
Islam
A Short History [Modern Library Chronicles]
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Narrated by:
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Richard M. Davidson
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By:
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Karen Armstrong
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A well written history that will explain plenty to someone who wants to know more about Islamic history. This is not an in-depth study but an easy read. I only wish more Muslims would read it, I think the book would be an eye opener for them too.
Well done!
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The narrator, however, consistently mispronounced the most common Arabic words and phrases. Yes it's a foreign language. But how can you keep pronouncing the name 'Hussein' as Hu-sign? And that wasn't the worst of it. His pronunciation was totally distracting and I sometimes got the feeling he was doing it on purpose; no one could be that ignorant. Karen Armstrong deserves better.
Narrator ruined this book
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Great history, tying it to current day lives
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Very good book. Breaks it down for the casual reader and anyone else for that matter.
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Text book delivery until the last couple of chapters
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Good overview but a lot of history
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A Short History?
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The apologetic tone of the book is frustrating. If Muslims are attacked, they are victims. If Muslims make war, they felt threatened. Not that the author defends aggression by any group, but she seems to slant history in favor of Muslims. Some of her assertions about Mohammed are extraordinary, particularly that he "single-handedly" ended the system of reprisals and vendettas in Arabia (Mohammed led reprisals and vendettas! and they seem to continue after his death).
She frames the story of Islam in the context of modernity, which is interesting and worth examining more closely. She sees the conflict between the West and Islam as being one between a modern society and an agrarian culture unable to keep pace.
The overall thesis of her book, that Islam is not an inherently intolerant religion, is, however, compelling. Islam is often presented as a wholly intolerant religion--which may be true in very many instances, but not comprehensively.
It would be interesting to read a Muslim response to her many assertions. (I don't know what religious persuasion Armstrong is, but she appears to be very liberal.)
Somewhat apologetic
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Unfortunately, the recording suffers from a reader who didn't bother to learn to pronounce either the Arabic or the religious vocabulary. Apart from that annoyance, I would give the book five stars.
S. Treloar, M Div
Armstrong's Islam
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If you could sum up Islam in three words, what would they be?
Armstrong's elegant prose and attention to detail asks us to see Islam from inside itself as the preeminent faith of peace and beneficence without the encumbrances of historical positivism. Armstrong's weighs each measure of the Islamic history with marvelous sympathy and pathos on its protagonists. For the Muslim reader, Armstrong's work will provide immeasurable source of comfort and strength. As a pragmatic work of apologetics, its shines and delights. The sole shortcoming of this work would be those who would prefer a purely historical and unfiltered work informed by all logically available sources including those that are unsympathetic to its message. Some readers will be disappointed in mistaking Armstrong's fine work of evangelical and religious devotion for a investigation of historical evidence.Wonderful work of religous devotion.
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