Islam: A Short History (Universal History) (Hardcover)

by Karen Armstrong (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
For many people the word Islam conjures up such negative notions as fundamentalism, oppression and the fatwah against Salman Rushdie. Without shying away from some of the tougher issues, Armstrong's eminently readable and sympathetic history explores this major religion's less publicised aspects, such as its concept of social justice. She discusses concepts and practices that have caused fear or outrage, often through lack of understanding, for example, the female dress code, and explains the major events and tenets of the religion, starting in the seventh century and moving on to the present day. A useful, authoritative and highly readable account. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
In the public mind, Islam is a religion of extremes: it is the world’s fastest growing faith; more than three-quarters of the world’s refugees are Islamic; it has produced government by authoritarian monarchies in Saudi Arabia and ultra- republicans in Iran. Whether we are reading about civil war in Algeria or Afghanistan, the struggle for the soul of Turkey, or political turmoil in Pakistan or Malaysia, the Islamic context permeates all these situations. Yet who really understands the central tenets of this faith, or why so many people around the world have turned to ‘fundamentalism’? Karen Armstrong’s elegant and concise book traces how Islam grew from the other religions of the book, Judaism and Christianity; introduces us to the character of Muhammed; and demonstrates that for much of its history, the religion has been a force for enlightenment that promoted liberties for women and allowed the arts and sciences to flourish. Islam shows how this progressive legacy is today often set aside as the faith struggles to come to terms with the economic and political weakness of most of its believers and with the forces of modernity itself.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (August 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029764372X
• ISBN-13: 978-0297643722
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,381,744 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exactly What The Title Promises, June 14, 2006

By	Dennis Veith (Ferndale, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Islam: A Short History (Universal History) (Paperback)

I liked this book better than the other reviewer. In conjunction with a Sunday School class in which I participated, I read four books on Islam. Two of them were biased, one in each direction. Armstrong's book is an unbiased, scholarly review of almost 1400 years of Moslem history. While there is some material on beliefs, it is incidental to the emphasis on history. A book of modest length covering 1400 years of history may seem tedious to one who does not like history. If one wants some in-depth discussion of beliefs, this is probably not the right book.

11 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth your time, March 16, 2004

By	Terry Smith "http://terrysmith.net -- http:/... (Little Rock, AR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're a casual reader looking to learn more about Islam, this is not the book for you. If you're an academic, you'll feel right at home reading the incessantly dry, academic-worded style of this book, but you probably won't like the book either. The author spends an incessant amount of time on historical details that few would ever care about, but she doesn't cover them in such a way as to satisfy historians either. The only good thing one could say about this book, if coming from this point of view, is that it doesn't have a religious bias. On the contrary, it doesn't cover the religious tenants of Islam whatsoever! Moreover, the author is not honest. Every major religion has events and time periods that it's followers would rather forget (and often do), but Karen Armstrong is continuously politically correct and often an apologist. The author is full of information. It's unfortunate that she cannot write in an honest, encompassing, and educationally entertaining manner.