Armstrong, Karen Islam: A Short History ISBN 13: 9780679640400

Islam: A Short History - Hardcover

9780679640400: Islam: A Short History
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
No religion in the modern world is as feared and misunderstood as Islam. It haunts the popular Western imagination as an extreme faith that promotes authoritarian government, female oppression, civil war, and terrorism. Karen Armstrong's short history offers a vital corrective to this narrow view. The distillation of years of thinking and writing about Islam, it demonstrates that the world's fastest-growing faith is a much richer and more complex phenomenon than its modern fundamentalist strain might suggest.

Islam: A Short History begins with the flight of Muhammad and his family from Medina in the seventh century and the subsequent founding of the first mosques. It recounts the origins of the split between Shii and Sunni Muslims, and the emergence of Sufi mysticism; the spread of Islam throughout North Africa, the Levant, and Asia; the shattering effect on the Muslim world of the Crusades; the flowering of imperial Islam in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries into the world's greatest and most sophisticated power; and the origins and impact of revolutionary Islam. It concludes with an assessment of Islam today and its challenges.

With this brilliant book, Karen Armstrong issues a forceful challenge to those who hold the view that the West and Islam are civilizations set on a collision course. It is also a model of authority, elegance, and economy.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
The picture of Islam as a violent, backward, and insular tradition should be laid to rest, says Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of Muhammad and A History of God. Delving deep into Islamic history, Armstrong sketches the arc of a story that begins with the stirring of revelation in an Arab businessman named Muhammad. His concern with the poor who were being left behind in the blush of his society's new prosperity sets the tone for the tale of a culture that values community as a manifestation of God. Muhammad's ideas catch fire, quickly blossoming into a political empire. As the empire expands and the once fractured Arabs subdue and overtake the vast Persian domain, the story of a community becomes a panoramic drama. With great dexterity, Armstrong narrates the Sunni-Shi'ite schism, the rise of Persian influence, the clashes with Western crusaders and Mongolian conquerors, and the spiritual explorations that traced the route to God. Armstrong brings us through the debacle of European colonialism right up to the present day, putting Islamic fundamentalism into context as part of a worldwide phenomenon. Islam: A Short History, like Bruce Lawrence's Shattering the Myth and Mark Huband's Warriors of the Prophet, introduces us to a faith that beckons like a minaret to those who dare to venture beyond the headlines. --Brian Bruya
From the Back Cover:
“A small gem bristling with insight.” —The Washington Post

“A valuable corrective to the hostile caricatures of Islam that circulate in the English-speaking world. . . . Engaging and provocative.” —The New York Times

“Karen Armstrong, a respected and popular author of several books about religion . . . takes on a useful and formidable task in presenting the history of Islam in a single short volume. As many other such works have been written either by apologists or by those hostile to Islam, Armstrong’s comprehensive and sympathetic work is welcome.” —Los Angeles Times

“In Armstrong’s brisk narrative, the clichés evaporate fast. . . . A book like this is suddenly essential." —Entertainment Weekly
From the Hardcover edition.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherModern Library
  • Publication date2000
  • ISBN 10 0679640401
  • ISBN 13 9780679640400
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages222
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780812966183: Islam: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780812966183
Publisher: Modern Library, 2002
Softcover

  • 9781842125830: Islam: A Short History

    Weiden..., 2001
    Softcover

  • 9780786241873: Islam: A Short History

    Thornd..., 2002
    Hardcover

  • 9781407220321: Islam: A Short History

    Phoeni..., 2009
    Softcover

  • 9780297643722: Islam : A Short History

    Weiden..., 2000
    Hardcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Your Online Bookstore
(Houston, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 0679640401-11-24021390

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 16.01
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Gulf Coast Books
(Memphis, TN, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 0679640401-11-24106606

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 16.01
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0679640401-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 16.02
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
West Coast Bookseller
(Moorpark, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description hardcover. Condition: New. Fifth or Later Edition. Seller Inventory # T7-6-20RI

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 12.50
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.29
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Karen Armstrong
Published by Modern Library August 2000 (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Eighth Day Books, LLC
(Wichita, KS, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 20110113183546

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 19.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.95
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0679640401

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 22.72
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0679640401

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 26.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0679640401

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 28.42
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0679640401

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 30.13
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Modern Library (2000)
ISBN 10: 0679640401 ISBN 13: 9780679640400
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Hafa Adai Books
(Moncks Corner, SC, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # Hafa_fresh_0679640401

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 46.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.95
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book