The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam (The Complete Idiot's Guide) (Paperback)

~ Yahiya John Emerick (Author) "Imagine learning that there are over a billion people in the world, one sixth of humanity, who follow a religion that you never really studied..." (more)
Key Phrases: divine measurement, new caliph, Ask the Imam, Day of Judgment, North America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It may surprise readers to discover that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, according to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam. "However, even more eye-opening is the fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in North America," writes author Yahiya Emerick (How to Tell Others About Islam). Paradoxically, Islam is also one of the most misunderstood and maligned religions in North America. Fortunately, Emerick has written a viable antidote to the widespread confusion and ignorance. Using the Idiot's Guide's formula of questions and answers, sidebars, and small, easy-to-digest essays, Emerick makes Islam accessible to anyone who is inclined to learn more about this influential religion. Readers have much to glean from this comprehensive and balanced guidebook--primarily that Islam is a prayerful, peace-loving religion that has been misused in the name of terror, just as Hitler and other extremists have misused Christianity throughout history. Emerick devotes an entire section to "Looking at Women in Islam," in which readers can sort through even more misconceptions. The Idiot's Guide title belies the integrity of the book, which is an important contribution for our times. --Gail Hudson

Product Description

Islam may be the most misunderstood faith in history. Most of us learn little or nothing about Islam in school; in fact, our knowledge of Muslims may be restricted to news reports on the Middle East and Louis Farrakhan. Surprise--the vast majority of Muslims aren't Arabs, the Muslim Allah is very much the "one God" Christians and Jews believe in, many of the scientific and medical innovations we take for granted were passed on by Muslims, and the popular myths about Muslims often have little to do with the real beliefs of Islam. The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Understanding Islam reveals fascinating facts about Islam; they accept both the Old and New Testaments as holy books and accept Moses and Jesus as prophets. The book offers tips on Muslim culture, actual quotes from the Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammad, and prominent scholars, and answers to questions regarding everyday life from the Muslim perspective.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1st edition (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028642333
• ISBN-13: 978-0028642338
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #199,047 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good but contains some errors, June 9, 2003

By	Sister81 (UK) - See all my reviews

As a practicing Muslim with limited knowledge of Islamic sciences I noticed some glaring errors in this book, for example in the story of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) it wrongly states that Abraham was a polytheist and then became a Prophet. According to traditional Islamic scholars this is incorrect and there is at least one explicit verse in the Qur'an that states 'Ibrahim was NEVER amongst the polytheists', and the way the verses where Ibrahim appears to worship the moon, stars and sun are written is in such a way that it is apparant that he is trying to prove such things are disbelief by asking rhetorical questions. Only a few modern scholars ignorant of the explicit verses stating Ibrahim and other Prophets never dabbled in polytheism make such claims. Throughout the book Yahya Emerick seems to be getting his information from modern fringe scholars who are not representive of the majority in Islam. Many of the 'reformers' he mentioned and praised were founders of extremist movements and many people believe these men caused a lot of damage to Islam. I personally do not think Mr Emerick is qualified to say many of the things he does, I think he should have co-authored the book with a recognised mainstream scholar. There are also many other things, and then some of the information about shias is very incorrect, I am not shia but I found the ignorance about the shia side of Islam offensive. I personally could not give this book to a non muslim because of the errors and minority views it contains; which is a shame as otherwise its a very good informative book.

30 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Should be a required read for all Americans..., December 4, 2006

By	Sean Devereaux "filmsoup" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

Many reviews have been negative due to the subjectiveness of the author's views which, I will admit, are common throughout the text. However, how does one write about his or her faith without being "for it". Any Christian book about Christianity follows the same suit.

This book is an overview of a beautiful faith that is closer to the basics of Christianity then I ever knew. It won't tell you everything but enough to begin to understand Islam and it's followers and that's really the point.

52 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is factual, May 19, 2002

By A Customer

I've read both the on-line reviews and the book and would like to comment on some of the negative comments I've read here. Basically, the author was laying out what the religion of Islam teaches and how religious minded Muslim in the mainstream view their faith. This is how any honest author trying to explain a subject would proceed. I find it strange that some people are telling us to look at the terrible governments of the Muslim world and to judge Islam by that. Well then, let's judge Christianity by some very terrible governments in the Christian world. For example, the Nazis were all Christians, as were the Soviets (despite the veneer of Communism), the Conquistadores that killed millions in Latin America were all Christians and the dictatorships of southern Africa, Latin America (as they come and go) and also of eastern Europe are all Christian as well. Christians have persecuted and murdered Jews for over a thousand years in a brutal and systematic way. Should we judge Jesus and his teachings? The British and French looted half the world on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, do we say that wasa Christian act? Half the people in Libya look white because under Italian occupation, the "Christians" raped every Arab woman they came across. Is this Jesus' fault? A person writing a book about Christianity would rightly overlook all these instances and merely say that those acts of brutality are not consistent with the religion.
Why should we not give Islam the same slack? Look, before Sept. 11 no one gave half a peanut about Islam. Now because of fifty guys who were angry about the U.S. army in Arabia, now suddenly the whole world is villifying Islam as if it were a demonic religion of baby-eaters.
In actual fact, and I have studied Islam extensively, this religion is basically the combination of Judaism and Christianity. The morals are the same, the practices are essentially on the same philosophical plain and the Qur'an is no more a violent book than the Bible, Old or New Testament.
If you want to read about Islam as it is, not about the sorry SECULAR governments in the Middle East or fringe religious extremist elements that twist the teachings of Islam just like McVeigh or Koresh twist Christinity, then this book is for you. It is about Islam as it is supposed to be followed and presents the worldview of the mainstream Muslim community which is a welcome breath of fresh air showing that Islam is compatible with the modern world. Don't let the religious extremists, and the Western hate-mongers win and make you think Islam is something else besides a respectable and tolerant faith. Where did Jews go for the last thousand years to be safe from Christians in Europe? To Muslim lands. The proof is in that. It's only because European Jews, fresh from the Holocaust, forced the establishment of homeland in a land that had not belonged to them for a long time that Arabs and Jews have come to fight.