in order to follow Ruthven, however, that shouldn't deter anyone who really wants to learn about Islam, it's inception, evolution, the cornerstones of the faith, etc.
If your looking for a more traditional history book this may not be it, however, don't pass this one up, read it alongside another as the author has a wealth of insight to share, not just about Islam and the Arabic tribal culture that originally informed it, but about human nature.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
|
