The Oxford History of Islam

Dr. Esposito is very fair in his writing, which is why so many people have something to complain about; Esposito is not pro-Anybody, so he offends people who are. This is a good introduction to the history of Islamic Civilization. It's fair and balanced. The lay reader may have difficulty sometimes in separating politics and religion in the world of Islam, but it is equally difficult to separate politics and religion in Christianity and Judaism, even today in some places, and certainly hundreds of years ago. Religion and politics have always mixed until recently -- take the Crusades, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, for a few examples. The Muslims may have taken over a huge part of the world, but this is no different from the Roman empire taking over a huge part of the world. The Muslims were generally tolerant rulers.But it's perfectly true that in the West we haven't had a clear picture of Islamic civilization. Partly it is because of the language. Partly it is because new tall tales were built on old tall tales -- people have always made up nasty stories about their enemies. Even into the 20th century, textbooks on Islam didn't even have their terminology correct. There have been many recent objective scholarly studies on Islam and the way it spread, but one scholar writes that it is still common for people in the West to take it for granted that Islam is a violent religion of the sword. This book represents the newer, more objective studies that work from original research and do not just base the information on the old tall tales.Stereotypes in the West about Islam are so ingrained that any attempt to set out the facts in a straightforward, unbaised manner, as this book does, are viewed as "whitewashing." The truth is that Islam has a better record than most in terms of religious tolerance. But we don't believe it. We think the Ottomans were intolerant and cruel, when in fact they were indifferent to local religions; they welcomed 50,000 Jews into the Ottoman Empire when Catholic Spain exiled them, and welcomed the Jews back to Jerusalem after the previous Christian rulers systematically banned them. The head of their army was traditionally Christian.An example of this difficulty in seeing past the stereotypes is the reviewer who portrays Tamerlaine as the "greatest Muslim conqueror of all." How could this be when Tamerlaine didn't follow the strict rules of war that Islam requires? When he didn't attack to spread Islam, but for power? Tamerlaine attacked Muslims as well as non-Muslims and treated Muslims as atrociously as he treated anyone else. In the scope of the history of the Muslim world, Tamerlaine was a power-hungry attacker who destroyed what Muslims and others had built and whose brief empire disintegrated after he died. THAT is why he doesn't get much treatment in this book. He just wasn't all that important. But in the West, he is unjustifiably immortalized because of Christopher Marlowe's play, in which Tamerlaine's ex

Esposito produces an excellent readable history of Islam and its powerful impacts on Western Civilization. Espositio gathered a large number of scholars, each to produce a different chapter covering issues like math, philosophy, politics, etc. While no single volume could cover so vast a subject, the reader is left with what is almost certainly the best introduction to Islam. While many people, unfortunately, have bought Karen Armstrong's Short History of Islam, this text is far superior in almost every way. Not only is it more thorough and better written, it also deals with Islam from within as well as from without. Islamic culture is examined not from the perspective of an outsider with rose colored glasses, but from several distinguished and Muslim and non-Muslim scholars with a firm background in the subject.There is not doubt that no single volume could do all of Islamic history justice. However, this book with its rich photographs and strong prose, is probably as good an introduction as you could get under a single cover.

A huge and absolutely beautiful book, so sensitively illustrated that you'll spend hours combing the pictures before you even dip into the text. The many essays detail out the rise of Islam and its accompanying culture, and it's the first general survey I've seen to cover sub-Saharan Africa as well as Eurasia, the Far East, and the Indian sub-continent. As good as the text is, though--and as fun---it's those pictures that make this book superb. From lone minnerets on the Xinjiang plains to the gorgeous mud-brick mosques of Djenné, the architectural dictates of Islam have produced some of the most striking and functional buildings our species has ever come up with. It gives me a great sense of communion with the Moslem world, whatever our ideological differences. The pictures in this Oxford History are sensitive and at times poignant...a close-up of a gorgeous tiled pillar, with the tile flaking off with age, revealing superb brickwork underneath comes to mind.Those who like me know little of the Moslem world will appreciate the very readable text, with its slightly shaming details (the Moslems came up with the idea of a Hospital/dispensary as an adjunct to the mosque.....and their brilliant textiles were carried off by returning crusaders who had little appreciation for how difficult they were to make!)As a scholarly text, "The Oxford History of Islam" may indeed have some holes---I wouldn't know. But as an introduction to the addictive beauties of Islamic art, and as an overview of the Moslem explosion throughout the world (including some Eurasian places you've never heard of!) I can't think of a better selection than this. You'll never want to part with it.

I came across this book while browsing in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore, and couldn't put it down. I found the chapter on Muhammad and the founding of Islam quite enlightening, for example, and I thoroughly enjoyed the brilliantly illustrated discussion of arabesques in Islamic art and architecture. However, I firmly believe the chapter on Islamic mathematics (the work of mathematicians who lived under Islamic rule and wrote in Arabic) is the one jewel that makes the book unique. I would love to find a book that expands that discussion further. I was most intrigued when I read that Arab mathematicians discovered key advances that are usually credited to Viete and Descartes, centuries before these western Europeans lived. Overall, an excellent--and unusually deep--coffee table book, on a much neglected subject.

Once again, Professor Esposito has compiled a book rich in information and objective analysis of one of the world's largest religions. At a time when Islam is constantly bombarded with negative stereotypes and disparagement in the media, Esposito provides a clear, cohesive portayal of the past 1400+ years of Islam. This book will easily serve as a definitive reference guide and information resource for Islam by a very reputable author.