Rating: 
Summary: The author didn't do all of her homework.
Review: While it's a good thing that there are books out there on Islam that counter the "make big bucks by bashing Islam" trend, Ms Armstrong could have gone deeper.The primary example to me is her handling of the so-called "Banu Qurayza Massacre." Robert Spencer (_Islam Unveiled_) and his imitators love to recount the story of how Muhammad had 900 Jewish men executed without telling why it happened; Ms Armstrong puts it in context to explain it (Spencer neglected to mention the seige of Medina which preceded the "massacre" -- pagan Meccans had surrounded Medina, bent on destroying the Muslim community, and a group of Jews in Medina called Banu Qurayza were about to let them into the city). The problem is that the "massacre" never happened. There was no massive slaughter of Jews. Only the tribe's leaders -- a dozen people at most -- were executed for this treacherous act. (For the truth about this incident, check out W.N. Arafat's pre-9/11 article, "New Light on the story of Banu Qurayza and the Jews of Medina," available through your favorite search engine.) I hope a future edition of the book will correct this mistake, but for now, I can only give it four stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect for THIS Purpose
Review: As a High School Teacher of Seniors enrolled in a History of the Middle East Course, this book is perfect for placing the life and messages of Muhammad in a real-life historical perspective including influencial 6th century political and economic forces. Students reported that Armstrong cleared up numerous misconceptions, questions, and outright historical inaccuracies. The casual reader may find some passages regarding the 6th century clan conflicts & intrique dry, but they can skim that and still reap the well supported points Armstrong brings forth - including the history of seclusion/veil, the 5 pillars of Islam, the significance of Jerusalem for Muslims, and centuries of conflict bewteen Christiandom the Muslim world. She explains the controversy surrounding the "Satanic Verses" as well as the evolution of the religious concepts pertaining to "al-Llah." In short she weaves the ancient to make sense of the modern.
Rating:
Summary: Scholarly written with a flair of color.
Review: First of all I'm quite happy to review this book after reading it for my Political and Relgion class. I also want to say to those who start to nick pick the book and 'so called historical' attributes such as the intolerance and so on of Islam today they seem to be confusing Islam in it's original form and Wahhabism today that is being practiced today in Saudi Arabia. Karen Armstrong despite being called an apologist or even a convert by some of our lets say some of our more hate mongering critics of her books, has put into detail about her research and what she has learnt from reading and talking with scholars in the Islamic World. I give this two thumbs up for being a great friend for the learner and researcher in all of us. Oh, and those who keep tooting their horn about that tribe that was killed...have you ever wondered why they were killed? Hmmm...maybe because they were playing the sides and helped with numerous attempts of assassination on the Prophet's life?
Rating:
Summary: A whole new perspective
Review: This book was very informative and an interesting read. Karen Armstrong examines the life of the prophet, Muhammad, in this book and I found her approach easily accessible to a reader new to this subject matter. Armstrong is coming from a Christian background so many times she explains by giving Christian equivalents. So if you come from a Christian background Armstrong's writing is very clear. Throughout the book Armstrong makes an effort to explain the society Muhammad was living in and what this meant for the message he was spreading. It was particularly interesting to see how the Abrahamic religions affected each other when Muhammad and his followers moved to Mecca. For example, the early Muslims use to pray facing Jerusalem. Armstrong's writing is as informative as interesting and a definite must read; it will give you a whole new perspective on all the Abrahamic religions and not just Islam.
Rating: 
Summary: Accesability does not excuse lack of predjudice
Review: My title says it all, although possibly 'bias' might be a better term, but I'm not sure....
Like Mrs. Armstrong, I am a voracious bookworm with regards to the three Momotheistic Abrahamic Faiths, and although I am a strong Christian, I thoroughly enjoy and find my faith enrichened and strengthened by reading about the 'other' monotheistic faiths. I agree with those who take the position that there are some deep seated misunderstandings regarding Islam in the West, and I agree with those who make all efforts to take (and live) a more Christ-like attitude toward those of other faiths (including those with whom we strongly disagree). I also am one who is not opposed to taking a deep hard look at my own self (and culture) and seeing the ugliness therein... That said, in light of the predjudice and ignorance that exists in the west toward Muhammad and Islam, I think Mrs. Armstrong might have tried too hard to swing the pendulum very strongly in the other direction. After reading her book (especially the new introduction and the first chapter: 'Muhammad the Enemy' I was amazed at the complete lack of objectivity to the point of what actually seemed to be deliberate... might I even venture so far as to say 'propaganda'... I am afraid that the type of people who Mrs. Armstrong is trying to reach who read this book they will be no more less ignorant than before, except in the other direction... Her anti-Christian, anti-western bias jump out of every paragraph. Her whitewashing of Muhammad (an admittedly versatile character - at times wise, kind and emulable, and at times cruel, treacherous and inhuman) is also taken to a length that many Muslim apologists will not even go. The problem with Mrs. Armstrong is the problem with the western (and Eastern read: Al-Jazeera) media at large. Claiming (and acting to be) objective while being a fervent partisan. No, I am not a conspiracy theorist, but for the informed reader, this book has a stronger bias than most. One example might be of course, the same old tired and mindless comparisons between some 'Christians' somewhere in the world who committed acts of violence with the daily bombardment of news that we all get of Islamic violence in (name that country)are made, thus attempting to effectively nuetralize anyone who