Muslims - Vol 1: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Volume 1: The Formative Years

Based on the review from "reader in D.C", I think "reader" stopped after the first page of the introduction. The book isn't about loudspeakers in Turkey. Rippin lays out descriptions of different trends in contemporary Muslim thought (Modernist, Traditionist, and Radical Islamist [or "fundamentalist"--altho' he describes limitations in using that term]). He also warns against, e.g., dangers in the traditional "orientalist" approach that Edward Said has gotten so much mileage out of decrying. Normally I would've given four stars [Rip isn't exactly a feather-light prose stylist], but am giving five to balance "reader from D.C", who seems to have read the book he expected rather than the one written. Maybe he just doesn't like Rippin?