Rating: 
Summary: Biased
Review: A good short history but very biased. Armstrong concludes her book with: "The West has not been wholly responsible for the extreme forms of Islam, which have cultivated violence ... But the West has certainly contributed to this development ..." Give me a break! This does not explain why Muslim Sunnis kill Shii Muslims. ..... For a more realistic view I recommend "Islam Unveiled" by Robert Spencer.
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT OVERVIEW
Review: This book captures the essence of Islam's spirituality as well as the outline of its history in a well organized, well written narrative. I disagree with with the reviewers who claimed that the author, Armstrong, is whitewashing the cruelity of ISLAM. Armstrong points out that Islam reacted,in many instances, with a cruel side following such traumatic periods as the Mongol conquest or the Crusaders invasion. Considering the devastation that the Christians and Mongols visited on the area, ISLAM's reaction was predictable.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: As a Muslim, I was amazed by the deep analysis and the thorough knowledge of Armstrong. It like when someone understands you more than yourself. It inspires me and it's no doubt one of the greatest books I've ever read. Thanks to Kiran Armstrong. I recommend this book to everybody
Rating: 
Summary: A book that hides the truth about Islam
Review: The book is not truthful about the treatment of nonMoslems who lived under Islamic rule. Since the birth of Islam, nonMoslems were never considered equal, and had to accept whatever status is imposed upon them. For instance, at the dawn of Islam, all pagans had to convert, or be killed. Christians and Jews were exiled from the Arabian peninsula. Yet, the author refuses to admit that the Prophet has committed crimes against nonMoslems.Throughout its history as well, until the start of Western domination,Islam has treated other religions as if they were totally false, or inferior to Islam. NonMoslems had to pay the Guizya, during some periods and in some places they had to wear special clothes, and they had to endure humiliating practices. For instance, in Egypt, until the British colonized the country and outlawed the practice, a Christian riding his mule had to get off his mule if he is within the eyesight of a Moslem who is walking. In Yemen, a Jew could not have a house that is taller than that of his Moslem neighbor. None of this is mentioned in the book. For an objective book on the lives of nonMoslems in Moslem countries, and the attitude of Moslems towards other faiths, I recommend "The Jews of Islam", by Bernard Lewis. For a more critcal treatment, I recommend the "Dhimmi" by Yael Bat Yeor. The latter is authored by a Jewish woman who endured persecution in Egypt.
Rating:
Summary: Dishonest scholarship
Review: The book grandly and efficiently denies and covers up the violent history of Islam. In particular, it denies the intolerance Islam towards other religions. The book refuses to acknowledge that the prophet ordered all pagans killed if they do not convert to Islam. The book whitewashes the ethnic cleansing campaign that the prophet of Islam undertook as he rose to power. The Jewish tribe of Beni Quneina was exiled from Medina, and its properties stolen and given to the followers of the prophet. The men of another tribe were slaughtered, and the women were forced to become concubines, the children forced to become slaves, and to convert. Christian tribes were ethnically cleansed as wekk. The book refuses to acknowledge that the edict of banning nonMoslems from Mecca, even for a visit, is still enforced TODAY, in the twenty-first century. The book attempts to cover up on the crimes of Moslem rulers throughout the centuries. The forced conversion and killing of Bahai's in Iran, the persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, etc., are crimes explained away or ignored. Even genocides taking place today such as the mass murder of two million Christians in Southern Sudan goes unmentioned or whitewashed as "civil war". Such silence is intellectually dishonest, and could only perpetuate the present day suffering of nonMoslems, like myself.
