Introducing Islam

Rating:
Summary: This is a good pictorial history of Islam
Review: I am no scholar of Islam or even of comparative religions. This book came my way in my job, and being curious, I picked it up. In a few minutes I had learned far more about the early life of Muhammad (the Prophet) and about the social conditions in which Islam had originated, than I had learned from many other books and articles. While this book is definitely anti-colonial in its approach, it provides a good synthesis of the development of Islam, the contributions of Muslims worldwide in science and philosophy, the interactions with Western Europe before, during and after the Crusades, and the state of Islam today. There is a critique of fundamentalist theories that ignore the teachings of the Koran, and most interestingly for me, a discussion of the position of women in Islam today. [And yes, there is a reference to the terrorist attacks of September 11, and how that is no more representative of Islam than atrocities by adherents of other religions would be of their community]. What I liked was that there was also a short bibliography for further reading.

The authors are two UK-based Muslims who are journalists and/or designers. The book is part of what looks like an interesting series "Introducing ....." that attempts to present famous thinkers, branches of sciences, religions and so forth in simple but not simplistic terms.