- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Updated edition (Aug 30 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0812982444
- ISBN-13: 978-0812982442
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 2.2 x 17.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#231,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #83 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > History
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“Grippingly narrated and thoughtfully examined . . . a literate, accessible introduction to Islam.”—The New York Times
“[Reza] Aslan offers an invaluable introduction to the forces that have shaped Islam [in this] eloquent, erudite paean to Islam in all of its complicated glory.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Wise and passionate . . . an incisive, scholarly primer in Muslim history and an engaging personal exploration.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Acutely perceptive . . . For many troubled Muslims, this book will feel like a revelation, an opening up of knowledge too long buried.”—The Independent (U.K.)
“Thoroughly engaging and excellently written . . . While [Aslan] might claim to be a mere scholar of the Islamic Reformation, he is also one of its most articulate advocates.”—The Oregonian
Product Description
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
A finalist for the Guardian First Book Award
In No god but God, internationally acclaimed scholar Reza Aslan explains Islam—the origins and evolution of the faith—in all its beauty and complexity. This updated edition addresses the events of the past decade, analyzing how they have influenced Islam’s position in modern culture. Aslan explores what the popular demonstrations pushing for democracy in the Middle East mean for the future of Islam in the region, how the Internet and social media have affected Islam’s evolution, and how the war on terror has altered the geopolitical balance of power in the Middle East. He also provides an update on the contemporary Muslim women’s movement, a discussion of the controversy over veiling in Europe, an in-depth history of Jihadism, and a look at how Muslims living in North America and Europe are changing the face of Islam. Timely and persuasive, No god but God is an elegantly written account that explains this magnificent yet misunderstood faith.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening, Nov 19 2011
By Souvik Mitra "S!" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This book is a fascinating read. Starting with the pre-Islamic Arabia, it traces the evolution of Islam all the way to the recent popular pro-democracy uprisings in the middle east - the updated edition that is. Along the way, it marries history with erudite commentary, answers a few dogmatic points of views, & raises, rather honestly, quite a few questions.Quite a good many of the chapters dwell on the rise of Islam in the desert of the Arabian peninsula, the life of Muhammad & its strife, the power struggles after Muhammad's death, the expansion of Islam to far away corners beyond its humble Arab origins, & the consolidation of the ways & practices into codified religion. It further does a great job of articulating both the evolution & description, if not definition, of the various sects - namely the Sunni, the Shia, & the Sufi.
The tales continue into the modern nineteenth, twentieth & twenty first centuries - the story of Iran is a gripping one - & the book continues its journey into the many ideological branches that evolved in this period - the politics of Islam at battle with colonialism & a fast modernizing world, & the divergent pulls of reformist agendas against fundamentalist ones. Finally, the author speculates a little on the future of Islam, its diaspora in the western world with deep connections to each other & the larger community using the internet.
For me, the chapters on what defines a Muslim, to the extent possible, & the related symbolism of such practices was an eye-opener. Refreshing, & reinvigorating too, was the chapter on the Sufi - I think the author deliberately changed the tone of his writing in this chapter to sound more mystical - as was the content & commentary on the evolution of the Shia sect, its beliefs & symbols. I do think, however, that the author must have had a hard time choosing content from the colonial past to the current times that he thought were integral to the story of development of Islam. The story of Iran finds great resonance while the subcontinent's mention is definitely much more measured - middle-eastern developments & schools of thought being the mainstay of this story. That is not to say that the story is not a credible one, but I'd have thought that the subcontinent's history would have found more utterance than it did in the larger story of Islam. I may be biased, though.
I'd recommend this book very highly to anyone interested in a balanced, honest & unapologetic history of Islam.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good overview of Islam and early history, Dec 16 2011
By David T. - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: No god but God (Updated Edition): The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (Paperback)
I started reading this shortly after I started to read the Qur'an, this helped put the Qur'an in context and clarifies things. This book was pretty good, it covers early Islamic history including the time shortly before Mohammad, Mohammad's life and then his early successors, it also covers three different sects of Islam, the Shi'ites, the Sunni, and Sufism (along with some of the current extremists). This book is very defensive of Mohammad portraying him as an almost perfect prophet (although denying that he was taken to heaven before he died), it was defensive enough that I almost feel I need to read another biography to get a more balanced view. The last few chapters covered the modern era, extremists and bringing democracy to Islamic countries, since this book was written shortly after 9-11, these chapters probably were what the book was leading up to (to show how extremists perverted Mohammad's view), but for the most part I don't think they added much.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thought Provoking and Perceptive, Oct 23 2011
By JLungmus - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: No god but God (Updated Edition): The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (Paperback)
In my opinion, this book was a very well done. He chose to tackle a very difficult topic, and he did it with much grace and eloquence. The history section of book was enlightening and thought provoking, with a strong mix of factual based history and beautiful traditional Islamic stories that helped the book to consistently remain engaging and interesting. Most importantly, he was good at being a relatively unbiased author. One of my favorite aspects of the book was that fact that he could show off the beauty and power of this religion without being afraid to point out and discuss any obvious flaws or mistakes. It is a difficult task to be passionate about your culture and faith, and simultaneously strong enough to criticize its faults, discrepancies, and inaccuracies, and my respect for the author is very deep for this reason. I am curious as to how the book would be different if it had been published more recently. Aslan published his book in 2005 and the Arab Spring of earlier this year, along with the latest developments in Egypt and Libya, have greatly affected the prospects of Islamic government in the Middle East. I would be interested in asking him what his interpretations of the uprisings in Middle East are, and what they mean for Islam as a whole. Overall, my understanding and respect for the Islamic faith has greatly increased, and I think that is exactly what Aslan was hoping to do.
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