Customer Reviews

Nothing New Under the Sun: An Introduction to Islam

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

"Nothing New Under the Sun", Paul Culp, Author
Universal Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, 2007

October 30, 2007

"Nothing New Under the Sun", Paul Culp, Author, is a "must read" book for every human on Planet Earth...especially for Americans of any "stripe" (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheist, whatever). It is particularly important reading for every American Politician. I would ask every Presidential Candidate: "Have you read "Nothing New Under the Sun", Paul Culp, Author?" If the answer was "No", my answer to them would be "Not, Next!".

And, I believe, Paul Culp MUST be retained by the likes of CNN, FOX, NBC, etc. as an ongoing analysis and commentator on matters of vital importance today and the years ahead in the world struggle with Islamic extremist. Too often we, and our media, focus only on, and address, the tactical matters (Military: Gen. Wesley Clark; Political: Newt Gingrich; Medical: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, etc.) and fail to address the most important elements, root cause and strategy. The root cause of the subject current struggle, be it identified with Osama Bin Laden (terrorism), the Taliban (radicalism), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad-Iran (extremism), Turks vs. Kurds or Israel vs. Palestine (nationalism), and on and on, began over 2000 years ago continuing uninterrupted to this day. Unless we understand this history, "the players", the philosophy, the ideology, the similarities and differences and variations thereof we have little or no chance "getting through this mess" without considerably more death, cost and destruction in the days, months and years ahead. This book by Paul Culp explains the root cause of these struggles and their related current events..

Theological scholar and world observer, Paul Culp has both the credentials and personal experience to organize, explain and add reality to the very complex subject of Islam and the relationship of its many (1.3 Billion) Muslim believers to the "rest of us". This book is a mixture of heavy reading and lighter dry wit, as those who know Paul will especially note and appreciate. It will give the dedicated reader who follows its pages, even often returning to reread passages and reconsidering Arabic words and meanings, to the end a working knowledge and perspective that is critical to both our individual and American futures and to understanding the "Nightly News". It may even help you decide for whom you vote, realizing they too must understand this subject because there is so much more to our world struggles than hiding in the sand, lobbing a few bombs or wishing it would, or will, all just go away.

Two passages from this power packed book, "Nothing New Under the Sun", Paul Culp, Author, sums it up for me:

"Today the American predilection for willfulness and self-gratification has "Biblical" sanctions for its un-mortified appetites---and has run headlong into the Islamic belief in the Manifest Destiny of Muslims. Hallelujah. Allahu akbar. Whatever." And,

"Yes, our own community has spoken, and its consensus is clear: we are mostly either Christians who don't actually believe in the Cross, or materialists who have a pretty weak grasp of how to make good use of our material capabilities, or liberals who misuse our liberties, or conservatives who seldom conserve much of anything because that's bad for business---and millions of other folks who are along for the ride, sitting in some fetid mishmash of the above or not powerful enough to make their countercultural convictions (if any) count. And, then we export it all, loudly asserting that the Muslims attack us because they're jealous."

From the beginning, the reader will think "if only the author had used simpler words, defined each big or strange word, or just made the Qur'an simple". Then you realize that putting 2000 years of history, multitudes of complex philosophy nor even explaining the Bible (Old and/or New Testament) simply has never been done in 210 pages. Smile, read, read on and be a part of the solution rather than just hoping the problem doesn't exist or will go away. Read "Nothing New Under the Sun" by Paul Culp, Author. You may even help save the planet. At the very least, you will feel good about yourself and be very glad you did!

Nothing New under the Sun by Paul Culp is as it purports to be "an introduction to Islam." At 210 pages, it provides readers who are unfamiliar with the world's second most-embraced, and according to some observers fastest-growing, religion a succinct, readable, and yet thorough primer. Culp, an American who also is an Oxford graduate and whose background includes extensive study of religions, acquaintances and friendships with religious people of many stripes, lived and taught for a time in the Middle East. He writes with a degree of wit, scholarship, and irony one might reasonably expect from a cynic; and yet, ultimately, the book is hopeful rather than cynical. People are people, he seems to be saying, regardless of religious or cultural allegiances. His critical and occasionally cutting intelligence turns now to Christian, now to Muslim follies and foibles.

The book, however, is not merely a critique of Islam and Christianity. Culp provides the reader with useful insights into the nature of Islam, how in its mind-boggling diversity it resembles and differs from Christianity. For example, the reader discovers the difference between "Incarnationist" religion (Christianity) and "Prophetic" religion (Islam); how Muslims' view of the Koran differs from Christians' view of the Bible; and the prominence of the Muslim community in defining what is truly orthodox religion. Copyrighted in 2007, the book is new enough to embrace recent, newsworthy events and thoroughly researched enough (the impressive bibliography is 4 pages long) to provide a sound historical and current perspective on issues in Islam that interest Westerners: Shi'ites and Sunnis, jihad, Islamic radicalism, and women in Islam, to name a few.

The book is not perfect, or perhaps I might say, complete. It would benefit from indexing or, at least, a glossary of Arabic terms. Knowing only one word in Arabic (salaam) I found myself scratching my head in bewilderment at times while reading references to previously-explained concepts and terminology.

Nonetheless, anyone who wishes to begin to understand Islam, and more importantly, Muslims; anyone who has been mystified by and sometimes frightened by the actions of Muslims related in Western newspapers; anyone seeking to build some compassion based upon knowledge; and anyone looking for more than simplistic or trite generalizations, will find the book both satisfying and challenging.