Albert Hourani (1915–1993)

This is one of the best history books of this scope that I have read. We learn about the history of the Arab peoples from the early life of Mohammed and the birth of Islam, through the rapid Arab conquest through the Middle East, North Africa, and up to Spain. We hear of the Islamic golden age, the sporadic fracturing and reshuffling of dynasties across continents, the coming and going of empires, schools of Islamic thought, and their discord over the last 1400 years.
Somehow this account show more manages to stay engaging and entertaining while remaining even-handed and unbiased. What we come away with is some appreciation of the huge complexity of the political, religious, and cultural situation in the Middle East, based on a fascinating and turbulent history. This book is highly recommended for anyone wanting to gain some understanding of the history and culture of this section of the world. show less

This is a reasonably interesting book on the thoughts of various 19th and early 20th century Arab thinkers on governance and secular modernization. These thoughts were for the most part inspired by events in Europe, but Europe remains firmly in the background in this book. The author usually just notes that a particular thinker spent so an so many years in France before returning home, and instead explains in some detail how the person in question wanted to reform his own country. The show more legitimacy of the Ottoman empire, the preconditions of national solidarity, and nationalism (in the latter part of the period, during the birth of independent nation states in Arab lands) take center stage. It seems like most of the plans and ideas presented in this book did not incite much enthusiasm among a broader public and political developments didn't proceed in the way that any of these authors expected, but it's nevertheless interesting to learn about their worldview.

Political ideas are one central theme of this book and religion is another. Most of the writers presented consider these two themes inseparable. Again and again they return to the same dilemma: modernization can be good only insofar as it accommodates Islam, but Islam cannot be reformed or modernized. There's a passage somewhere in the book about one of these "modern" Arab thinkers (I forgot which one) who considers long and hard if those who convert away from Islam should be allowed to live or not. Others are much more tolerant, but I think this illustrates well how the strength of islamic tradition shackled the development of new ideas on tolerance and freedom in the Arab world. Even enterprising intellectuals with full freedom of expression struggled to reconcile their religious beliefs with political, economic and technical development. In the face of such a fundamental obstacle to modernization, it seems to be no wonder that Arab societies have developed so fitfully and achieved so little political freedom in the 100 years that have passed after these ideas were published. show less

This book tackles a rather complicated and diverse topic and treats it fairly given the subject. Whether we like it or not, there is almost no way for most people to negotiate between the aspects of the amazingly diverse Arab people. We tend to "lump" them all together out of our ignorance. Then there is the issue with Islam and how the world views it. Most of the non-Islamic world has no idea what it is but they know they hate it. This creates a huge gulf of misunderstanding and that can show more create the conditions for strife and conflict. The author steps in to fill that void with a book that gives basic and fundamental information about who these people are and what they believe. The easiest way to get people to understand one another is to introduce yourself and share information. For a good part of the United States (as an example) much in this book will be new information because all they "know" has been headlines and news reports. Learning about the people themselves, who they are, what they do, where they go and how they live-all of this humanizes them and makes the Western world realize that that they are actual "real' people too. We can forget basic humanity when we write off whole populations due to the actions of a few. Not all people are bad. The author also walks us through the founding of Islam. He takes the established path and does not stray from it. There is a substantial body of scholarly work about this topic but this is not the time for that. He gives a clear telling of the foundation of this faith that carries so much impact today. There is quite a lot of serious scholarly material on the Quorn, Islam, the Prophet and the formation of the Islamic states in written and video formats. This book is a great introduction to a subject that people know almost nothing about and that makes it a valuable resource. show less

This book was a good, balanced chronicle of the history and evolution of Islam, the Arabic people, and the nations that arose as a result. It should be required reading for anyone elected into congress or the executive branch and all the empty suits appointed into cabinet or embassy positions that deal with the Middle East and Islamic issues. Very apropos now given the events that have taken place recently in Egypt and other countries.

Hourani takes us from Muhammad to about 1990 and then show more Malise Ruthven takes us to 2009 in his afterword. It looks like another afterword might be needed soon. It was especially refreshing to read that for much of the earlier history covered in the book and in many places in the Islamic empire that non-Muslims were not only tolerated but made important contributions to the societies. OK, they had to pay a head tax for being non-Muslim but that beats losing your head in a pogrom or purge.

This is stuff you never learned in school and that was probably never even taught. If you are feeling a tinge of Islamophobia coming on this book might help you get over it. show less