Customer Reviews

Symbols of Islam

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

 

 

If you are serious in your exploration of Islam, this book will not be very useful. Although the idea of giving an explanation of the religious symbols found in islamic art and other religious manifestations is quite good, the author has not bothered to state such basic things as her sources or even a simple bibliography. Of course, there are no notes either. It is impossible to go on reading from here, and you will never learn from where did the author gather her knowledge. There is another important flaw: the strong bias in favour of Islam sometimes is so apologetic as to read as a justification, and I really don't think the religion of Islam has anything to apologize for (although I cannot say the same of some muslims), so I find this quite unnecessary and cumbersome.

In spite of all this, my review is a three stars because the book does, at least, give the names and description of many important artistic symbols, and it also gives the popular or folk (I think this is so, since the sources are not quoted) meanings attached to them.