Islam: A Short History

Brisk and engaging, Karen Armstrong's book covers the major historical moments and the big, intellectual and spiritual movements in the history of Islam from the first teaching of Mohammed to the events of September 11, 2001. Armstrong unflinchingly details the difficult moments of the faith's early history, yet is always careful to place them in their social and historical context. I finished the book with a better sense of having "got" Islam in some of its diversity, in its struggles both ancient and modern and in the beauty of its commitment to justice, peace and a life lived whole.

It's a good book, though pretty brief in parts. It makes an OK introduction, though, for precisely that reason.

A more significant complaint might be that it's not objective. There is a distinctive thread running through Armstrong's work, which is her belief that the "true" form of any religion is compassionate, humanist, based on some flavor of the Golden Rule. As such, she simply rejects most forms of fundamentalism, or any religious view that is particularly rigid, oppressive, or violent. That's certainly present here. It's not a neutral view of religion, though, and it's not one that everyone shares. On the other hand, the firmness of her conviction provides Armstrong with a good vantage point from which to elucidate what she calls show more the "symbiotic relationship" between fundamentalism and "coercive secularism." I found that insight quite thought provoking and valuable, and so I'm more than happy to work through her subjective viewpoint. Nor do I think there would be much value in her qualifying or disclaiming her non-objective sense of religion. All of which is to say, it works for me.

So I enjoyed the book—the third I've read from this author—and I'll probably take a look at A Short History of Myth as well. But I'll also be looking for a more in-depth introduction to Islam, because this one was a little on the compact side. show less

A clear, neatly constructed overview of a complicated chunk of history. I particularly liked her delicate handling of modern developments, such as the rise of fundamentalism in both the east and the west, and the support of the western powers for brutally undemocratic regimes in the middle east. I was sorry the book wasn't a lot longer, as I would have enjoyed a more in-depth look at some of the historical figures she describes.

On a totally shallow note, I've never seen so many semi-colons in one book in my life. It became pretty distracting.

Of course, there is more to Islam than a bunch of hateful bigots or, morons just wanting to blow themselves up! This book by Karen Armstrong, showing how Islam fuelled a great civilisation reflected in a rich history that, she retraces here shortly in a quick and easy read, is therefore more than welcomed. Flying speedily over centuries, here is a great introduction to get a better understanding of its history and, put such a religion into perspective.

The only thing that annoyed me was, her naivety regarding fanaticism. Well, being a believer herself (she used to be a catholic nun) I understand her willingness to defend religion as a good thing and, therefore argue that violence and terrorism are misinterpretation of religious texts. show more However such line of thinking, brushing quickly aside radicalism as just pure ignorance (how convenient!) can only lead to strange stances. Indeed, for example she claims that the FIS in Algeria were not a threat to democracy (it's surely more complicated than that but, as a ex-nun she should know better!), she defends Islamic states as an acceptable alternative to secularism or, again, tempts to lay too many of the problems at the doors of the West, avoiding thus to confront issues within Islam itself (e.g. antisemitism). In a nutshell: the whole reeks of wishful thinking that leave a bit baffled.

Having said that, the goal here being simply to introduce us to Islam, its sects, history and the amazing and beautiful civilisation born of it all and, such a goal being achieved (controversies aside) it remains a good read. A simple but clear overview of a whole history, that deserves to be discovered. show less

This is a very surprising and extremely valuable work, worth owning, reading several times, and researching the lives of many people mentioned in its pages (both muslim and non-muslim). I was left stunned at the level of mis-information fed to people in the West about Islam and Muslims, and the vitriol of those who read the Koran and draw the very same conclusions that a non-Christian, for example, might draw if he read the Bible: a set of distortions based on reading out of context. (even worse for those reading parts of Torah and the kinds of unfounded conclusions one might draw about Judaism -or that Church fathers often did draw based on out of context readings of passages from Talmud!).

She starts off explaining that for a Muslim, show more the personal is political is religious, and that is because the life of the Prophet was based on the idea of social justice, and that, as in Judaism (Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof : https://theshalomcenter.org/node/211 !!), that justice must be pursued for ALL, to create an egalitarian world. This, I will admit, surprised me. I have many good Muslim friends, and have lived for over a year in a 99% Muslim country (Turkey, where I have to say I was fascinated to find the origins of the Turkish words Jahil and Zenci in Jahhilliya and Zanj for stupidity and an African tribe that in Turkish now means any Black African person, respectively). I know many ladies who pray in private, but never cover their hair in public, are modern, yet still seem to accept that the world is dominated by men. I was told that girls are more loved, more protected than men, but never that women should learn to fight as the equals of men, so to read that Ayshe, one of the wives of the Prophet, had led men in battle was fantastic for me, and that what we think of as the Islamic custom of veiling actually came from Byzantine Greeks, by way of ancient Greece (even Sparta??)! The Gynaikon became the Harem. In fact, on page 66 Armstrong points out that Judaism and Islam are so similar partly because both, unlike Christianity, focus on Orthopraxy rather than Orthodoxy (which may explain the Albigensian Crusade, the Spanish Inquisition, etc...).
And I've never heard of the ascetic Sufi poet Rabia (d. 801) referred to as "great" (page 74): certainly bears further research on her life! Not to mention (p. 83) that I have no idea who Albert the Great was (ok, Wikipedia says Church Father).

Crucially, trauma, then as now, leads to insecurity, which furthers polarizing conservativism (page 103) which leads to further conflict. Yet, Islam did encourage independent thinking, from the Prophet himself to the Rashidun (page 136) to the earliest Islamic thinkers and codifiers of Shariah. Just as with Halachah, codified by Jewish rabbinical thinkers, one is practically required, at least in early Islam, to think for oneself! Wow!

