Customer Reviews

Peace Be Upon You: Fourteen Centuries of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Coexistence in the Middle East

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The author's stated thesis for this book is "peaceful coexistence among the monotheistic, Abrahamic religions has been more the norm rather than the exception since the recognition of the Prophet Mohammed and the inception of Islam." Although the book makes a strong case for Islam as the more tolerant of the trio when in power, my take on the real contribution of this book is a bit different.

This book succeeds best as an objective account of the turbulent history of the Abrahamic religions over the past 1,400 years. It examines the potent effects of religion on the social, political, and economic fabric of the times as a succession of influential patriarchs or local, self-appointed charismatic leaders adjusted belief systems and popular perceptions to accommodate their agendas within and among the three religions. Hardly surprising, in this age of 'future shock' propelled by technological advances in communications and the management of information, we are witnessing these same machinations in overdrive today.

This is a well-researched book with generous notes and bibliography. The author ostensibly has no axe to grind, which frees this book from the usual polemics found in many books on religion. Although it's not written in a strictly chronological manner, the book maintains historical continuity.

If you are first a thinker then a believer, in search of the lessons of the past to better understand the present, "Peace be Upon You" is a recommended read.

For anyone who's wondered if the only thing Muslims, Christians and Jews can do is fight, this book reminds us that there have been many moments in the past when they haven't. Zachary Karabell makes a strong case that coexistence is just as much part of the history and that it shouldn't be overlooked. He also points out moments in today's world where coexistence is more the norm than most people thing, such as in Dubai or Morocco. While he doesn't avoid talking about conflict, he does show that coexistence is possible and has more often been the case than people think.

Peace Be Upon You surveys Muslim history from the seventh century to the present day. As the title suggests, Karabell focuses on those historical episodes, and where pluralistic society is highlighted, there is peaceful co-existence among people of different religions, and genuine religious tolerance. Woven into the narrative is Karabell's interpretation of the events and the reader is reminded to view these events not from the twenty-first century perspective, but from the perspective of the period.

In the introduction, Karabell states that "... the pages that follow present stories of both conflict and corporation." As a survey, it is necessary to focus only on the highlights of the era. The issue becomes deciding which events merit representing that era and here seeps the narrator's bias. Karabell's bias minimizes the role of religious doctrine as a driver for violence, and this view may be regarded as understating the rational for conflict in some eras.

The work explores primarily Muslim societies for examples of co-existence. This may be due to its scope. Examples are non-Muslim societies, where religious tolerance was the norm, are not given much exposure. Hence, the Norman king Roger II is not given a lot of exposure.

Civil society is composed of non-governmental organizations. These organizations have molded their respective society's outlook and in turn shaped official policies. In understanding religious tolerance, this aspect needs to be more fully explored. While there are some examples (such as the Order of Cluny), the influence of the Ottoman guilds or contemporary NGOs (such as AKDN) is not thoroughly explored.

Peace Be Upon You seems to have two objectives. The first is to convey the message that we need to live in peace with other societies that are difference from our own. The second is that history is complex and contains examples of peace as well as conflict. How we choose to look at it defines our present attitude, and shapes future events. In achieving these objectives, Karabell does an excellent job. In his words: "Peace is woven in our collective past; it is there to be seen in our messy present; and it will be there in or shared future."

Armchair Interviews says: Peace be upon you.

Peace Be Upon You: The Story of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Coexistence charts not another course of conflict and confrontation between Islam and the West, but its cooperative coexistence - which has all but been forgotten in light of modern events. Fourteen centuries of history are covered here to assure this history of cooperation isn't forgotten: chapters discuss early Baghdad scholars who engaged in spirited debate with various faiths, medieval Spain where Jewish and Muslim philosophers and sages debated the meaning of God, and even a Crusades where Christians and Muslims lived peacefully side by side. PEACE BE UPON YOU is much needed in a modern world which has come to associate Islam with violence and war, and is a recommended pick for all levels of libraries, from public lending collections to college-level holdings strong in history and social issues.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

