A poorly written, underwhelming, inconsequential and useless introduction to Islam, which frankly deserves better than 100 pages of academic frottage disguised as accessible to the casual reader. Contains a lot of useless factoids, relies heavily on secondary texts for critical analysis and context, and is overall a dry, dull read. There is an excellent PBS documentary, narrated by Ben Kingsley, which covers the origins of Islam and follows its history; I would recommend watching that instead. ( )

The first chapter defines some terms: Muslim, Islam, Islamism. We then get a chapter on Muhammad, the Quran and the early years of Islam, a chapter on Islamic theology and the main schools of thought, a chapter on Sharia, a chapter on the place of women, and a chapter on jihad.

I found the central chapter on the schools of Islamic theology difficult to follow, and a glossary would have been helpful. This book was written before the events of 11 September 2001 and so is perhaps more optimistic about the chances of Islam retreating in the long term from the public sphere into the personal as Christianity has done than it would be if it had been written a few years later. ( )

Quite hard to follow - the writing is not very clear and the chronology is confusing. ( )