Islam: The Straight Path (Paperback)

by John L. Esposito (Author) "Five times each day, hundreds of millions of Muslims face Mecca to pray..." (more)
Key Phrases: early jurists, ideological worldview, secular path, Saudi Arabia, Elijah Muhammad, Muslim Brotherhood (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Esposito, a well-respected scholar and prolific writer on things Islamic, is the founding director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University and, most recently, general editor of the four-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (LJ 3/15/95). Here we have the third edition of a book first published in 1988 (LJ 9/15/88) outlining Muslim origins, history, doctrine, and culture?generally in a Middle Eastern context. This edition, which contains a useful bibliography and thorough index, incorporates recent developments in the Middle East and adds material on Pakistan and on the growth of Islam in America. Free of any evident anti-Muslim or anti-Christian bias, Esposito's scholarly prose is both straightforward and highly readable, with technical terms always clearly defined. Nevertheless, this is a work for serious students. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with substantial collections in religion.?James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Praise for the previous edition:
"The answer to every teacher's prayer for an informed and balanced introductory book. Elegantly written, beautifully synthesized, and helpful."--Leila Fawaz, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
"A splendid introduction to Islam. Esposito paints over a wide canvas in depicting the emergence of the Muslim community, the varieties of Muslim beliefs and practices, the tensions between tradition and modernity, and the Islamic resurgence of recent years....A timely gem." --Philip Khoury, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"The best and most obvious choice for courses on Islam, Islamic history, and Middle Eastern history. Well-written and accessible to undergraduates. The best English language text on Islam."--Robert S. Kramer, St. Norbert College


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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (January 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195112342
• ISBN-13: 978-0195112344
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,725 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best introduction to Islam, August 12, 2000

By	Tim Paris (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

Most westerners equate Islam with terrorism. The reason is simple: Muslims rarely make the evening news unless engaged in hijackings, suicide bomb attacks or bloody confrontations with Israelis or with their co-religionists. In this 3rd edition of his book on Islam, John Esposito does much to correct this and other pervasive misconceptions surrounding this great world religion.

Esposito traces the historical development of Islam from its genesis with Muhammad and the Quran, through the great ages of Islamic fluorescence and expansion-- the Umayyad (661-750) and Abbasid (750-1258) caliphates -- right up to the modern period, when "neorevivalists" struggled to reconcile the fundamental principles of Islam with secular and western-dominated contemporary life.

Along the way, Esposito elaborates the basic tenets of Islam, describes the great Muslim thinkers and their ideas and explains clearly the basic interpretations and movements (e.g., Shiism, Sufism) which have animated the development of the Muslim religion over the centuries. He also describes the different turns Islam has taken in different political contexts (contrast secular Turkey with the theocracies of Saudi Arabia and the Sudan).

The picture of Islam which emerges from Esposito's treatment is one of considerable complexity, yet always anchored in the fundamental principles adumbrated in the Quran. Islam: The Straight Path is perhaps the best introduction to Islamic belief and history in print. The 250 page text is accompanied by a bibliography and a helpful glossary. This book is highly recommended for students being introduced to Islam and its history and, indeed, for anyone interested in learning something of the world's second largest religion.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Islam, March 3, 2003

By	Sadia "sadia123" (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

The Straight Path is a straightforward and accessible historical introduction to Islam theology, politics, and law. John Esposito, the author, begins with Muhammad and the Quran, basic Islamic dogma, and the creation of the Islamic community. He then sketches the history of the Islamic world in the medieval period, covering the Umayyads, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Crusades and the later Islamic empires, which are Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal. Some of the divisions within Islam are the Sunni/Shia spilt, the Ismailis, the Druze and the diversity of its mystical and legal traditions.
Next, Esposito explains Islamic theology and law in depth. Medieval theological conflicts centered on the relationship of faith, the status of grave sinners, and the connection between the absolute power of God and human free will. An essential figure was the tenth century synthesizer al-Ashari, whose followers became the leaders of the dominant school of Sunni theology. The five pillars of Islam are the professions of faith, prayer, almsgiving, the Ramadan fast and Hajj; the pilgrimage to Mecca. Finally, Esposito also touches on family law - divorce and inheritance, the relation between customary practice and Quranic prescription by showing the rules about veiling and seclusion, Sufism and Shia differences.
With its primarily historic approach, The Straight Path only succeeds to give a feel for the role Islam plays in the lives of particular believers. Overall, The Straight Path works well, giving a moral feel for Islam's ancient depth and geographical reach.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best there is, May 1, 2005

By	3rdeadly3rd (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews

What John Esposito doesn't know about Islam is probably either not worth knowing or of interest only to serious specialists in their esoteric debates. As a result, "Islam: The Straight Path" can be heartily recommended.

Esposito introduces this religion, arguably the most important one for the West to understand at the present time, in plain and simple English. He outlines the history of the faith, from Muhammad through the early Caliphate and into the age of the great empires based on Islamic bedrock. He also explains the basic traditions and practices of Islam, while devoting considerable energy to explaining how the faith interacts with the modern world - an important concept for any serious study of religion.

Unlike many introductory texts on Islam, Esposito does not trivialise certain points, such as the Shi'a tradition of succession to the prophet. Rather, he presents a balanced explanation of how the division between Sunni and Shi'a Islam came about - as well as demonstrating why the two groups are in fact much closer to each other than the media might try to claim. This is illustrative of his approach throughout this masterful work.

Esposito comments early that he will avoid the diacritics so common in academic writing about Islam and the Arabic language. While this might dismay some specialists, it serves to "de-alienise" the concepts presented here - which is entirely the point.

As a brief anecdote about the usefulness of this book, I first came across it on a booklist for a very introductory course on Islam I was taking. Since completing that course, I have moved into the field of Islamic Studies permanently and have never had this book out of my sight during research. Not only are Esposito's remarks on aspects of the faith very well-written, he also provides suggestions of other sources to consult.

This book can be recommended to anyone keen to learn about Islam. Regardless of one's background knowledge or lack thereof, Esposito will prove a very useful addition to a bookshelf.