It is a well written, unbiased book that holds your interest throughout various chapters. I personally finished the book within a weekend. The author describes the historical coexistence that has occurred between various religious rulers of the Abrahamic faith, and their treatment of their subjects. There is also a good deal of information related to current conflicts in the world, detailing the formation of current middle eastern countries, including saudi arabia, jordan, israel, iraq to name a few. A must-read

The usual bias of history writers is to focus on violent conflicts, while glossing over many less exciting developments in the quality of everyday life. Karabell tries to counter this, and to give at least equal time to the more normal periods of peace, tolleration, or creative cooperation between the three religions of the book.

Assuming the reader has a rough idea of Christian and Jewish history, Karabell focuses on the evolution of Muslim relations with Jews and Christians. He also centers on the Near East-Mediterranean zone where the three religions have mixed together longest. This basically leaves out the history of Islam eastwards of Iraq.

The book highlights many cases of mutual influence and learning between the three religions. It shows how their relations have usually involved shared benefits, even during the recent colonial period, where mainly Christian nations conquered almost all the Muslim world.

--author of Correcting Jesus

Zachary Karabll has written a factually accurate and delightfully readable account of a time when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived and worked together. It is an important telling of time we need to remember and how fortunate for the reader that a serious scholar is able to present material in such an engaging manner. A gift for our time that is needed.

For the most part Karabell does a fine job of analyzing the past. While the Muslim conquests were not wars of religion, as perceived by the West, they were wars that stirred up the whole Mediterranean, Europe and Asia. In a few minor points Karabell made mistakes about history. One example is that Timur, (Tamarlane) was Muslim.

The larger error is about the present. While Karabell is correct that the 20th Century brought confusion to the Muslim world and those who emphasize reason are in retreat he fails to discuss the bigger picture. In norther Nigeria the attempt to force Christians and Animists to obey Sharia affects their everyday life. The burning of churches and the killing of Christians in Nigeria, Egypt and Pakistan are constant themes. The Egyptian government prevents Christians from repairing churches. In Saudi Arabia religions besides Wahhabi Isam are banned.

He does do a good analysis of the affects of Western and particularly American military actions on the relations between Muslims and Christians today. Curiously under Saddam Hussein Christians received better treatment than they do today.

All in all a very good book. It's just his analysis of the present that needs work.

An excellent summary of periods of religious tolerance practiced by Christian and Muslim rulersetween 10th and 15th centuries. The study is balanced in that instances of non-tolerance are also presented. The study would have benefitted from the inclusion of pluralistic policies of the Fatimids, who ruled from Cairo in the 10th and 11th centuries.

My title reflects a past reviewer who said God may be great. There is no debate or question about it, God is Great. He is greater than any of his creation which is why it is so repugnant to Muslims that Jesus is considered divine, but thats a completely different topic.

This book is refreshing and the title of it is magnificent. Many people are dumbstruck by this book and that is echoed by a reviewer who said he felt uncomfortble reading it. To the western reader, it is unconfortable when you see the truth that Muslims were civilized people. They were not the most evil and terror driven people that the media wants you to believe. The Jews that lived under Muslim rule were treated more humanely then any Christian civiliaztion in history. It is only in the 20th century that America has embraced the Jews and it took a holocaust for even that to happen.

The part of this book that I think is the most important is the chapter on Saladins Jihad. The author does justice to Saladin when he says that his tolerance was legendary but when it came time to fight, he was bold and ruthless. I think that is the best type of person you can have as commander in chief. He allowed the Jews and Christians to continue to worship when he took over Jerusalem and the surrounding areas and that is exactly what the prophet Muhammad would have done. His example is a throwback to the early Muslims who conquered half the known world but still let people who were non-Muslim co-exist with the Muslims without any problems. I recommend, if you have time, to watch Islam: Empire of Faith to learn more about the way that Muslims lived side by side with the people of the book. You can probably get it from your local library.