Islam,: The Straight Path

Rating:
Summary: So where is the beef?
Review: A well written book that did not dig deeply into the religion, but rather worked over modern situations and Islam. I really can not see much different in it and christianity other than Christ and that Muhammud guy.

Islam gets a bad rap by all the radicals of the religion. Same as christianity during the crusades. It is an okay book, but I would have like to have seen more about Islam.

Jimmy

Rating:
Summary: Best introduction to Islam
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Glaring omissions
Review: The author omits any discussion of the Islamic slave trade which kidnapped 11 million Black Africans from their homes between 700 A.D. and 1900. Europeans coming to Africa in 1600's to purchase slaves found a fully developed Islamic slave trade.
Males slaves were castrated and forced into military service, female slaves became household servants and concubines. Mohammed left many detailed instructions to SLAVEHOLDERS>
Also omitted is any extensive discussion of the prohibition of "innovation" which has so badly crippled Islamic intellectual life. Muslim "scholars" met in the 1100's and decided that all the important questions had been asked and answered, after this conference, any innovation was considered "bidna" or forbidden.
This static mind set accounts for much of the woes of the islamic world.
Lastly the author fails to point out that the Islamic world has actually regressed economically since the end of Western colonialism. A comparison of former colonies, such as India, Singapore and Hong Kong shows that much progress can be made by former colonies and colonialism need not doom a people to failure forever.
None of these difficult problem is tackled by this semi-apologetic tome.

Rating:
Summary: Significant Deficiencies
Review: The book is a good introduction to Islam and Muslims, but does not go into much depth. If you know quite a bit about Islam and the Muslim world, I'd say pass on it. If you are totally ignorant or know just a little, the book can provide you with a lot of insight into the religion. I also think it comes across as close to as unbiased as a writer can be and free from stereotypes.

Rating:
Summary: Islam
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Glaring omissions
Review: This book came highly recommended to me in understanding the basics of Islam. Although I DID gain some understanding, I found it too dry. It did not fire my imagination and I got the creeping sensation that Mr. Esposito was an apologist more than shedding light on this complex religion. He does not provide enough concrete examples behind his theories and I was left to wander what he meant by several of his observations. I suppose this book might be required reading in a college course on Islam but it left me dry.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Introductory Text on Islam
Review: This book is by far the best introductory text on Islam that I have encountered. The important thing to keep in mind is that it is an introductory text, and its function as such should be kept in mind. The book provides an excellent overview, broken down into 6 different issues/subjects of the Islamic world, and the text is further broken down into clearly delineated and manageable chunks, just as an introductory text should be. Especially good is the elegant and concise way in which the history of the beginnings of Islam are laid out. Perhaps less strong is some of the discussion of the different ways that Muslims have approached the issue of reforming Islam, which I found to be repetitive and vague at the same time.
One person was disappointed that the author often mentions a lot of names and concepts, and then doesn't describe them much. Well, that is the PURPOSE of an introductory text, to introduce people to ideas that they can then pursue further in specialized texts if they are interested. Similary, why would one expect to find information on minority non-Islam religious groups or the African slave trade in a book about Islam? The former would be found in a comparitive religion text, the latter, perhaps in a history of Islamic people, but not an introductory text on Islam.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Introductory Text on Islam
Review: This book is by far the best introductory text on Islam that I have encountered. The important thing to keep in mind is that it is an introductory text, and its function as such should be kept in mind. The book provides an excellent overview, broken down into 6 different issues/subjects of the Islamic world, and the text is further broken down into clearly delineated and manageable chunks, just as an introductory text should be. Especially good is the elegant and concise way in which the history of the beginnings of Islam are laid out. Perhaps less strong is some of the discussion of the different ways that Muslims have approached the issue of reforming Islam, which I found to be repetitive and vague at the same time.
One person was disappointed that the author often mentions a lot of names and concepts, and then doesn't describe them much. Well, that is the PURPOSE of an introductory text, to introduce people to ideas that they can then pursue further in specialized texts if they are interested. Similary, why would one expect to find information on minority non-Islam religious groups or the African slave trade in a book about Islam? The former would be found in a comparitive religion text, the latter, perhaps in a history of Islamic people, but not an introductory text on Islam.

Rating:
Summary: The Misunderstood Religion
Review: This is a brilliant book on Islam that quite swept away my miscomprehensions about that religion since September 11. It is an intellectual venture that serves to explain Islam in its entirety. Lucid prose helps one comprehend Islamic jurisprudence, law, history, culture and current affairs. I am now considering becoming a Muslim as my curious intellect has been satisfied by the answers of Islam and I would also like to recommend this book and other like `Islam and the Destiny of Man' by Charles Le Gai Eaton and `What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims' by Suzanne Haneef that are also available on Islam is ...the most misconstrued religion in the world and partly due to our ignoramous attitudes and media misportrayals.
Patrick