Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet

Rating:
Summary: Smooth reading
Review: I think Karen Armstrong has no ground for being objective as the subject is a taboo for 1,5 billion people on the planet and his life can only be as real as King Arthur's not that he did not live but how he lived.

But still the book gave me a surprising perspective of the man as the only book that I read before was orthodox muslim books so as you may guess he was introduced as the most beloved human for Allah and Allah's messenger. In the book he has emotions, reacts and does all the things as a regular human.

I recommend it to the christian's who does not have any idea on him, or to the muslims who only read muslim resources before. But do not set expactations high as there is no objective resource on this subject. Hey remember this is religion.

Rating:
Summary: What's it all about then? Find out here
Review: As an atheist bought up as an anglican I was very much in the dark about Islam generally, though I do have some muslim friends. I found this book generally informative about Islam and the prophet. The book takes a while to get into Muhammad's life, the second chapter starts with the prophet's first vision, but then doesn't mention anything about the prophet's life after that, this occurs several times in the first few chapters. So prepare yourself for a lot of background and a lot of Islamic theology/philosophy at the start. Having said that the beginning of the book lays some very important groundwork for understanding what Muhammad was trying (and succeeding) to acheive, which is essential for the newcommer to the subject. I read this book as I wanted to find out about the Caliphate and thought it would be good background reading, which it was, but now I'll probably read more of Karen Armstrong's other books as well. She's such an informative writer, knows her subject inside out and is totally non-judgemental, leaving the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. If you buy this book you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Islam - create a good and just society.
Review: Karen Armstrong is a leading commentator on religious culture. Her best selling books, A History of God and Buddha received excellent reviews. Having read Buddha, I was looking forward to Muhammad, and I was not at all disappointed. Somehow, I missed reading A History of God, so I will attend to that next.

"Muhammad had great spiritual as well as political gifts - the two do not always go together - and he was convinced that all religious people have a responsibility to create a good and just society." With this statement, early on in her book, Armstrong sets the tone for an objective look at the third of the Abrahamic religions. With clear logic and supportive historic facts as well as contextual interpretations, she lays before the reader the opportunity to understand the struggles of the Islamic faith.

Armstrong takes us through the development of Muhammad from his early days as the enemy of the establishment in Mecca, to his firm conversion to a man of al-Llah, through wars and political intrigue to, finally, the death of the Prophet. Throughout her journey through Muhammad's history, Armstrong enlightens us and helps us sort out fact from fallacy.

The picture of Islam that emerges is one that belies all the turmoil and hand wringing over the concerns of terrorists who continue to use religion to obtain their political ends. Instead, Muslim rulers agree to be held accountable for their actions, and ask their followers to "put them right" if they do not do well by their people. I encourage all who wish to understand the complex issues behind the turmoil and violence of today's world to put this excellent book on their reading list.

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly written with a flair of color.
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.