Islam: Its Prophet, Peoples, Politics and Power

George Braswell's, Islam, is the most balanced treatments on Islam that I've ever read. The author uses his personal experiences and travels to reveal a fair impression of Islam and its people. Much of the book contains historically calculated issues within Islam to deliver relative information to the religion. When reading this book along side one written by a Muslim, there was little doubt that Braswell was offering unbiased information where the other book on Islam was playing fast and loose with historically documented realities. I cannot help but recommend this book to the individual wanting more than opinion and less than sensationalism as they pursue an unbiased and historically accurate treatise on the worlds fasted growing religion.

I studied Braswell's book in a class on Islam and found it to be general and easy to read. Because of its general nature, further reading needs to be pursued for more in-depth understanding of Islam. Also, the complex nature of any culture, religion or ideology needs to be seen from many viewpoints. The back cover of the book says the book provides a "complete introduction" to Islam. In response to the comment here in this review section, I don't think it is fair to say that Braswell was hiding his Protestant Christian background, as this can be seen in several places in the text. In the Preface he says, "I do not write as an insider but as one informed by western civilization and experienced in the Protestant Christian tradition. Yet I write as one who strives for objectivity." He also states that many of his sources were Muslims and Islamic scholars. Furthermore, this book is published by Broadman & Holman, who specialize in "inspirational" literature and Bibles. If you scan the table of contents you will find that one of the themes of the book is to compare the ideology of Islam with that of Christianity. However, I feel he does this with objectivity and sensitivity. Braswell followed one of the basic rules of writing to craft this book - write to a specific audience. It is my opinion that he gives a good overview of a very old, and complex culture/religion and for those interested, a good yet basic comparison between two world religions. There are several really good books produced by Muslims that do the same thing. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to the study of Islam, especially for those who want the basic comparison of Islam and Christianity.

Not to many Chritians write books about Islam that are fair or flattering. That is not the case with George Braswell. His book not only gives the key historical and theological insights on Islam, but presents a short explanation that compares certain Islamic teaching with Christianity. He is neither degrading or accusatory against Islam. And that's why I like about this book. Finally, a Christian book on Islam from someone with a level head!