Rating:
Summary: Painting an unrealistic picture of Islam
Review: As someone who has lived in the Muslim world all her life, specifically in Egypt, Koweit, and Syria, I am amazed at how inaccurate some authors can be. She is talking about a different religion that no Moslem would recognize. As opposed to Christianity, whose doctrine and prophet Jesus are peaceful even though the history of European Christian churches are themselves violent (Coptic church throughout history has been peaceful), Islam is a violent faith in its doctrine and its history. For instance, Islam teaches that a man who is martyr at war is bound to heaven regardless of how corrupt and criminal he has been in his daily life. This, every Moslem child learns by heart at school. The prophet of Islam, Mohamed, forced all pagans to convert; they could not practice their faith. Christians and Jews living under his rule had three options:1) leave the Arabian peninsula, 2) convert to Islam, or 3) be killed. Armstrong is being dishonest, and she should be ashamed, because, by denying the truth, she is hiding the suffering that Christians living in the Moslem world are enduring
Rating:
Summary: A Clear and Precise Overview
Review: It should be understood that a mere 187 page book about one of the world's great religions will not contain a blow-by-blow account of its evolutionary history. For that reason, it should be expected that this book is intended only to be a brief introduction to Islam whose aim is to reach the 99% of us in the West who haven't a clue as to how different and similar it is to Christianity or Judaism. Those who criticize it on grounds of its sparcity have missed the mark. I would also ask those who view Islam as a violent religion to look at their own religion and its history more carefully. Christianity for one is a religion bathed in blood from its inception. From the crusades, to progroms, to even the current bombings of abortion clinics, all of these have been done in the name of a Christian God. This is not to denigrate the 99.9 percent of the faithful who follow a non-violent path, but only to say there needs to be a level playing field in these discussions. Karen Armstrong is right to make this attempt, and does so grandly and efficiently. In addition she opens up the discussion of the problem all of the world's great religions now face, that of fundamentalism's valid criticisms of the modern world. The eventual reconciliation between modernity and fundamentalism still has to be worked out, and books like this one have value in its attempt to bring the rest of us along in the negotiations.
Rating:
Summary: A book that denies the suffering of Christians
Review: Denying the suffering of Christians under Moslem rule is what Armstrong wants the reader to do. The denial of Christian suffering by Christians who lived among Moslems is a phenomenon that is always overlooked. As Christians living in Egypt, neither Armstrong, if she were a man, nor I could marry a Moslem woman unless we convert to Islam; as Christians neither Armstrong nor I would be allowed entrance to some Arab cities; as Christians, neither Armstrong nor I would be allowed to build a church without permission from the President of Egypt. Why is Armstrong quiet about that? Why is she not admitting or revealing the prohet's persecution of pagans and other non-Moslems?
Rating:
Summary: whitewashing & falsifying Islam's violence is dangerous
Review: Armstrong has gotten a lot of free publicity from NPR and other media who like her politically correct, pro-Palestinian politics. She has been on a crusade to prove that Islam is a religion of peace, while even the most basic familiarity with the Koran and with the history of Islam is that it is a religion that divides the world into the House of Peace (those countries ruled under Islam) & the House of War (all other countries in the world - fair game for conquest). This is the opposite of the honest, truthful education we need.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Intentioned but Misguided Description of Islam
Review: Karen Armstrong is a well meaning author but, at her core, she is basically a Christian apologist for the most regressive, violent and ethically disturbing aspects of Islam and Islamic civilization. How does she operate? By ignoring the many calls for jihad and the violent death of all non-Muslims found in the Koran and uttered by the Prophet Mohammad. The Prophet was a highly effective guerilla leader who led many bloody raids on trading caravans and non-Muslim communities in the Arabian peninsula. He set forth for his followers an example of military expansionism and bloody conquest that is still being emulated today. Of course you don't get that part of the story of Islam from Karen Armstrong. I think she has engaged in wishful thinking that has been discredited post-9/11. I recommend the following excellent, perceptive, realistic and clear-headed books on Islam which are also found on Amazon.com: Read Anthony J. Dennis "The Rise of the Islamic Empire and the Threat to the West" (1996, 2001) and also his "Osama Bin Laden: A Psychological and Political Portrait" (2002). Read also anything by Bernard Lewis - the most highly respected academic writing on the Middle East and Islam during the past 30 odd years. Reading these authors together should give the serious reader a comprehensive and well-balanced view of this religion we have heard so much about.
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