might dare make a moral judgement regarding such acts (carried out, might I add, in the name of Islam as opposed to in the name of say... Barry or Tom). Another would be the highly innaccurate claim that any verses in the Qur'an (or Haddith or genuine Sirat literture, as well as statements made by the ulema and scholars and representatives of Islam) which we westerners read as promoting violence or bigotry or sexism, or you name it, are all misinterpreted based on our all pervasive western ignorance. We are not that dumb Mrs. Armstrong. In presenting historical facts, she is consistantly biased to the point of distortion, and always in only one direction. For example, in just the introduction, I was struck by the little hit (there are dozens in just the introduction) toward Christianity with reference to the distingishing mark on clothing that Muslims and Jews were forced to wear while under Christian rule in the Dark Ages of Europe. Shamefully, the claim is true. (Intolerant Westerners! - Poor persecuted Muslims.) But what Mrs. Armstrong fails to mention is that the practice of wearing a distinguishing mark on the clothing was a common practice that clearly originated hundreds of years prior with Islam. It was the practice of Muslims for hundreds of years prior to any such utilization by the Western European Christians. In 807, the Abbassid caliph Haroun al- Rashid legislated that Jews were required to wear a tall, conical yellow cap and a yellow belt. In eleventh century Baghadad, Jewish women had to wear one black shoe and one red shoe as well as a small brass bell around there necks. (Clearly, a fashion faux-paux even in eleveth century Baghdad) This practice was all part of the deliberate humiliation of those dhimminis (unbelievers) under Muslim rule. Men were forced to kneal weekly in the town square as Muslim would whack them on the back of the head in a symbolic gesture of domination prior to collecting the Jizya tax for non-Muslims. Up until their departure in 1948 in Yemen all Jews were forced to dress like beggars in keeping with their lowly status as dhimminis. In any case, I'm sure this book will continue to be used by Universities because of it's 'accesability' but all I can say is, if you want a fully rounded perpective, read Ibn Warraq's (a former Muslim intellectual) book about Muhammad as well. It wil take at least a book like his to help swing the pendulum in a more balanced position regarding Muhammad. As far as the self-hatred and the anti-western bias that will likewise need to be corrected, I am presently coming up blank.
Rating: 
Summary: The Prophet is an opressor of women
Review: According to Fatima Mernissi in Beyond the Veil, the Prophet robbed women of their freedom. Mernissi is a Moslem author who is very honest about the founder of the Islamic faith. According to Mernissi, Mohamed was a polygamist who married a dozen women. He was also a pedophile. His wife Aisha was 9 years old. He permitted Moslem men to marry four women simultaneously, even though he admitted that it is impossible to be fair to more than one woman. Also, according to the Koran, and to Moslem Scholars today, a man has the right to beat his wife under some circumstances. I heard it from the mouth of the head of the Department of Fiqh or Jurrisprudence on Al Jazzera. Like Mernissi, I am a Moslem woman too. There is no doubt that Mohamed was a disaster of historical proportion, if only because his followers are so attached to him today.
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Summary: Why?
Review: It amazes me that a serious student of history would go to a book such as this to learn anything. The life story of Mohammed, the last and final prophet, (salallaahu aleihe wasallam) is based like any reliable history upon the chain of transmission of information and upon the characters of the transmitters themselves. Ibn Ishaq wrote SIRAT RASUL ALLAH and Ibn Kathir wrote AL- SIRA AL- NABAWIYYA. Both are widely regarded as authoratative texts on the subject; full of exhaustive detail and complete with sahih hadith (absolutely confirmed reports). Karen Armstrong's work seems derisory in comparison.
Rating:
Summary: Wrong conclusions
Review: This book draws all the wrong conclusions. It bills itself as an attempt to 'build a bridge' so that people can understand violence is not the norm in Islam. The book claims that fundamental extremism and its popularity is due to the 'population explosion' in Islamic countries but this is not true. The Iranian youth of today are secular and hate the Ayatollahs, it was only in 1979 that they were all fundamentalist. The author refers to the Mohamad as the 'Prophet' but this is innaccurate. Any biogrpahy should explore the true life of a person. How often do you see biogrpahies of Jesus called 'jesus: The son of God' no, because that would betray that duty of the book to investiage the actual events. This book is perfect for the apologist because it white washes the truth about the Badr offensive, the selling into slavery of the tribes of Medina and other such acts that took place around 632. A very suspect account written by someone who is obsessed with only the good sides of Mohomads life and a book that does not cirtique or even try to tell the truth.
Rating:
Summary: A book that I will recommend to both Muslims and non Muslims
Review: The book starts off with a chapter about Western Europe's various feelings about Islam throughout history, from the time of the Crusades to the present day western world. After that she covers Muhammad's(peace be upon him) life and the situation of the Arabian peninsula at this time in great detail. Many times she will refer to the prophets of the Torah and Bible/scriptures in these books in order to make a comparision. This is great for someone who is familiar with the earlier books. She has a way of bringing the chracters to life and showing that they were human too.
Rating:
Summary: Good Intro
Review: I read this book as part of a history class, and I found it highly readable and full of information. It's definitely a helpful companion to the study of Islam because, being a biography of the Prophet, it places the Qur'an in its historical and social context. This book is definitely apologetic in tone, as Armstrong addresses modern complaints about Islam and defends the religion against them, but it's a great introduction to Islam and its history. Taken as an introduction or a companion, rather than "the only book you need to read" on the subject, it's definitely worth buying.
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