And it was colonialism that put an end to this evolutionary process: via the suppression and degradation of most muslim countries which led to the dehumanisation, in the west, and condescending attitudes of Westerners, mainly Europeans, but also elites even in the east, which of course led to muslim anger, just as it did here in the United States when the same process was applied to people of color and led to Black anger. Both justifiable. On page 172 Armstrong points to the use of the veil, a bit like wearing a Dyshiki back in the 1970's, as a critique of the status quo (and reminds me of my Greek friends asking why I cover my body, when simply, for me, wearing mini-skirts and tank tops is just uncomfortable). Once again by page 175 we come back to the fact that freedom of thought is protected in Islam, despite reactionary behavior, as on page 180 that reminded me of the history behind the film Des hommes et des dieux (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_hommes_et_des_dieux) -a film worth learning French to watch. Sadly, the attitudes that seek to blame Islam for reactionary extremism are certainly racially based, as on older French man told me recently that Algerians, in 1963, were not ready to receive the full rights of French citizenship, which attitude and refusal of course led to the Algerian war of independence. Based on Western double-standards. This hypocracy hurts all of us in this now tightly connected world. As both Armstrong and Cook (please see also [b:A Brief History of the Human Race|185513|A Brief History of the Human Race|Michael Alan Cook|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388673590s/185513.jpg|179321] ) both point out, we cannot afford not to understand and work with each other for a fairer world for ALL. show less

This is a very surprising and extremely valuable work, worth owning, reading several times, and researching the lives of many people mentioned in its pages (both muslim and non-muslim). I was left stunned at the level of mis-information fed to people in the West about Islam and Muslims, and the vitriol of those who read the Koran and draw the very same conclusions that a non-Christian, for example, might draw if he read the Bible: a set of distortions based on reading out of context. (even worse for those reading parts of Torah and the kinds of unfounded conclusions one might draw about Judaism -or that Church fathers often did draw based on out of context readings of passages from Talmud!).

She starts off explaining that for a Muslim, show more the personal is political is religious, and that is because the life of the Prophet was based on the idea of social justice, and that, as in Judaism (Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof : https://theshalomcenter.org/node/211 !!), that justice must be pursued for ALL, to create an egalitarian world. This, I will admit, surprised me. I have many good Muslim friends, and have lived for over a year in a 99% Muslim country (Turkey, where I have to say I was fascinated to find the origins of the Turkish words Jahil and Zenci in Jahhilliya and Zanj for stupidity and an African tribe that in Turkish now means any Black African person, respectively). I know many ladies who pray in private, but never cover their hair in public, are modern, yet still seem to accept that the world is dominated by men. I was told that girls are more loved, more protected than men, but never that women should learn to fight as the equals of men, so to read that Ayshe, one of the wives of the Prophet, had led men in battle was fantastic for me, and that what we think of as the Islamic custom of veiling actually came from Byzantine Greeks, by way of ancient Greece (even Sparta??)! The Gynaikon became the Harem. In fact, on page 66 Armstrong points out that Judaism and Islam are so similar partly because both, unlike Christianity, focus on Orthopraxy rather than Orthodoxy (which may explain the Albigensian Crusade, the Spanish Inquisition, etc...).
And I've never heard of the ascetic Sufi poet Rabia (d. 801) referred to as "great" (page 74): certainly bears further research on her life! Not to mention (p. 83) that I have no idea who Albert the Great was (ok, Wikipedia says Church Father).

Crucially, trauma, then as now, leads to insecurity, which furthers polarizing conservativism (page 103) which leads to further conflict. Yet, Islam did encourage independent thinking, from the Prophet himself to the Rashidun (page 136) to the earliest Islamic thinkers and codifiers of Shariah. Just as with Halachah, codified by Jewish rabbinical thinkers, one is practically required, at least in early Islam, to think for oneself! Wow!

And it was colonialism that put an end to this evolutionary process: via the suppression and degradation of most muslim countries which led to the dehumanisation, in the west, and condescending attitudes of Westerners, mainly Europeans, but also elites even in the east, which of course led to muslim anger, just as it did here in the United States when the same process was applied to people of color and led to Black anger. Both justifiable. On page 172 Armstrong points to the use of the veil, a bit like wearing a Dyshiki back in the 1970's, as a critique of the status quo (and reminds me of my Greek friends asking why I cover my body, when simply, for me, wearing mini-skirts and tank tops is just uncomfortable). Once again by page 175 we come back to the fact that freedom of thought is protected in Islam, despite reactionary behavior, as on page 180 that reminded me of the history behind the film Des hommes et des dieux (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_hommes_et_des_dieux) -a film worth learning French to watch. Sadly, the attitudes that seek to blame Islam for reactionary extremism are certainly racially based, as on older French man told me recently that Algerians, in 1963, were not ready to receive the full rights of French citizenship, which attitude and refusal of course led to the Algerian war of independence. Based on Western double-standards. This hypocracy hurts all of us in this now tightly connected world. As both Armstrong and Cook (please see also [b:A Brief History of the Human Race|185513|A Brief History of the Human Race|Michael Alan Cook|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388673590s/185513.jpg|179321] ) both point out, we cannot afford not to understand and work with each other for a fairer world for ALL. show less

A little dry in some areas, but well written overall. It's kind of disappointing that the author has to spell out some things that should be common sense, like the fact that the Middle East contributed to Europe's Renaissance, that the Middle East was at one time THE world power, etc. etc. I suppose that's unsurprising though, considering the way the region and religion is portrayed in modern media. After reading this I have a better, though shallow, understanding of the history of the region and the religion as well as the different branches of Islam and what they practice.