Islam in Context: Past, Present, and Future
Written primarily for Christians, this overview of historical and contemporary conflicts of the Islamic world first briefly introduces Islam and Muhammad, and then portrays Islam as a movement containing coexisting strands of violence and pacifism from the very start of its existence as a political entity. The book's second section examines relations between Christianity and Islam, from Muhammad's early interactions with Christians to Western colonization of the Islamic world and contemporary strife between Christian and Muslim communities. The third section argues that Islam faces an important moment in its history, during which large swaths of the Islamic world must reject extremism and rigidly literal readings of the Qur'an or face dire consequences. The viewpoint throughout is, of course, decidedly pro-Christian, but the information Riddell and Cotterell relay is accurate and well organized. Christians interested in the history of Islam and its relationship to Christianity would do well to start here, though they should also read an equally well-argued history of Islam from a Muslim's perspective, such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr'sIslam[BKL Ja 1 & 15 03].John GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved